Legalectric

This is the “artist’s conception” of the PurGen coal gasification plant proposed for Linden, New Jersey.

Last week there was an earthquake just off the cost of New Jersey and New York:

Small earthquakes in N.J. prompt calls to police, but no reported damages

Small earthquake off New Jersey felt on east coast

The US Geological Survey has a site to report earthquakes:

DID YOU FEEL IT?

What does this Linden coal gasification plant have to do with an earthquake?   Well DUH, PurGen wants to pump the earth full of CO2.  They claim that “Carbon dioxide will then be removed from the gas and safely stored offshore in a permanent repository.”

In support of this nonsense, they’re trotting out our friend from the Mesaba Project, Dan Schrag:

Storage of Carbon Dioxide in Offshore Sediments

For information on impact of gas storage on seismic activity, check out “Gas Migration” which is THE source for the real poop.  In short, pumping the earth full of gas, i.e. CO2, triggers seismic activity, CCS = earthquakes.

What’s interesting to me is that this is the second time this year for New Jersey:

Earthquake Jolts New Jersey
By Therese Crowley
2/22/2010

BERNARDSVILLE, NJ – Sunday morning reverie at 8:59 a.m. was punctuated by a big BOOM in Bernardsville- and Basking Ridge- and at least 25 more zip codes, according to the US Geological Survey. Within an hour, an earthquake measuring 2.6 on the Richter scale was confirmed by the Lamont Doherty cooperative Seismographic Network (LCSN). The quake was centered at Peapack and Gladstone, New Jersey, 13 miles WSW of Morristown.

In Bernardsville, the quake was experienced as a ‘boom. BOOM!!! shake.’ In this reporter’s old stone cottage, the shaking rang bells. The quake shook Bernardsville Police headquarters, where Dispatcher 35 was fielding calls from residents, and cautioning that an aftershock may follow. Some 100 residents called in the first hour. No damage was immediately reported, although an earthquake of mild magnitude can cause hairline cracks in structures.

The region sits on the Ramapo Fault Line, and Lamont Doherty estimates the depth of the quake at 3.1 miles, measuring the impact as mild, at ll-lV level intensity. Still, residents were excited and rattled. The first aftershock followed at 12:31pm, measuring 2.3 on the Richter scale. As with the original quake, the first alert of something happening within the earth was a booming rumble, followed by a shaking sensation. The first aftershock was centered just one mile from the morning tremor.

The quake was the talk of the Somerset Hills YMCA; many people felt it, but few had heard confirmation of the event. One Dad reported, ‘We were watching TV with the kids and heard the boom—I made them turn the TV down, and we listened and felt the shake. It was something!’

The Sunday morning earthquake follows a series of tremors that moved the ground in Far Hills and Bernardsville from Friday, February 5th to Sunday, February 7th. One of those quakes measured 1.2, but Sunday morning’s 2.6 is orders of intensity greater.

An aftershock took place around 12:30 p.m. on Sunday measuring 2.3 on the richter scale.

Residents who would like to report their experience can go to the US Geological Survey Website and fill out the ‘Did You Feel It?’ form, at http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/dyfi/

Right now, the Northfield Planning Commission is reviewing the idea of the Spring Creek LLC wind turbine planned for the Northfield Urban Reserve district.  Here’s some on that from Tracy Davis:

Wind Turbines in the “Urban Reserve” around Northfield

In another exciting development, Tom Dunnwald filed for a Writ of Mandamus, to tell Rice County to follow the law, and damned if he didn’t get it!  In this case, the County didn’t provide proper notice for the Conditional Use hearing, and they have to do it over.

This is the same county where I had a laundry list of instances where they had not followed the law and the judge said, “They know they should follow the law so I’m not going to tell them to follow the law” and tossed us out.  So perhaps Mandamus is the way to go rather than a Declaratory Judgment?!?!  Go figure…

Here’s the poop from the Northfield News:

Mandamus trips up wind turbine development

By: JOSHEPH LINDBERG

Posted: Friday, November 26, 2010 9:17 pm

Rice County officials have been ordered to re-notify residents in Northfield Township of a public hearing on the proposal to build two wind turbines in the area.

A county judge ordered a writ of mandamus earlier this month, which could force Rice County officials to re-notify dozens of individuals affected by the proposed construction of wind turbines in Northfield Township — and delay any county action on turbine construction approval.

Relatively rare in the course of legal proceedings, mandamuses are “[I]ssued by a superior court to compel a lower court or a government officer to perform mandatory or purely ministerial duties correctly,” according to Black’s Law Dictionary.

Gro Wind LLC is trying to move forward with a pair of 326-foot-tall commercial wind turbines, slated to be built in the southeastern corner of Northfield Township. The approval of conditional use permits for the agriculturally zoned land has been postponed due to legal action taken by several residents.

Similar to an injunction, the mandamus forces Rice County officials to send out individual notices to properties near the proposed site, notices that residents in the area say they did not receive within the legal time frame.

The judge issues a mandamus after a evaluating the “clear intent” of a law that a governmental body needs to uphold, said Tom Dunnwald, an attorney representing one of the residents in Northfield Township. In this case, the issue was the notification of local residents about a public hearing.

The county is required to notify residences of public hearings regarding certain high-impact projects 10 days before they occur. The county put a notification in the paper, but some residents were not notified by mail until three days before the hearing, Dunnwald said.

One individual in the area did not get their notice in time due to improper postage on the notification, said Rice County Commissioner Galen Malecha.

Read the rest of this entry »

Today on the PUC’s agenda? AWA Goodhue’s request for Reconsideration of the PUC’s remand to an Administrative Law Judge.

Here’s their remand Order and subsequent filings:

PUC’s Order – Remand to OAH

And from that Order, here’s what the PUC wants from the ALJ:

1. The ALJ assigned to this matter is requested to develop a record on every standard in Article 18 that is more stringent than what the Commission has heretofore applied to LWECS and make recommendations regarding each such standard whether the Commission should adopt it for Large Wind Energy Conversion Systems in Goodhue County. The Commission has identified two such standards in this Order (Section 4 and Section 6) but is not by this Order restricting the ALJ from developing the record and making recommendations regarding additional standards in Article 18 that upon further examination meet the “more stringent” qualification.

2. The ALJ assigned to this matter is requested to allow the parties to develop a factual record on the question of “good cause” as that term appears in Minn. Stat. § 216F.081 and to provide recommendations on whether, with respect to each standard in Article 18 identified in the course of her review as “more stringent” than what the Commission has heretofore applied to LWECS, there is “good cause” for the Commission to not apply the standard to siting LWECS in Goodhue County.

3. As the ALJ addresses the issues identified in the previous two sections, the ALJ is requested to include (but not limited to, by this Order) whether there is sufficient evidence regarding health and safety to support a 10 rotor diameter set-back for non-participating residents and the stray voltage requirements.

To which AWA Goodhue said  …. “NOOOO, we want you to undo that decision” …

AWA Motion – Text only – maps are too big

… and to which we said, “PPFFFFFFFFFFFFFBBBBBT!” …

Goodhue Wind Truth – Response to Motion for Reconsideration

… including a section you really ought to read:

III. THERE IS A SYSTEMIC FLAW IN THE PROCESS BY WHICH MATERIAL INFORMATION IS NOT FORWARDED TO THE COMMISSION

… and from Goodhue County:

Goodhue County – Response – late filed

… and then the AWA Goodhue’s Reply – quite pissy, eh?

AWA Goodhue Reply

… and some others on behalf of AWA:

“Wind on the Wires” Izaak Walton League Comment

GE Energy Comment – late filed

… and PUC staff weighs in:

Staff Briefing Papers (a separate revised cover sheet filed later)

… and then at 8:21 a.m. this morning, served by eFiling, and Document Properties show it wasn’t pdf’d until 4:03… TODD GUERERRO, WHATEVER ARE YOU THINKING… this from AWA Goodhue trying to wiggle into mediation somehow rather than a proceeding before the Administrative Law Judge.  Mediation???  Mediation has it’s place, but… well, anyway, here’s what they said:

AWA Goodhue Last Minute Letter

The Commission was probably not pleased, the timing of that latest filing was duly noted, and after a short discussion about the availability of mediation in any contested case, under the administrative rules it’s always an option, the discussion led by Commissioner Reha, who as an ALJ had mediated the Chisago Transmission Project (were any of the Commissioners around then?  Perhaps Pugh?):

Deal – NSP – Taylors Falls – St. Croix Falls

That’s one result of that mediation, one which I certainly wouldn’t be proud of, because though it did underground down the banks of the St. Croix River, it DOUBLED the capacity, and I don’t think anyone other than our friends at NSP had any clue what dropping voltage but bundling BIG conductors meant.  Well, Art Hughes, Ph. D., of course, but he’s dead… And at the time,  it was disturbing the way ALJ Phyllis Reha and George Crocker were on the stage of the Festival Theatre in St. Croix Falls stumping for the deal and urging Concerned River Valley Citizens to adopt the deal.  WHY, what’s in it for them?  For CRVC, nothing!  And why would Reha and Crocker want CRVC to adopt that deal?  Enough to be promoting it on stage before CRVC?  CRVC said NO, and the rest is history…

So anyway, to make a short story long, the PUC talked about Reconsideration and the referral to OAH a bit, Commissioner Reha mentioned some things she is concerned about as material facts at issue, they expressly stated they did not want to Reconsider, and they all (4, Betsy Wergin was missing) said NO to AWA Goodhue’s Motion for Reconsideration.

Onward!

Yesterday we put in an offer … garage, basement and shop are much needed!  Initially I was looking at building a garage on my lot across the street, and whew, it’s cheaper to buy another house!  Needs work, but it’s a solid classic.   the basement is amazing, at least a 9 foot ceiling.  Driveway and attached garage, plus a separate two car garage, what a concept.  Now getting my big beautiful tub up to the attic could be interesting, but the stairs are wide and the electrical, insulating and some of the sheetrock is already done.  There’s room in the mudroom for a half-bath… With some work, this could work!

Plus attached garage and huge office with windows, windows, and more windows with the most amazing view…

Patience…

I got word a couple days ago that the MAPP transmission line, Mid-Atlantic Power Pathway (not Mid-Continent Area Power Pool) application has been filed in Maryland.

Here is the Maryland Public Service Commission page for this project.

The Sierra Club has been on the front lines fighting MAPP.  Here’s the SIERRA CLUB MAPP & PATH PAGE.

This is Travis Miller/Morningstar’s take on PEPCO and MAPP:

In our first meeting since the Conectiv sale to Calpine, management detailed its goal of 12% compound annual growth rate in total rate base at power delivery, with transmission rate base more than doubling and distribution rate base climbing $1.4 billion (37%) behind $5.2 billion of capital expenditures the next five years. Of that, its Mid-Atlantic Power Pathway project represents $1.2 billion. The project has been delayed but now appears set to go forward with an in-service date in 2015. Line capacity would be the equivalent of a large coal plant entering the region on an energy basis. Management estimated $150 million-$200 million of energy savings for Maryland customers as a result of the project, all of which is lost margin for area merchant generators.

Here’s PEPCO’s 3Q 2010 Financial Results.

Why isn’t this application reported anywhere?  Well, anywhere that google picks up?