Scoping for the “Northfield AUAR” ended a while ago, and now, it’s the DRAFT!

DRAFT AUAR HERE

Comments are due Thursday, August 17, 2023 at 4:30 p.m.

Send comments to Northfield, and I’d recommend you also send to Xcel and Stantec:

• Northfield: Mikayla.Schmidt@ci.northfield.mn.us with Xcel/Northfield Draft AUAR in the subject line, or if hard copy, Mikayla Schmidt, City of Northfield, 801 Washington St., Northfield, MN 55057.
• Xcel Energy: Jacob.N.Ander@xcelenergy.com
• Stantec: Erin. Sejkora@stantec.com

Of course, it gets my attention whenever Xcel does anything, and this large AUAR, on the northwest edge of Northfield sure got my attention. My comments, sent in February (5 months ago!):

This AUAR got my attention because it includes a “data center” option:

Note in Development Scenario A, the “Technology Center” takes up 538 acres, the majority of the area:

And what caught my attention initially was that this popped up around the time that Xcel was going back and forth about a big data center near the old Sherco plant site. Then that application was withdrawn.

Funny thing though, two dockets appeared, filed by Xcel, M-22-572 (CONTRACTS FOR PROVISION OF ELECTRIC SERVICE TO A NEW LARGE CUSTOMER’S MINNESOTA DATA CENTER PROJECT), and M-22-579 (CONTRACTS FOR PROVISION OF ELECTRIC SERVICE TO A NEW LARGE CUSTOMER’S MINNESOTA DATA CENTER PROJECT), with Xcel Energy filings in November, 2022. The two initial filings by Xcel in these dockets are both pdfs of 142 pages, 137 of those the Petition and tariff provisions. They seem identical, but I’ve not gone over page by page.

What I do note, in these days of focus on energy conservation, is the load predicted, on page 6 of both, expecting quite a load suck:

“The initial data center Premise is expected to achieve an initial load of at least 10 MW and grow to exceed 75 MW by the end of its first 10 years in service.“

It’s important to consider the electrical service to these sites, locations unknown. What new infrastructure would be needed? One data center I know of was set in the middle of Glencoe, and is a nuisance to neighbors, violating the MPCA’s noise standards. How is location of data centers determined, what factors are considered? With the Northfield AUAR proposed by Xcel, in the Xcel service territory, and anticipating 538 acres for a “technology center,” it’s at the very least within the realm of possibilities.

The most recent posting in both of these dockets was from “Amber Kestral” (reminds me of the names for transmission line conductors!), not Xcel.

There were identical one page filings from “Amber Kestral,” stating a request for a pause:

In transmission, we’ve noted for decades that “it’s all connected.”

Do review the Xcel/Northfield AUAR and send in comments by August 17th!

DRAFT AUAR HERE

And after I saw the PurpleAir report, and looked again today, the horrible air has moved south, and we’re likely in yellow or even green today. Whew. And some ideas occurred to me, as I was asked yesterday what the City could do:

I’m not sure what we can do about the smoke from Canada to improve the air quality.  What would you propose we do?

and:

Air monitoring won’t help with the smoke it will tell us what we already know. What is your solution to the bad air we can see? 

So after some thought, with #1 and 2 below immediately, and then 3 and 4 later, I sent a follow up missive to the Council:

All –

FYI, yesterday someone did post a PurpleAir monitor reading for our area:

That was yesterday. Today, the local PurpleAir monitor is not online, but https://fire.airnow.gov/ shows improvement for our area:  

When asked, “What is your solution to the bad air we can see?,” obviously we can’t do anything about the Canadian and US fires (they’re all over the country, see map: ). However, there are precautionary steps the City could and should take. The City does have a responsibility to protect the public health and safety of our community. A very good start would be:

1) Start acting on air quality, i.e., to not add any air emissions from any of our big polluters, like Xcel, USG, ADM, etc.;

2) Advocate and agitate MPCA repeatedly to get all the expired permits reviewed;

3) It also occurred to me later that when it’s this bad, the City should issue warnings, urge people to mask up if outside (oh, that’ll go over well, but it’s their health or lack thereof) and to stay inside and use air filters. Yesterday at Menards, there were MANY people coming out with air filters, probably to build those cheap and easy box fan filters).

4) The City should set a threshold for AQI index where outside events would be cancelled, as was done in the last round of extremely high AQIs made attending outside events hazardous for those of us who breathe.

I’m debating getting a PurpleAir monitor (the Zen model: https://www2.purpleair.com/products/list) and connecting to NOAA, though given the medical expense cash crunch now, yes, it is a matter of debate here.

If the City isn’t willing to get on MPCA to install air monitors, the City should spend the $299 x ? to put up a few here and there around town and link them to NOAA. We residents do deserve to know the AQI. Also, there should be one installed near every one of our big emitters in town, location based on the wind rose, for consideration when MPCA, if ever, gets around to permit renewal review, and for when any of these want to contract for more burning.

Again, the City has a responsibility for the health and safety of its residents, and you’re the policy setters.

Carol, a breather whose health is affected by unhealthy air.

Really bad air here in Red Wing today, so I sent another Air Quality (and lack thereof) missive to the City Council:

All –

Once again, it is likely a very bad air day, red dots, orange dots, and we have no monitors, much less a baseline for air “quality,” or lack thereof, in Red Wing.  https://fire.airnow.gov/

What are you, each of you, doing to protect the health and safety of our community? That’s the primary job of the City and the City’s electeds.

Carol A. Overland, loading some things in the car and feeling the PM2.5

Checking later in the day, after some exertion outside that had quite an impact, I found this on that site, our blue dot on the map accompanied by a red square, a “Purple Air” monitor:

Yeah, that’s pretty grim.

Yup, that’s “our” state Representative Pam Altendorf. I had to send them a missive, as she sure doesn’t represent a very large bunch of constituents! So this went to the Council:

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

All –

Unfortunately, I cannot attend on Monday, have to work way out southwest, a meeting I can’t miss. That said, this is the first of two missives about Monday’s agenda.

RE:

I hope that you all will review bills “authored” and “co-authored” by Rep. Altendorf. Consider what she’s doing FOR us, all of us, and what’s she’s doing AGAINST us. Also consider what she’s doing that misses the mark of the charge of a state Representative. Check the links, and I’ll raise a few examples below:

• Bills Chief Authored
• Co-Authored

Remember that Rep. Pam Altendorf ran as an “America First” candidate. What’s America First? Don’t know? “America First” is white supremacy and nationalism at its core. A visit to the Charles Lindbergh House and Museum in Little Falls would be a good start. I’m shocked that anyone would advertise being an “America First” candidate, but too many have no idea what “America First” means. Sarah Campbell’s “Behold America” is also an excellent source:

From Rep. Altendorf’s campaign website, “Endorsed by Mike Lindell” as an “America First” candidate. SNORT! For some reason this video has been scrubbed off her “Endorsements” page on her campaign website — but I found the video, HERE –>

Speaking of My Pillow, the market has spoken:

MyPillow is auctioning off equipment after retailers pull its products

Altendorf was also endorsed by Steve Drazkowski:

“Extensive work recalling RW City Council.” Hmmmm, what did she do?

A state House Representative is charged with, has taken an oath, to represent their constituents, ALL their constituents, not some, and to observe and support the Constitutions of the U.S. and the State of Minnesota.

U.S. Constitution’s 14th Amendment anyone??? Here’s an example of a bill where she was “Chief Author,” the point of which was to make voting more difficult, eliminate voting rights, and suppress voting:

And her HC0003, a bizarre bill “denouncing the horrors of socialism” — you’ve got to read this — click on the HC0003 link! I’d guess she objects to things like Social Security and Medicare; MNSure; fire and police departments; public schools; the state vo-tech, college, and university system; ag programs and nutrition support; snow plowing; roads and bridges; our state, county, and city park systems; utility regulation; etc. This bill is a clear example of lack of understanding of “socialism,” conflating “socialism” and “communism,” and failure to understand the basics of “democracy,” and I’d presume lack of understanding of the distinction between democracy and capitalism:

And in the “Co-Authored” bills she signed on to:

State Rep., now state Senator Drazkowski would remember my sign from the state candidates’ rally at Bay Point Park a few years ago.  If I wasn’t 100 miles away, I’d bring it to Monday’s meeting:

Carol A. Overland, Attorney at Law, sworn on oath to support the U.S. and state Constitutions.

Yes, every picture tells a story, worth a thousand words… Alan Muller, Green Delaware, spent decades fighting the polluters of Delaware, concentrated in New Castle County, and the Indian River coal plant way south (and surrounded by cancer), and many other polluters in Delaware and beyond.

A few maps of Delaware cancer rates… from this article about articles in the Snooze Urinal (as Alan calls the News Journal):

Cancer Clusters in Delaware? How One Newspaper Turned Official Statistics into News

Alan’s Port Penn, DE is in this area on the bay, just south of the C&D Canal, dark red in the map above, dark blue in the maps below:

Cancer Cluster Investigations in Delaware

And from the state’s Division of Public Health:

CENSUS TRACT-LEVEL CANCER INCIDENCE IN DELAWARE, 2015-2019

Port Penn, DE is in the dark blue census tract on eastern edge, south of Delaware City, that bumps out into the Delaware Bay (166 incidence rate on map):