Mission Trails Regional Park – Page 4

Save the Date! Next CEC Wksp is Friday, Oct.19, 1pm with 6pm public comment time at Grossmont College

You are needed–Yes, Again!!—at the California Energy Commission (CEC) Public Workshop #4 on Quail Brush. Attend and make sure our dedication and thoughtful local zoning laws are NOT bulldozed over by this state agency. The citizens of San Diego and Santee know what’s best for our communities, our park, our health, and the environment. Say NO to the not-needed fossil-fuel power plant. Keep our community green and clean!

DATE / TIME: Friday, Oct. 19, 1 pm; public comment time starting at 6 pm
(See below for free parking permit.)
TO DO: When you enter, write your note of opposition on a form to be posted in the public record.
NOTE: If you can’t come for the whole day, DO show up when you can. The public comment time is scheduled to continue until everyone who wants to speak or ask a question, does so. (Scroll down to see link below for how to participate remotely if you can’t attend.)
LOCATION: Grossmont College, 8800 Grossmont College Drive, El Cajon, 92020, off the 125, Building 60 – Griffin Center (in front, southeast corner). For a campus map, directions, and free parking pass, click here. Parking is easy and plentiful on Fridays.

Per the CEC: The workshop is held to provide a public forum for staff, the applicant, intervenors, the public, and interested agencies to discuss issues related to the project. Technical areas to be discussed: Soil & Water Resources, Biological Resources, Fire, Noise, and Visual Resources. The public can ask questions and comment about the project and the staff’s environmental review.

Public comments and questions will be accepted at 6 p.m. Additional opportunities for public comment may be provided at other times during the workshop as the parties work through the scheduled topics. The workshop will end after the comment period.

TO PARTICIPATE FROM WORK/HOME: Arrangements have been made for people unable to attend the workshop to participate by telephone and/or by computer.
WebEx and Conference Call-in-toll-free number: 1-866-469-3239
Access code: 926819370
Meeting Password: meeting@1
For details, click here and scroll to page 4-5.

Thank you all for your persistence. We will prevail with everyone’s continued efforts.

Wed., Oct. 3 is Next Major Event to Stop the Power Plant – CEC Public Workshop

Get ready now for the California Energy Commission (CEC) Public Workshop on the Quail Brush power plant. It is CRUCIAL that once again we all show up and voice our opposition! We will NOT allow our hard work and thoughtful local jurisdiction decisions to be overriden at the state level. WE know what’s good for our cities, communities, park, and health. Just say NO to the power plant at Mission Trails!

DATE: Wednesday, October 3, at 2:00 pm. Allow extra time for parking. (See below for parking permit.) Note: If you can’t come at 2:00, DO show up later, as it is scheduled to continue until everyone who wants to speak or ask a question, does so. (See link below for how to participate remotely if you can’t attend.)

LOCATION: Grossmont College, 8800 Grossmont College Drive, El Cajon, 92020, off the 125, Building 60 – Griffin Center (in front, southeast). For a highlighted map of the workshop location, directions, and a parking permit (p.2), click: CEC GROSSMT MTG MAP & PARKING PASS.

Per the CEC: The workshop is being held to provide a public forum for staff, the project applicant, intervenors, the public and interested agencies to discuss issues related to the project. The technical areas that will be discussed are Air Quality, Biological Resources, Cultural Resources, Fire Protection, Public Health and Worker Safety. The workshop will also give the chance for the public to ask questions and comment about the project and the staff’s environmental review.

Arrangements have been made for people unable to attend the workshop to participate by telephone and/or by computer.
WebEx and Conference Call-in-toll-free number: 1-866-469-3239
Access code: 929522155 Meeting Password: meeting@2
For details, click here and scroll to page 2.

See you there Wednesday!

It’s Unanimous! San Diego City Council Members Deny CoGentrix Appeal

The San Diego City Council Members sent a strong message to the California Energy Commission (CEC), SDG&E and CoGentrix. They don’t want a power plant next to Mission Trails Regional Park.

This is a huge victory and the campaign must continue. The CEC could vote to override local decisions and approve the abomination.

Get ready and save the date for the CEC Public Workshop on Wednesday, October 3, at Grossmont College at 2:00 pm. Click here for details and a parking permit.

Thank you to all the individuals and groups that support and campaign to protect our precious park and communities, including the San Diego City Council, the Santee City Mayor and City Council and all the following:

U.S. Congressman Bob Filner
California Assemblymember Brian Jones
County Supervisor Dianne Jacob
State Senator Marty Block
La Mesa Councilmember Ruth Sterling
Tierrasanta Community Councilmember Rich Thesing
Former San Diego City Councilmember Donna Frye

Candidate for 71st Assembly District, Patrick Hurley
Candidate for Santee Mayor, Rudy Reyes

California Chaparral Institute
California Native Plant Society, San Diego Chapter
California Pilots Association (CalPilots)
Center for Biological Diversity
Cleveland National forest Foundation
Crest/Dehesa/Granite Hills/ Harbison Canyon Subregional Planning Group
East County California Republican Assembly
Endangered Habitats League
Environmental Health Coalition
Greater Santee California Republican Assembly
Green Party of San Diego
Highland Trails HOA
League of Women Voters
Mission View HOA
Mountain Defense League
Preserve Wild Santee
San Diego Audubon Society
San Diego Canyonlands
San Diego Coastkeeper
San Diego Energy District Foundation
San Diego Mountain Biking Association
San Diego River Coalition
SanDiego350.org
Santee School District
Santee Taxpayers Association
Save Our Forests & Ranchlands
Sierra Club
Sunset Greens HOA
Wilderness4All
and others.

Rally Reminder! Tierrasanta Saturday 9/15 4-6 PM

Join the SMT Rally – Sat, Sept 15 – 4-6 pm at the intersection of Santo Rd. and Tierrasanta Blvd. Wear orange and bring a sign (or borrow one of ours) to grow awareness of the power plant among the Tierrasanta community and encourage opposition letters/phone/emails/fax to the San Diego councilmembers. SMT T-shirts available by donation at the event. Follow up with the free concert (below)!

Tierrasanta Concert in the Park- Sat, Sept 15 – 6-9 pm – Following the rally, we’ll have fun at Tierrasanta’s final summer concert (“High Tides” with reggae/roots/ska music) while doing public outreach and community building. – Tierrasanta Recreation Center

Follow up with a SMT Community Outreach Meeting –
Tues, Sept 18 and 25 – 6:30-7:45 pm at Tierrasanta Library, 4985 La Cuenta Dr, San Diego 92124 Help defeat QB and save Mission Trails and adjoining communities! Get status reports/info, meet group members, and volunteer. See you there!

New Design is NOT Helpful. It’s Harmful.

Quail Brush Power Plant next to Mission Trails Park

CoGentrix made modifications to the Quail Brush Generation Project to “improve” its visual impact. CoGentrix lowered the towers to 70 feet from 100. The images below are realistic and based on the revised power plant design. The renderings include its new placement, graded retaining wall, drainage pits, storage units and a 10-foot security wall. The placement of the power plant sits clearly on the top of a ridge and is not obscured by any other ridge from the Park. The hills will require extensive grading. Click on the images to see them larger. The structures were rendered to scale using Google’s 3D rendering program. The towers’ emissions were rendered in Photoshop.

Lowering the stacks brings the pollution closer to the park, schools, and our lungs. As you can see, the power plant would still be a nasty wound on our park and community. Multiple view points were included so you can clearly understand how huge this abomination is. Click on a power plant image below to see the gallery larger.

Power Plant from Mission Trails Park near the equestrian center

Park Entrance — Welcome to the Camping entrance in Mission Trails Park!

Power-plant-model-sideview — Power Plant looking south east

Does Jane Dumas Know Cogentrix is Trying to Ruin Mission Trails?

Jane Dumas is a respected Kumeyaay elder who was honored on April 28th by having a day named after her at Mission Trails Regional Park. Kumeyaay is Jane’s first language and she remains one of the last living fluent speakers of the Kumeyaay language in the world. And she has spent the last 60 years of her life educating people about Kumeyaay history and culture.

After I came across this heart-warming story about Jane Dumas Day, and learned about all she has done in support of Mission Trails Regional Park, I wondered if she had been apprised of the fact that Cogentrix and Sempra Energy are trying to ruin Mission Trails by placing their unsightly, noisy power plant right next to the Equestrian Center, just north of Kumeyaay Lake.

What I have appreciated about various tribes, after having studied their history for the last 45 years of my life, and contributing to various American Indian charities, is that their spirituality is rooted in Nature. Does anyone remember the commercial featuring an Indian man weeping at the sight of pollution in the river? I am afraid that Jane Dumas will have a reaction very similar to that, when someone informs her of what is happening now, just a few months after the day she was honored at her beloved park.

“. . . WHEREAS, Jane Dumas was inducted into the San Diego County Women’s Hall of Fame in 2002 and is recognized as the catalyst for Mission Trails Regional Park acquiring a Kumeyaay-Diegueño Nation flag to fly proudly at the Kumeyaay Lake and Campground in her honor from here on out; AND

WHEREAS, Jane continues to share her expertise in medicinal plants by teaching Ethnobotany classes at Sycuan’s Kumeyaay Community College. It is her hope that the knowledge and traditions of her people will continue to be passed down from generation to generation and never be forgotten; NOW THEREFORE. . . “

. . . Jane Dumas we need you to stand with us now as we struggle to save Mission Trails Regional Park.

You Can Help Prevent This From Becoming a Reality (savemissiontrails.org)
Cowles Mountain Hike: Mission Trails Regional Park (treatyourselfsandiego.com)
La Mesa won’t weigh in on power plant (utsandiego.com)
Cogentrix Rep Presents Plan at Navajo Planning Committee (savemissiontrails.org)

Rally Reminder – Sat. 8/18 4-6pm Tierrasanta, Join the Fight!

Our beautiful park and healthy communities are worth saving!

Rally Tierrasanta citizens to learn about and help stop the ill-conceived siting of a fossil fuel gas power plant in a high fire-hazard zone near their park and community. Join Save Mission Trails volunteers at the intersection of Santo Rd. and Clairemont Mesa Blvd. from 4-6:00 PM in Tierrasanta, Saturday, August 18. Bring a sign (or borrow one of ours) and wear something orange!

Then from 6-9:00 pm join us at Tierrasanta’s Concert in the Park, ”Y3K” 80s Rock n’ Roll, at the Tierrasanta Recreation Center at 11220 Clairemont Mesa Blvd. Support a great cause and have some fun too!

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