NEENACH (January 4, 2011)—Two appeals have been filed on behalf of western Antelope Valley neighbors protesting the negative declaration conditional use permit (CPU) granted to NRG Solar of Carlsbad,California for an 800 acre phootovoltaic installation. No advance notification was received by neighbors, residents say, and no public hearings were held by Los Angeles County Regional Planning to inform the community, according to those filing the appeals. See the report in the January 7, 2011 issue of The Mountain Enterprise which will be on newsstands January 6.

NEENACH (January 2, 2011 at 10:30 a.m.)—This email alert has been circulated today about a meeting in the Neenach area at 3 p.m. in the Wevill market regarding a 400-acre solar farm that was granted a Negative Declaration permit on December 21, 2010. A Negative Declaration circumvents the California Enviironmental Quality Act (CEQA) process which requires research into impacts on a region from development and mandates a prescribed series of public hearings.

The Mountain Enterprise does not yet have  independent reports about this issue.Here’s the email being circulated:

PRESS RELEASE
The Fairmont Town Council & Antelope Acres Town Council are announcing an Emergency meeting at 3 p.m. January 2 2011, to be held at Wevill market, located on Ave "D" and 185th Street. in west Lancaster. [The purpose is] to discuss filling an appeal to the issuance of a Neg-declaration, issued Dec 21 2010 for an EIR for the 400 acre Solar project "Alpine" (NRG & E-Solar). Three town councils in the area (Three Points, Fairmont, Antelope Acres) support the appeal.

The concern is that the company’s NRG has clouded the facts in the submission of its application and has not properly informed the local public. The presence of a waste burial area on the 220th Street area and the destruction of about 800 local trees to facilate the project is not mentioned in the Neg-impact statement amoung many other concerns.

If the councils confirm a vote to file an appeal, one of the largest solar projects may grind to a halt until the questions are answered.

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A posting with video clips and skeptical comments (dated December 24, 2010) illustrates some community members’ concerns about the project’s permitting process. In these clips, the hearing officer mentions an expedited Conditional Use Permit for the solar installation. You can see those clips located here. The Mountain Enterprise is still researching this issue and provides this community reporting as a public service.

Watch for the report in the January 7, 2011 print issue of The Mountain Enterprise.

[Corrections made at 4 p.m. January 2, 2011]

This is part of the December 31, 2010 online edition of The Mountain Enterprise.

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