_______________ [date]
Mr. Theodore Schade
Air Pollution Control Officer
Great Basin Unified Air Pollution Control District
157 Short Street
Bishop, CA 93514
Tschade@gbuapcd.org
Mr. Steven L. Nelson
Field Manager, U.S. Dept. of the Interior
Bureau of Land Management
Bishop Field Office
351 Pacu Lane, Suite 100
Bishop, CA 93514
SNelson@blm.gov
Dear Mr. Schade and Mr. Nelson:
I am writing in support of the Mammoth Community Water District’s efforts to protect our
community’s groundwater. Given the scarcity of water resources in the area and the severity of California’s
drought, it is critical that a plan be put in place to ensure that the proposed Casa Diablo IV geothermal
development project does not negatively impact our water supply.
I share the Water District’s concerns regarding the project. Local and federal elected officials,
community organizations, and several experts have raised numerous concerns regarding the adequacy of
your agencies’ review of the negative impacts posed by the geothermal project to the environment and the
Mammoth Lakes community. These same entities and persons have called for the development and
implementation of a comprehensive plan to monitor the project’s impacts to groundwater resources and
guard against the project’s negative impacts. The Water District has proposed such a plan, yet the project
proponent, Ormat Technologies, Inc., has resisted working with the Water District to put this plan in place.
The plan closely matches what experts at the U.S. Geological Survey have recommended.
Your agencies have stated their commitment to protecting this region’s groundwater resources. It
is time to honor that commitment by facilitating the development of a fair and reasonable mitigation and
monitoring plan that will ensure the long-term viability of the community’s water supply. Without your
leadership and involvement, it is unlikely that Ormat will seriously consider the Water District’s proposed
monitoring and mitigation plan — which is the only adequate plan that has been proposed to date. I urge
your agencies, as well as Ormat and other involved parties, to come to the table and work to safeguard
Mammoth Lakes’ water supply. I urge you to follow through on the assurances you have provided to the
public that you will work hard to ensure that Ormat’s proposed project will not detrimentally affect our
community.
The Water District’s proposed monitoring and mitigation plan is reasonable and fair. At a time
when our community’s reliance on groundwater is at an all-time high, it is imperative that the agencies
tasked with approving the geothermal project ensure that, moving forward, there is a plan in place to address
and guard against the numerous concerns raised by the Water District regarding the project.
Sincerely,
________________ [Name]
________________ [Address]
________________ [Address]
________________ [phone/e-mail]
Cc:
Patrick Hayes, Mammoth Community Water District
phayes@mcwd.dst.ca.us
200/L081314kcg