Despite the fact, that the proposed plant processes the fluid and gas byproducts from a fracking operation, the audience was immediately instructed that the issue before the P & Z Commission was only related to a Conditional Use Permit (CUP) for a dehydration plant and had nothing to do with fracking. The audience was sternly warned that they would not be allowed to make any mention or bring into discussion, anything about fracking.

There were well over 40 oral testimonies given in opposition to the CUP  and numerous written ones submitted, that were not read during the meeting. Approximately 10 vendors or their employees of Bridge Energy, spoke in favor of the conditional use permit.

The greatest voice of opposition was from the rural community members that will be surrounding the proposed plant. They are rightfully concerned about what the dehydration/compression plant will do to their property values, air quality, infrastructure, water quality and quality of life.

Several testimonies referred to the Applicable Standards for Issuance of a Conditional Use Permit in Payette County Zoning Code 8-9-3.  Several conditions were cited, but the one that prevailed the loudest was #A3. It reads:

Will be designed, constructed, operated and maintained to be harmonious and appropriate in appearance with the existing or intended character of the general vicinity and that such use will not change the essential character of the same area.

After a grueling 5-hour hearing, where everyone who wanted to, was given the opportunity to be heard, the Planning & Zoning Committee closed the hearing. They then began their meeting to discuss the concerns & issues that they had and that were raised by others in attendance.

In the first half of their discussion, the Commission appeared to be very concerned over expressed environmental concerns, as well as the “harmonious and appropriate appearance” that the plant would have on the rural New Plymouth community. But, somewhere along the way, once weariness and fatigue set in, their focus appeared to narrow considerably.

Eventually, the Commission was only focusing on what would make the Dehydration/Compression plant fit more aesthetically (harmoniously), into the landscape on SW 2nd Ave, between Butte Rd & Custer Ave. They did realize that this plant would be sitting directly in the backyards of some farms, dairies and private residential homes.

So, with that, they determined to place the burden on the County Engineer to put together some ‘Conditions’  to go along with the approval of the CUP. Primarily, the Conditions were related to landscaping, lighting, and noise.

No where in the anticipated list of Conditions, were environmental issues addressed. Issues such as: air quality, water quality, emergency response preparedness or potential traffic and road maintenance.

So, as of now, the Planning & Zoning Commission has tabled the CUP application and will revisit it at their August meeting. At that time, the County Engineer’s Conditions will be presented and the Commission will vote to either approve or deny the Conditional Use Permit.

Sadly, by the end of an almost 6-hour marathon meeting, the relevant issues of environmental safety for the community and the planet did not get addressed. Those issues are ones that are currently devastating many people’s lives in several states, after the natural oil and gas industry has come in and conducted their intrusive fracking operations.

The desired outcome of those in attendance were hoping that the Conditional Use Permit would be turned down for the SW 2nd Avenue location. But, at this time, it still looms over the minds of those who value their quality of life in their neighborhood and the planet.

For more information about the process of fracking, the following video shows a tidbit from the Sundance Movie Award winning documentary, Gasland:

The Idaho Energy Collaborative is presenting a  Living Energy Festival on Sunday, July 10th at the Shangri-la Tea Room and Cafe Lawn from 11:00 am to 5:00 pm.

This free event is offering an energy festival, workshops on renewable energy and energy efficiency, and live music. And, if you visit every booth before 3:00 pm, there will be raffle prizes to win!

Some of the businesses and organizations that you can expect to see:
Green Works Idaho, Snake River Alliance, Idaho Conservation League, Renewable Energy NW, Sustainable Community Connections, Treasure Valley Food Coalition, Think Boise First, Think Nampa First, Modus Architecture, Site Based Energy, EV Idaho, U.S. Green Building Council Idaho Chapter, Idaho Rivers United, AltEnergy, Western Energy, 5D LLC, and more!

This is a great opportunity for people in Eastern Oregon and even Western Idaho, to glean some great information about solar technology and get an up close look at it also.

The Solar Fair information is listed on Oregon Rural Action and Solar Oregon’s websites. A list of the activities are listed below:

* The Basics of Going Solar Workshop

June 18th, 9-10AM La Grande Public Library
Learn about the basics of solar technology, financing and installation from experts at Solar Oregon

* Beyond the Basics of Going Solar Workshop

June 18th, 10-11AM La Grande Public Library
Did you come to the Basics of Going Solar workshop in 2010? Well this workshop builds on what you learned last year with ample time for asking professionals specific questions about your site, system and needs. The goal is to help you make the final step to going solar.

* Vendor Fair & Simple Solar Demos

June 18th, 9AM-12PM, La Grande Farmers Market
Local and regional vendors of energy efficiency & conservation, solar and other green building technologies and services will gather at the La Grande Farmers Market so you can connect with your future solar installer or green building contractor. Oregon Rural Action members will also be demonstrating solar contraptions you can build at home including a solar cooker and solar dryer. These are great demos for kids.

* Solar Home & Business Open House

June 18th, 1-4PM; various sites around Union County
Four homes and businesses will be open for you to visit from 1-4PM on June 18th. Check out actual systems in action and talk to the homeowners and contractors that installed them.

June 19th, time TBA; North Powder
Visit a net-zero energy home in North Powder owned by Oregon Rural Action members. This home integrates the best energy efficiency and conservation technology with passive solar, solar panels and more. Visiting this home is inspirational because the homeowners have a grand plan for powering electric vehicles! A van will leave Max Square in La Grande to take people to this site.

This year, when the lights go back on, please think about what you can do beyond the hour to contribute to a more sustainable future.

A very easy way to save money is by reducing your utility expenses. There are some simple do-it-yourself fixes that you can implement right away in your home or business.

The first one requires no special skills, other than being able to screw in a light bulb. Compact Fluorescent Lamp(s), more commonly known as CFL’s, are a huge energy and money saver.

Five to 10 percent of your residential energy bill goes to pay for lighting. You may not believe that there’s much savings in using CFL’s, because of the initial cost to purchase them. But, by going onto the Energy Star website at www.energystar.gov and using the CFL Cost Calculator,
the energy and cost savings is easily demonstrated.

In our own home, we have around 56 CFL’s and so I used that number in the online cost calculator. The results showed that annually, our household saves $311 using 56 Energy Star CFL’s versus 56 conventional lights. Then, spanning the lifecycle of these same 56 CFL’s, and taking into account the cost difference of a CFL & incandescent, we will still save $3,845!

A statistic that I heard recently was; “If, every American home replaced all their incandescent lights with CFL’s: we could save enough energy to light more than 3 million homes and prevent greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to that of 800,000 cars”. Very cool, if you ask me!

Another huge power hog is what is called “Phantom” or “Vampire” power. This is the power that is drained by idle electronics that are turned off, but still plugged in. Examples of this would be TV’s, VCR’s DVR’s, computers/monitors/printers, and stereo equipment to name a few.

An easy fix for this, is to put the related equipment on a common power strip. You can then turn the power strip off, when you’re not using those items. An even better option is to purchase what’s called a “Smart Strip”.

The Smart Strip surge protector lowers your energy bills by
turning off your computer’s peripherals when your PC is shut down. Six “automatically switched” outlets are all turned off when wattage through the “control” outlet drops below a user settable threshold. The Smart Strip also has 3 “constantly hot” outlets that maintain a constant current to devices that require it.

Ceiling fans are another useful way of conserving energy. In the winter, switch your fan to the “reverse” setting and run the fan on low. This will push the warm air up by your ceiling down the walls and back into your room. It can be up to 15 degrees warmer up around your ceiling and just by doing this; you may reduce the temperature difference to within 2 degrees.

We’ve barely touched the surface of ideas to reduce energy consumption and save money. There are numerous resources available to research other basic and more advanced choices for saving energy. Be sure to check Idaho Power’s website at: www.idahopower.com/EnergyEfficiency for information on programs, tips and tools. Also, Energy Trust of Oregon is available to Oregon residents at www.energytrust.org . And, don’t forget Energy Star at www.energystar.gov for even more resources and ideas.

[This is an article that I recent wrote as a contributing writer for the Urban Liaison Lifestyle Magazine.]

There are some very easy and low, to no-cost, actions that anyone can do in defense from the cold, blistery weather penetrating their home. I’m going to share 5 easy ones here with you now:

1) Caulking and weather-stripping are huge factors in helping keep the cold out. The US Dept of Energy estimates that 5 to 30% of energy usage/costs escape via areas that need weather-stripping or caulking.

2) Turning down the water heater is another often overlooked option. Most water heaters are set at 140 degrees. Moving that down to 120 degrees is said to reduce energy costs from 6% to 10%.

3) Run your ceiling fans in the counterclockwise direction. This pushes the warm air that stays  up by the ceiling, down the walls and back into the rooms.

4) For every degree that you lower your thermostat, you’ll save 1% to 3% of your energy consumption/expense.

5) Wear heavier clothes around the house and pull out an extra blanket out. A sweater alone can add 2 to 4 degrees of warmth.

Even these 5 easy fixes can make a significant reduction in energy consumption, which saves your pocketbook and helps the planet. For even more, I’ve listed below just a few of many websites that offer fantastic tips and resources:

EnergyStar

Idaho Power

U.S Department of Energy

P.S. And, don’t think that this extreme cold weather dismisses the theory of global warming. That’s a post for another day!

It is everyone’s responsibility, from the single apartment dweller to large corporations, to find more efficient ways to consume energy. Whether you believe in global warming or not, it’s no secret that our natural resources are dwindling and/or causing damage to our planet. This is a low-cost opportunity to learn about some of the latest technology and alternatives for our energy consumption.

Looking at the program, it appears there is going to be several topics of interest pertaining to renewable energy. And, it is apparent that it won’t just focus specific to commercial or residential issues. There will be discussions on energy issues, renewable energy opportunities, grant writing and more.

There’s quite a line-up of speakers, including Roger Findley from TVCC. The keynote speaker is Mike Grainey, who is the Renewable Energy Advisor to the Director of the Oregon Business Development Department in Salem, OR. Mr Grainey alone, has over 30 years experience with renewable energy issues.

For more specific information about the Summit and to register for it, you can go to Solar Oregon’s website. I look forward to seeing many of you there!

This week, residents living in the Malheur/Payette County area have the opportunity to attend a workshop on Wednesday, December 8, 2010. Energy Trust of Oregon and Cascade Natural Gas are hosting a no-cost workshop at Ontario City Hall from 6:00 to 8:30 pm.

The workshop will be led by an energy expert, and the Home Energy I.Q. workshop will cover practical ideas that any homeowner or renter can try right away, along with bigger energy-savings strategies. All attendees receive a free Energy Saver Kit filled with tools for instant energy savings, and a copy of the book, Cut Your Energy Bills Now, by Bruce Harley.

Workshop topics include:
· Small changes that can make a big impact on energy savings
· Finding a home’s biggest energy wasters
· Low-cost and no-cost energy-saving solutions
· Energy Trust cash incentives and state tax

Admission to the workshop is free and open to all area Cascade Natural Gas customers. Registration is required. To sign up, visit www.regonline.com/energyiq or call 1-866-368-7878.

This is a great opportunity and I am anxiously anticipating attending!

The Home Star Energy Retrofit Act of 2010 is on its way. Commonly known as “cash for caulkers,” this bill has been approved in the House of Representatives and now awaits final approval by the Senate.

This is great news for homeowners and contractors. The bill provisions $6 billion for energy-efficient retrofits; it will support renovations for 3 million families; it will create an estimated 168,000 new jobs, and; it will save consumers $9.2 billion on energy bills over the next 10 years.

To cash in on upcoming rebates, homeowners will need to do their homework. The bill describes 13 types of renovations that are eligible to receive funding. Each one has unique requirements and rebate amounts. Fortunately there are a number of online resources that make it easy to wade through the legislation.
For example, Software Advice put together a starters guide to cash for caulkers. It includes an easy-to-read table with the renovation requirements, along with suggestions on how to bundle similar renovations into “project packages.”

Here’s a quick excerpt from their post. It describes the two rebate programs listed in the bill:

The Home Star bill offers two rebate programs, the “Silver Star” program and “Gold Star” program. Here are details for each:

Silver Star – Homeowners will receive a $1,000 rebate for each retrofit described in the bill. The maximum amount of rebates paid out will be $3,000 or 50% of the total cost, whichever is lower. For example, if a homeowner spends a total of $4,000 on eligible retrofits, they will get $2,000 or 50% back as a rebate. If they spend $8,000 on eligible retrofits, they would only receive $3,000 in rebates instead of $4,000 (which would be 50% of the cost).

Gold Star – To qualify for the Gold Star program, homeowners must reduce their total home energy consumption by 20%. A $3,000 rebate will be rewarded for this reduction. Homeowners can receive an additional $1,000 for each additional 5% reduction, up to a total rebate of $8,000 or 50% of the total retrofit cost. Rebates may be provided for any of the retrofits listed under the Silver Star program, or for any other energy-saving measure, including: home energy management systems, high-efficiency appliances, highly reflective roofing, awnings, canopies, and similar external fenestration (window) attachments, automatic boiler water temperature controllers, energy-efficient wood products, insulated vinyl siding, and mechanical air circulation and heat exchangers in a passive-solar home.

To learn more, visit: http://www.softwareadvice.com/articles/construction/cash-for-caulkers-the-definitive-guide-to-the-home-star-bill-1061110/