HOLLISTER, Calif. –(ENEWSPF)–June 19, 2015. Today the Sierra Club and Santa Clara Valley Audubon Society challenged the County of San Benito’s certification of its final environmental impact report for the Panoche Valley Solar Project. The lawsuit stated the County failed to consider the dire effect of California’s historic drought on wildlife that are already on a path to extinction without intervention. The county also ignored information about the Panoche Valley’s role as a climate change refuge for at least one endangered species, and about how the project could also adversely affect vital groundwater resources in the area.
“The Panoche Valley is a place of unique ecological value, important for protecting California’s natural legacy,” said Sarah Friedman, Campaign Representative with the Sierra Club. “It is home to endangered wildlife that have already been pushed to the brink by California’s historic drought. If this land is developed, it will be a potentially irreversible blow to several species already teetering on the edge of extinction. While more solar power in California is a good thing, the Panoche Valley must be protected from any type of development.
“The County’s environmental review ignored new information about the extent of California’s drought and how it may affect the ability of the wildlife species to survive and recover. It ignored new information about recent, severe declines in the population of endangered giant kangaroo rat, and the effects of that decline in prey on the critically endangered San Joaquin kit fox. The County also ignored new scientific evidence about the effects of climate change on the blunt-nosed leopard lizard and the Panoche Valley’s importance in providing a future climate refuge for that species.”
Developing the Panoche Valley’s imperiled grasslands could push several species closer to permanent disappearance from California, including the San Joaquin kit fox, giant kangaroo rat, and the blunt-nosed leopard lizard. California’s Giant Kangaroo Rat population has declined by 95% since 2010, partly due to the drought. Approximately 42% of the Giant Kangaroo Rat’s grassland habitat has been lost as the land dries out and converts into desert. Additionally, the valley provides a home for at least a dozen protected birds, causing the Audubon Society to designate it as an Important Bird Area of Global Concern.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service identified the Panoche Valley as one of three core areas necessary for the survival and recovery of the highly endangered San Joaquin kit fox, as well as the endangered blunt-nosed leopard lizard and giant kangaroo rat. The Panoche Valley is the last of these three areas to be undisturbed. Developing the habitat found on the valley floor could preclude recovery of these endangered species.
“The good news is that there are many alternatives to this harmful project,” Friedman said. “California has a wealth of locations suitable for solar power. Agricultural and environmental interests, together with local governments, strongly support developing solar power on many hundreds of thousands of acres of salt-affected lands in nearby Fresno and Kings Counties. Together we can make developing these lands a reality. As our state makes a welcome transition to renewable energy, we can and should develop clean energy in a way that protects vital natural resources.”
Many in the valley’s agricultural community also oppose the project. Local ranchers currently maintain the majority of the valley floor as grassland, with small pockets of vegetable, fruit and livestock farming in between. This sustainable approach protects space for wildlife, conserves water and protects the valley from desertification in these times of drought.
“The project would cover half of the valley floor, decimating an irreplaceable landscape of unique ecological value, and the groundwater impacts will worsen drought conditions at the worst possible time for the delicate ecosystem of the Valley,” said local rancher Kim Williams. “That’s why our community is fighting back against the misguided and ecologically destructive Panoche Valley project.”
Background:
Studies have found that the endangered Giant Kangaroo Rat has declined by 95 percent since 2010, and the drought has already eliminated 42 percent of the grasslands the Giant Kangaroo Rat lives on. Many are starving to death as the drought converts some of the last remaining grasslands into desert.
Data collected during our historic drought show an incredibly steep decline in the Panoche Valley population of Giant Kangaroo Rat, and that this decline is continuing. Giant Kangaroo Rat are a keystone species which many species, including the endangered San Joaquin Kit Fox, depend, and further damage to the species could cause impacts throughout the ecosystem.
The Panoche Valley, located south of San Jose in San Benito County, is one of only three core recovery areas designated by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service as necessary for the survival and recovery of endangered species native to Central California’s dwindling grasslands, including the Giant Kangaroo Rat, the San Joaquin Kit Fox, and the Blunt-Nosed Leopard Lizard.
A solar developer is attempting to build a large project there that would remove this habitat and harm these species. The environmental review of the proposed project by San Benito County failed to adequately consider the effect of the drought, impacts to endangered species and impacts to the groundwater aquifer.
Today’s lawsuit alleges the County’s environmental review of the project failed to comply with CEQA in that it fails to adequately disclose, analyze and/or mitigate the Project’s environmental impacts. In particular, the County’s Supplemental Environmental Impact Report failed to consider impacts to the groundwater aquifer or propose mitigation for groundwater impacts and ignored substantial new information on the role of the Panoche Valley as a climate change refugia. The County also ignored information on California’s historic drought and the drought’s effects on threatened and endangered species including new information on the rapid decline of the endangered giant kangaroo rat, a keystone species on which the critically endangered San Joaquin Kit Fox relies for prey.
The Panoche Valley Solar project is not necessary to meet California’s climate or renewable energy goals. The Nature Conservancy identified hundreds of thousands of acres in the Western San Joaquin Valley alone of low biodiversity and agricultural value. Developing the Westlands Water District lands in nearby Kings and Fresno Counties for solar has broad support from farming and environmentalists, who are working together with state and local governments and the solar industry to find a way to develop this amazing solar resource and provide a win for the environment.
According to the California Energy Commission, there are 55 large-scale solar projects already under development in nearby Monterey, Fresno, Merced and Kings counties that are either approved or seeking permits. These projects, if completed, would produce a total of 1929 MW of clean energy and between 11,000 and 15,000 job-years according to estimates by California’s Clean Energy Future.
You can view the full text of the final petition here.
Source: www.sierraclub.org
