|
Who is Citizen Power, Inc. And what do they do?
Citizen Power, Inc. is incorporated as board
of directors with a slate of officers. There are no paid positions
- the board and officers are all volunteers. The organization is
currently supported primarily by Waukesha County residents in New
Berlin, Muskego, Big Bend, the Town of Vernon, and the Town of Waukesha.
Citizen Power and its supporters are working for the preservation
and improvement of the local environment. Our efforts currently
focus primarily on trying to prevent peaking power plants from being
located in New Berlin and Muskego.
Over the past year, Citizen Power mounted an
intense campaign to convince New Berlin officials that Midwest Power's
proposed peaking power plant was a bad idea. Hundreds of people
voiced objections but New Berlin's elected officials didn't listen
and they rezoned land and issued conditional use permits. They cleared
the way for a power plant. However, the power plant cannot be built
without Wisconsin Public Service Commission (PSC) approval. At the
current time, the PSC has determined that the application is deficient.
Until the deficiencies are corrected the plant is on hold. If and
when the deficiencies are corrected, then and only then will the
PSC schedule the public hearings to determine if they will issue
a permit.
Various Citizen Power officers as well as many
of our supporters told New Berlin's elected officials that they
weren't listening to the people, but the officials didn't listen
to us. So in April 2001, the citizens of New Berlin confirmed what
we were saying and gave former Mayor 'power plant cheerleader' Gatzke
the heave-hoe (in a big way.) He got tossed by a 2-1 margin....
All in all a pretty poor showing for an incumbent.
About that same time Midwest Power joined with
Constellation Power to form Wisconsin Power Projects. It is interesting
to note that early in the process, Midwest Power had indicated its
intent to sell the completed plant to a group of investors. When
Midwest Power suddenly took a partner, Citizen Power began to suspect
that our opposition has turned what Midwest thought was a slam-dunk,
into a major problem. We intend to keep meeting them at every turn
until they go away.
Citizen Power's researchers uncovered a deed
restriction on the alternate Muskego site. We believe this restriction,
combined with the presence of EPA monitoring wells on the landfill
where Midwest proposes to build in Muskego, disqualifies the site
as a legitimate alternative. Accordingly, we have asked the PSC
to void Muskego as an alternate site and force Midwest Power to
either present a viable alternative site or to withdraw the application.
As September 2001 pushes to a close, the Midwest
Power application is still incomplete - which is good news. However,
our citizen observers have noted environmental monitoring activity
in the area. We'll guess this is part of a more organized push to
try to ram this plant through - perhaps Midwest will claim the noise
of the freeway will be greater than anything the plant will produce,
maybe they will even be seeking a noise variance - our contacts
have tell us that claims of low noise and vibration levels are nothing
but B.S... We can't help but wonder if the plant will be able to
pass our public nuisance ordinance.
Meanwhile, El Paso Power has been courting city
officials in Muskego. As noted in news briefs on the main page,
it has already gotten ugly. Muskego officials have violated their
own ordinance when they illegally removed some 'no power plant'
signs - and that doesn't begin to address the freedom of speech
issues.
More details will be provided in future page
updates.
In the meantime, what can you do to help stop
these plants? First and foremost get involved! Participate in the
process and make your voice heard. Let your public officials that
you don't want our ground water squandered. Let them know that you
don't want our air further polluted. Oh, and don't limit yourself
to local officials, tell your representatives in Madison.
If the project ever reaches the public hearing
phase, Citizen Power will be keeping you informed. We will need
you to make time to come and tell the PSC that we don't want it.
A turnout of thousands at the PSC hearings will make a big impression.
Watch these pages for further information.
This site is
always under construction, visit us often to check for updates.
THANKS
|
