$120M FOR SCHOLL LANDFILL POWER PLANT? TOO RISKY, TOO DIRTY AND WAY TOO EXPENSIVE!

Glendale City Council will vote on January 24, 2023 to start building a Power Plant at the Scholl Landfill. We urge everyone in the city to oppose this project because it is:

 TOO DIRTY

• The proposed plant will produce significant increases in air pollutants that are harmful to health and specifically to brain development in children. A cap-and-trade priority reserve credit to offset the costs will not remove the pollution from the air. WE STILL BREATHE THEM.

• Greenhouse gas emissions are also expected to be significantly higher for the engines than for the existing flares. We all know climate change is real. Let’s do everything we can to reduce these emissions!

 TOO RISKY

• There is an increased fire risk from the high pressure compressed gas line that feeds the engines. A rupture in the line could injure someone 200 feet away. The plant will sit atop the Verdugo Earthquake Fault and within an extremely high-risk California Fair Plan fire zone.

• An earthquake could also cause an 18-thousand-gallon tank of aqueous ammonia to crack open. 

• Fourteen pieces of equipment with decibels between 99 and 120 (very noisy) would permanently increase ambient noise levels 24/7/365 and would impact the future recreation and open space on the closed landfill. We do not want to hear the high-pitched whine of a compressor or the constant rumble of machinery. 

 TOO EXPENSIVE

• Since the Environmental Impact Review was approved, GWP’s cost estimate ballooned to about $120 million, at the same time the expected power dropped to 11 MW, not including maintenance downtime.

• The landfill should close in 2025 when it reaches its licensed fill limit. By state law, organic material must be diverted from landfills and because of the landfill closure, the methane to drive the engines will inevitably drop over time, decreasing the power.

 Is the power plant worth the risks and the money?

For lower cost and cleaner energy, the city should invest in solar and batteries, starting with previously closed portions of the landfill.

Please thank city council members for their vote not to delay the landfill closure and for the intensive 4 months of informational meetings and tours.  Please tell them you oppose the project.

Email addresses:

•  Mayor Kassakhian – Akassakhian@Glendaleca.gov

• Council member Elen Asatryan – Easatryan@Glendaleca.gov

• Council member Dan Brotman – Dbrotman@Glendaleca.gov

• Council member Paula Devine – Pdevine@Glendaleca.gov

• Council member Ara Najarian – Anajarian@Glendaleca.gov

 Please attend City Council meeting on January 24th at 6 pm.

Glendale City Council Meeting
January 24, 2023
6pm
613 East Broadway
Glendale, CA 91206

Community Meeting on New Park at Scholl Canyon 12/7/22

Glendale Community Services and Parks is hosting its first community meeting to envision the new park at Scholl Canyon. The meeting will be Wednesday, December 7th from 6 to 8 pm at the Joe Bridges Clubhouse at Glenoaks Park. This is an opportunity to share what type of recreation amenities you would like to see after the landfill closes (estimated to be the end of 2025) and is capped. Please come and participate.

Community Meeting on New Park at Scholl Canyon
Wednesday, December 7, 2022
6:00pm - 8:00pm
Joe Bridges Clubhouse
Glenoaks Park

Stop the Scholl Power Plant Now

On October 6, 2021, the Glendale Planning Commission UNANIMOUSLY rejected Glendale Water and Power’s plan to construct a power plant at Scholl Canyon Landfill.  But then on November 30, the City Council Members, despite overwhelming community opposition, overruled the Planning Commission’s sound and thoughtful decision.  Now it’s up to the citizens of Glendale and nearby communities to STOP this power plant and the effects it will have on OUR HEALTH, OUR HOMES AND OUR HILLSIDES.

GOCHA is asking for donations to help finance legal action to stop a power plant from being built at the Scholl Canyon Landfill.  Since we are a volunteer non-profit organization, we cannot pursue this legal action without you.

Click on the link below to learn more, donate and watch a video by GOCHA President, Rick Marquis.

 https://gofund.me/e969e69c

To  donate by check, mail donations to:

GOCHA
P.O. Box 9949, Glendale CA 91226-0949

This power plant would affect all of us, not just those who live in the surrounding canyons but all the residents of Glendale, Eagle Rock, and Pasadena.

Thank you for your support and generous donations.

GOCHA IS A 501c4 organization.  Donations are not tax deductible.  All proceeds will be used for current and future legal fees related to Scholl Landfill.

Rally Against BioGas Plant at Scholl Landfill 11/23 4:30PM

The Glendale City Council will hear Glendale Water & Power’s appeal to the rejection of the BioGas Power Plant that was decided last month on November 30th. We are planning a rally at City Hall on Tuesday 11/23/21 at 4:30pm.

We are hoping to get as many people as we can so that the City Council knows that there are many citizens that are opposed to the building of this power plant in the fire-prone hills near our canyon.

TUESDAY 11/23
4:30pm
Steps of Glendale City Hall
613 East Broadway
Glendale, CA 91206

City Council to Vote on BioGas Plant at Scholl Canyon Landfill 11/30/21

Glendale Water and Power (GWP) has proposed a dirty bioGas Power Plant to be built on Glendale's fire-prone hillsides at Scholl Landfill. The Sustainability and the Planning Commission voted AGAINST this proposed project in October, but GWP has appealed the decision so it will come up for a vote at City Council on Tuesday, 11/30/2021. We must speak up for the environment and our health!

It is crucial that we voice our concerns NOW, or we'll have to bear the burden of an increase in pollution and emissions, increased fire risk in an already VERY High Fire Hazard zone, disturbance of wildlife on over 2.2 acres of land, increased ambient noise levels in quiet canyon neighborhoods, etc. In a time when we should be planning for more green and environmentally friendly options of power generation, GWP has proposed turning an area currently zoned for Special Recreation use into an Industrial area. There is already an existing Power Plant in Glendale in an industrial area, with a fully-functional methane pipeline connecting Scholl Landfill to the existing power plant--and that Power Plant is expected to undergo a major overhaul soon. We don't need a second gas Power Plant in Glendale!

Please use the suggested talking points to draft your own unique letter of opposition to this dirty gas power plant project, and email it to Glendale's Mayor and City Council Members well in advance of 11/30:

Mayor Paula Devine:  pdevine@glendaleca.gov

Dan Brotman:             dbrotman@glendaleca.gov

Vrej Agajanian:           vagajanian@glendaleca.gov

Ardy Kassakhian:        akassakhian@glendaleca.gov 

Ara Najarian:              anajarian@glendaleca.gov

Call and leave a message: (818) 548-4844

Mail:

Management Services - Room 200
613 E. Broadway
Glendale, CA 91206-4391

The City Council Meeting can be viewed on Charter Cable Channel 6 or streamed online at:

https://www.glendaleca.gov/government/departments/management-services/gtv6/live-video-stream

For public comments and questions during the meeting call (818) 937-8100. City staff will be submitting these questions and comments in real time to the appropriate person during the Planning Commission meeting.

Informational Meeting Regarding Scholl Canyon Landfill Power Plant

The City of Glendale is proposing to build a Power Plant at Scholl Canyon Landfill with an exposed 3,500 foot long natural gas pipeline, increasing pollutants and contaminants, noise, the risk of fire in an already designated Very High Fire Zone as well as being in close proximity to an active earthquake fault. The landfill area is currently NOT zoned for industrial use--but zoning will have to change to accomodate this proposed project. The 40 ft stack height of the proposed Power Plant and its accompanying water tank will be visible, affecting views and the aesthetic of our beautiful hillsides. We are opposed to such a project in an area that includes residential neighborhoods (Glendale, Eagle Rock, Pasadena) as well as eleven schools within a 2 mile radius of the proposed project. We expect the City of Glendale to consider the health and well-being of its residents over profits. We request that the City continue concrete plans for closure of the landfill, which is expected to reach capacity in the next few years--and begin developing plans to convert the area into recreational use, as per the terms of the original agreement.

Goal:

We are asking the city to commit to closing the landfill by 2028 and not pursue a Power Plant project at Scholl Landfill. We recognize that the City must manage the methane produced from the landfill, and ask that they do a more rigorous study of alternatives--as it is now, information about alternatives is not clearly stated or presented in the EIR.

Zoom Meeting:

A group of residents working to respond to the proposed Power Plant project at Scholl Landfill will hold an informational Zoom meeting on Monday, August 23 at 7:30pm to educate the public of the dangers associated with this project, discuss an action plan and answer questions.

Monday, 8/23/2021 at 7:30pm

Join Zoom Meeting

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83183581966...

Meeting ID: 831 8358 1966

Passcode: 7420

New LTE Cell Tower Being Proposed at Scholl Canyon Landfill

Apologies for the last minute post, but today, May 12, 2020 at 6:00pm there will be a virtual meeting held by the Los Angeles Regional Interoperable Communications System (LA-RICS) to discuss the construction of the proposed cell tower. This is not a City of Glendale project and does not require approval of the City Council. LA-RICS is inviting the public to join the meeting to find out more about this initiative.

The link to join the meeting can be found below.

Join Microsoft Teams Meeting

The presentation that will be shown in the meeting can be found here:

Informational Presentation

It does appear that the proposed cell tower will be seen from parts of our canyon. The presentation does not say what cellular companies will take advantage of this tower. Hopefully that will be discussed in the meeting tonight.

Scholl Canyon Biogas Project Goes Back for More Environmental Review

According to a Glendale News-Press article, the proposed biogas plant being recommended for the landfill must get a more thorough review in large part due to the outcry by concerned citizens affected by the plant (GOCHA members as well as residents of Eagle Rock).

Glendale City Council Members voted 4-1 to initiate an environmental impact report for the proposed plant. You can read the full article here.