$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

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.

Important Public Hearing Regarding Scholl Canyon Landfill

On Wednesday, March 21st at 5:00 PM, the Glendale Planning Commission will be hearing oral comments and will be voting whether to approve the Mitigated Negative Declaration (MND) for the Biogas Renewable Generation Project (Power Plant) at the Scholl Canyon Landfill.  Meeting location is  633 E. Broadway, Room 105, in Glendale.

What this means is the City is trying to fast track the installation of a new power generating system on top of our landfill without a full and proper analysis of environmental hazards.  An Environmental Impact Report (EIR) would more fully examine these hazards and would also provide alternatives solutions.  GOCHA is calling for a full EIR report.  Be advised that if this MND is approved on Wednesday, the power plant will be built on the landfill.

It is important that we get a big turnout for this very important meeting. We need the city to hear us. 

Please see attached flyer and plan to attend this important meeting regarding a power plant that would affect all of us in the canyon as well as in surrounding areas.

Wednesday, March 21, 2018 5:00 pm

Municipal Services Building 633 E. Broadway Room 105

Public Hearing Flyer

Scholl Canyon Landfill to be Discussed at Tonight's City Council Meeting

The City of Glendale has proposed an "experimental" Anaerobic Digestion Facility (AD facility, AKA "Biogas Renewable Generation Project") and a Power Generator to be located at the Scholl Canyon Landfill. An alternative waste management facility (AD or otherswise) is a great idea, but NOT in a residential area--not at Glendale's Dump. 

 

What we ask of the City of Glendale:

 

1. Find a non-residential area for the Anaerobic Digestion Facility--don't locate it at Scholl Canyon Landfill.

 

2.  To CLOSE the dump by June 2028--revise terms of the Joint Powers Agreement that's coming up for renewal in October 2017 to include this final closure date.

 

Working with CFLA and the residents of Glendale, Eagle Rock, and Pasadena we are trying to get a large group of people down to the Glendale City Council Meeting tonight (August 29th), to voice our concerns about the proposed projects up at Scholl Canyon Landfill.

 

The City NEEDS to hear from us, they MUST see a large crowd of concerned residents present at their chambers if we want to make a difference.  Please join us and bring a friend along. All you have to do is be present--that's it.  Several CFLA members will be speaking during Oral Communications. 

 

Tuesday, August 29, approximately 7:00pm

Glendale City Hall

613 E. Broadway, 2nd Floor

Glendale, CA  91206

 

Wear a blue top, if you have one--any shade of blue is fine.

GOCHA sponsors Glendale City Council Candidates Forum

There will be a Glendale City Council Candidates Forum sponsored by GOCHA and Verdugo Woodlands HOA. Join us as we hear where the candidates stand on the Scholl Canyon Landfill and Proposed Power Plant. 

Glendale City Council Candidates Forum

Saturday, March 25 7:00 PM

First Congressional Church 2001 Canada Blvd. Glendale, CA 91208