IMPACTS

A number of wildlife species that call Maxwell Park home. The above image was taken very near where the proposed Geothermal Power Plant is proposed to be built. Lost Creek Ranch and State Trust Land (Maxwell Park) is a migratory path for a large herd of elk that moves between the Mt. Princeton forest area to the valley floor for feeding on the grasses and then on to the Arkansas River.

There are also a number of other species in the area, including moose, mule deer, bobcat, mountain lion, bear, and numerous smaller species like red fox and snowshoe hares. Hawks and eagles are also frequently seen hunting in the area. A sighting of lynx has been reported in the area too.

Deep exploratory drilling, the years of construction and a fully operational geothermal utility plant in this area will negatively impact all the wildlife who use these lands, perhaps permanently.

Exploratory drilling occurred near Chalk Creek for a geothermal utility plant around 2013 and the community there reported it was years before the mountain lions returned. The Chalk Creek drilling was reportedly shut down by Colorado Parks and Wildlife due to mountain lion activity in the area - why would Maxwell Park’s State Trust Land be any different?

The wildlife in the area are the original NIMBY’s (not in my backyard) stakeholders, and deserve a strong voice in preserving their range.

Waterways

The proposed drilling and geothermal utility power plant location in Maxwell Park’s State Trust Land is directly near and can potentially impact a jurisdictional waterway. Dry Creek (commonly referred to as Lost Creek) has seasonal flows directly to the Arkansas River, and has known wetlands protected by the US Army Corps of Engineers. Dry Creek serves as the water source for many of the migrating wildlife in the area, and is also part of the reason why the ponderosa and fir trees in the area began and have become so numerous - providing needed shelter for local wildlife.

Additional Key Environment Concerns

Primary concerns include: earthquakes, wells drying up, ground water & surface water quality, noise, air quality, night skies, and view shed. Each of these is discussed below.

There is no geothermal utility plant of any kind in Colorado, but we can look toward other states and also the oil and gas industry in this state for reference.

• Earthquake Potential: While the project developers claim that no earthquakes will result from the drilling or hot water extraction, Save Our Arkansas Valley has learned that a binary plant in Nevada does not produce at its rated capacity because they cannot inject the used water back into the ground at a sufficient rate without fracking. Fracking is the forcing of the remaining used water back down to the originating reservoir at extremely high pressures. These high pressures are known to result in earthquakes (think Oklahoma’s oil & gas industry).

• Dry Wells: As a result of the exploratory drilling in the Chalk Creek area around 2013 by Mt. Princeton Geothermal, 2 local residents’ private wells nearest the drilling went dry. With 1,900 private wells within 5 miles of the now proposed Maxwell Park location, AND given the dependence of already-established local tourism to visit numerous thermal hot springs resorts in the area -  the impact to these residents and commercial operations could be detrimental. “The ground required to drill a well must also be permeable, to allow both for the large-scale movement of hot water and transport of heat to the surface.”Permeability equals contamination pathways, which includes heating of the residential well reservoir. Any impact - from their wells/sources going dry, becoming contaminated, or cooled in the case of hot springs - would be catastrophic. Drilling at the project’s required depths of 6,000 feet has not been done in this area and is not the norm for any industrial work in the State, so the real potential impacts, short or long-term to groundwater reservoir reserves is not proven.

• Water Quality: While designs and precautions can be taken to reduce the chance of contamination from the binary solution’s release, a negative possibility remains that cannot go without note. The binary plant in Nevada had retention ponds to evaporate liquids from operations, which birds and small animals have access to and can be potentially harmful to the environment. During summer monsoons, the ponds could overflow contributing to surface water contamination. There is the potential for pipe failures resulting in environmental damage from the extremely hot water being piped - potentially all along Rodeo road 7 miles - all the way to the prison / BV and back. Contamination is a possibility as pipe leakage from the drilled wells could occur. Potential groundwater contamination has already been discussed, and could result from the initial drilling and/or the ongoing operation of the well sites.

• NOTE: The State of Colorado and the US EPA have a sub-par history on collecting enough performance bonds to adequately mitigate environmental mishaps evidenced by (1) the thousands of oil & gas wells in Colorado that have been abandoned that the State is now responsible to cap because businesses have declared bankruptcy (at taxpayers expense), and (2) the millions spent in years past by EPA/Superfund in mining remediation in Leadville.

• Noise: Any drilling operations will immediately disrupt the quiet peace and tranquility of the area, and the 3 to 5 year construction period would be just as detrimental. The increased road traffic alone poses a risk to recreational uses of Rodeo Road and travelers alike. If the plant goes on to operate, the State’s noise level limitation is grossly inadequate at this remote, wildlife sensitive area without impacting all 4 and 2-legged stakeholders. Residents in the area bought property here for the quiet and solitude, and having “moderate” constant noise (50 dB) 24x7x365 in the wilderness will be a nuisance and cause disruption, not accounting for sound wave effects from nearby Mt. Princeton. The project’s inevitable removal of trees and potential siting changes to protect Dry Creek would serve to worsen the noise pollution.

• Air Quality: Drilling often causes concentrated releases of naturally occurring pollutants, like methane, which can be harmful to humans and animals. Methane is a known climate-impacting pollutant. Binary plants have heat exchangers to cool the water, which will create some amount of steam. Steam will be especially visible in the winter months. Driving into valley on Hwy 285, visitors’ and residents’ first glimpse Mt. Princeton will plainly include the industrial geothermal utility power plant at its base, along with steam, the majority of the year. The release of heat could have heating effects to the air itself, creating micro climes that impact the local weather, temperatures, and humidity directly in the area. Most facilities in other states have an abundance of surrounding empty lands with no monitoring required of such conditions. Consequently, an unknown unquantifiable risk remains.

• Night Skies: An attraction for the area is the dark skies at night evidenced by Browns Canyon National Monument’s recent designation as a Dark Sky Park. While Chaffee County codes require downward lighting, the potential scale of the lighting required for a power plant operation would inevitably impact the remarkable dark skies in the area. The project site is only a few miles from Browns Canyon.

• View Shed: While Chaffee County codes aim to protect our view shed in the valley, there is no way to mitigate the impacts of the proposed plant to views. Whether it be pipelines laid above ground all along Rodeo Road to get hot water to the prison/BV and back, or for piping from wells to the plant, or for operations - the piping itself will be an eyesore. The plant will be above ground, up to 90 feet tall including the cooling towers, as per the Nevada site visit - visible from everywhere as you initially enter the valley on Hwy 285, all along Aspen Ridge and the Four Mile areas, and, of course, along Rodeo Road and to the local residents. Nathrop residents could have steam plumes added to their Mt. Princeton views in winter. Given the developer’s intent to expand the plant to 40 MW, which would necessitate  an increase to the nearby electrical service, the distribution and transmission line improvements will also impact the view shed. The developers have also stated their intent to have this Maxwell Park location being the first in a series of plants up and down the valley - the view shed (and all the potential impacts listed here) will impact the valley by magnitudes when this expansion occurs.

A full economic analysis of the project has not been shared with stakeholders, though summary information indicates very few full-time jobs will result from the new power plant. Power plants today are often managed remotely. In a presentation by MPG to the City of Salida in 2014, MPG stated that the plant there would be mostly constructed off-site. The Icelandic investors have stated their single calling is to sell their technology so their nation can benefit.

Published data cites the installed cost of geothermal electrical power is one of the most expensive, more than DOUBLE the cost of wind and almost 4X the cost of solar! The Valley would be better served by implementing an energy model with less risk, such as large scale solar with utility scale batteries.

In the pending cost-benefit analysis from the developers, mitigating each of the environmental risks over the life of the project needs to be included.

Many ask “Why Maxwell Park? Why the Arkansas Valley?” It’s simple: PURE ECONOMICS. By using State Trust land and existing distribution lines for this first phase, the project is significantly less expensive for the developers. State grant funds should not be included in the developer’s economic analysis.