Protect Decker Canyon from Net-Loss Energy Scheme

WHEREAS the Cleveland National Forest of Riverside, Orange, and San Diego Counties contains important watersheds with some of the greatest biological diversity in the country, while a Cleveland National Forest draft management plan recommended wilderness designation for the Morrell Canyon area of Riverside County which is one canyon south of Decker Canyon; and

WHEREAS the Nevada Hydro company applied political pressure in order to get the recommendation for wilderness designation at Morrell Canyon withdrawn in order to accommodate an unusual hydroelectric project in the area by this company at either Morrell or Decker Canyon known as LEAPS (Lake Elsinore Advanced Pump Storage); and

WHEREAS Nevada Hydro proposes to build a 240-foot-tall dam near the San Mateo Wilderness at Decker Canyon, as well as 30 miles of 180-foot-tall transmission towers for powerlines, in order to pump Lake Elsinore water up the hill at night when there are cheaper electricity rates, and then release the water downhill during the day to turn turbines and generate electricity which would bring profits to the company due to the difference between daytime and nighttime electricity rates;

BE IT THEREFORE RESOLVED that the California Democratic Council, meeting in convention in Los Angeles on August 10-12, 2007, opposes the Nevada Hydro proposal targeting the Decker Canyon area of the biologically diverse Cleveland National Forest, supports wilderness designation for the Morrell Canyon area of the Cleveland National Forest which was earlier proposed for the LEAPS project, and calls for Decker Canyon to act as a buffer for nearby wilderness where activities such as machinery use and powerlines should be discouraged due to the fire danger in this interface area; and