USFS to Review Geothermal Leases Near Mt. Shasta
By Paul Boerger, Mt Shasta Herald
March 8, 2006

Eleven pending lease applications for geothermal power on the flanks of 14,162 foot Mount Shasta will be reviewed by the US Forest Service this year.

According to the Forest Service, the lease applications by the Bend, Oregon based Vulcan Power Company date from 1992. The sites ring the mountain and consist of approximately 18,000 acres.

However, Vulcan Power CEO Steve Munson said the company is only interested in developing one of the sites, in the Hotlum area, referred to by Munson as the Northwest Military Pass Project.

The Forest Service says the 11 lease applications include sites west of Panther Meadows, south and west of the Mt. Shasta Board and Ski Park, the Hotlum area north of the mountain where Military Pass approaches Highway 97, above Sand Flat, and an area near Brewer Creek on the south side.

Munson said to the best of his knowledge the company had given up the leases near the Ski Park.

“We're focused totally on the Military Pass Hotlum area north of the mountain below the tree line. Other areas are not on our radar,” Munson said. “We have previously voluntarily dropped our leases in the ski areas.”

Munson said the area the company intends to develop “is within less than 5,000 acres.”

Munson said “very preliminary rough estimates” are that Siskiyou County would receive royalties of approximately 25 percent of the $500,000 in revenue the plant will produce.

Geothermal power is generated by drilling deep wells to tap heated water and steam to turn electrical turbines.

Proponents say geothermal is a clean renewable energy resource that is preferable to fossil fuels, coal and nuclear power.

Opponents claim geothermal plants will pollute the environment with toxic chemicals brought up by the drilling process to harness underground steam. Additional issues for those opposed to the plants are related to viewshed and environmental concerns regarding transmission lines, cooling towers and roads that accompany geothermal generation.

District ranger Mike Hupp said the Shasta-McCloud management unit, in which the leases lie, will conduct an Environmental Impact Statement review and make a recommendation to the Bureau of Land Management to one of the following:

Hupp said the decision to review the leases is a result of the Energy Act of 2005 and the Appropriations Act of 2006 that “requires us by law to analyze these applications.”

“It specifies the Shasta-Trinity National Forest,” Hupp said.

“An EIS reviews the environmental consequences of a project and considers available information and informs the public as to the social, physical, biological and economic impacts,” Hupp said. “The EIS will recommend as to whether the BLM should proceed with awarding the leases.”

Hupp said the BLM will make the final determination as to whether the project should proceed.

“If the leases are approved, the BLM would give permission for further exploration,” Hupp said. “If fully developed, the project could include drill pads, roads, pipelines, power plants and transmission lines.”

Munson said Vulcan Power is aiming for a 30 megawatt plant with a possible additional plant of the same size. He said he expected the permit process to take a year to 18 months to complete.

“Geothermal power, when developed properly, is environmentally benign and is 24/7 base load power,” Munson said. “It's much cleaner than natural gas or coal. The technology we're planning will use the most benign technology available.”

Munson said among the mitigations the company plans are the following:

“We seriously doubt the plant will be visible from 100 yards away,” Munson said. “We will seriously consider, where possible, burying the transmission lines.”

Munson said the company has established a Native Restoration Fund that will contribute five percent of the plant's income to a variety of local projects under the auspices of a Native Plant Habitat Restoration Project and a Cultural Restoration Project, each of which would receive up to 50 percent of the funds.

Munson said the Cultural Restoration Fund could be used for Native American interests and to help towns that have suffered losses due to the decline of the timber industry.

The Native Plant Habitat Restoration Project will assist in restoring native plants.

“We're already looking at a native plant restoration project in the area,” Munson said.

He said the Native Restoration Fund will have a five person board, three of whom will be from the area.

Munson, who cites his Cherokee heritage, said the company is sensitive to Native American concerns.

“We have a real empathy for Native American cultural beliefs,” Munson said. “We have ethnology studies that show where people lived the bulk of the time. We will devote funds to protect camping sites and pictographs.”

In addition, Munson said the company is interested in talking to the Native American leadership about projects that could include scholarships, contributing to a Native American cultural heritage museum and assisting a tribe in purchasing land such as a historic river site.

Munson said he has a long standing relationship with Mount Shasta and is interested in hearing from citizens on the project.

“I've been in love with Mount Shasta for 60 years,” Munson said. “We're frankly open to feedback from the public.”

Vulcan Power can be reached at 1183 Northwest Wall Street, Suite 6 Bend, Oregon.

Hupp said a previous geothermal lease by California Energy Inc. in the 1980s had resulted in the drilling of two exploratory wells, one of which was off Everitt Memorial Highway.

“They did not prove economically viable,” Hupp said. “There are no known geothermal resources on Mt. Shasta.”

A long running, ongoing battle is currently being fought over a geothermal project by Calpine Corporation at the Medicine Lake Highlands.

In addition to environmental concerns, Native American interests cite the sacredness of the Highlands. A protest by several hundred people opposed to the Highlands project was held at Calpine's San Jose, California headquarters in January of this year.

After numerous appeals and several lawsuits going back several years, Calpine has been given the go-ahead to begin clearing well sites this year.

Opponents have vowed to continue opposing the project including physically blocking the site.

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