A Scoping meeting for the proposed mega-3,500-acre Daggett photovoltaic solar project will be held on Wednesday, April 11, 2018, at 4 P.M. at the Daggett Community Center.

    A Scoping meeting is where the project is introduced and the public is given an opportunity to express the environmental concerns that they wish to have addressed in the upcoming Environmental Impact Report (EIR) that is required under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).

    As the proposed project's disturbance of 3,500-acres of land is immediately upwind to Newberry Springs in a Sand Transport Path, the negative impact upon the health of Newberry citizens is expected to be considerable.  Numerous other economic and environmental negative impacts against Newberry Springs are expected.

    The proposed Daggett solar project, and another proposed solar project targeting inside Newberry Springs, was discussed at the March 27, Newberry CSD meeting.  Notable attendees at the meeting included the Honorable Paul F. Smith, San Bernardino County Planning Commissioner; Terri Rahhal, County Planning Director of the Land Use Services Department; and Pat Flanagan, board member of the Morongo Basin Conservation Association, a member of the Morongo Basin Municipal Advisory Committee, and an advisor on the Technical Advisory Committee of the Mojave Desert AQMD.

    For the third consecutive monthly board meeting, the CSD Board was requested to release the Kiewit Pacific trust funds that have been languishing without purpose for 14-years.  At no time in the past has a purpose for the funds been more important.

    The obstructive board members blocking the release of the funds that belong to the community, are Robert Springer, Larry Clark, Paula Deel, and Victoria Paulsen.  Board member Robert Shaw has continued to support the release of the funds.

    The need to release of the funds has been critical as Newberry Springs needs professional expertise in addressing the community's protections under CEQA and other legal aspects of the proposed solar projects.  An important time to have expert representation is at the Daggett meeting.  The obstructive Board members in the dereliction of their duty have left Newberry Springs highly vulnerable.

    County Planning Commissioner Paul F. Smith (left) stands upon several feet of windblown sand while visiting the Mountain View Road solar facility in Newberry Springs.  The March 27th tour was assisted by CEQA NOW president, Robert Berkman, pictured right.  The Third District Commissioner wanted to acquire first-hand knowledge of the area and that of Sand Transport Paths.  The fence height (excluding the barbed wire) is 6-feet.

    Terri Rahhal, County Planning Director, spoke at the Newberry CSD meeting and answered questions from the public.  Rahhal is the driver behind the Land Use Services Department (LUSD) that has repeatedly shown an unhealthy bias in benefiting special business interests over that of communities.

    After LUSD has assisted the Daggett solar developers for over a year to develop the necessary hundreds of pages to file their solar application, the LUSD has only presented a seven-page Notice of Preparation (NOP) for the 3,500-acre Daggett project.  In comparison, the 484-acre Ord Mountain Solar NOP came with a 102-page Initial Study for Scoping.  Newberry Springs is attending the Daggett Scoping meeting with little background knowledge and no professional representation.

    The LUSD should not be working with the developers on the proposed location which is in a Sand Transport Path and on a project for which the siting does not qualify under CEQA, the 'Required Findings for Approvals of a Commercial Solar Energy Facility' under the San Bernardino County Development Code § 84.29.035, and federal law.

    The deadline to submit written comments for inclusion into the EIR Scoping process is April 26, 2018.  The County LUSD must have the submission by 4:30 P.M.

    Winds blowing through the local Sand Transport Path in the Silver Valley last Saturday (April 7th) picked-up particulate matter on the west side of the Daggett Airport and blew a sand river across the military's helicopter tiedown area.  With the proposed blading on the west side of the airport for a portion of the proposed solar development, far greater sand events are expected to impact the aircrafts and airport operations.