At 7am this Saturday I’ll be starting the San Diego 100-mile run with about 150 other runners in the Laguna Mountains.  We will go around Big Laguna Lake then north up the Pacific Crest Trail, across Sunrise Highway and down Noble Canyon to Pine Valley.  We then head back up Noble Canyon to Pioneer Mail, Stonewall Mine, Stonewall Peak, over to Cuyamaca Peak and then here and there through the night.  I’ll end up at the finish line in the Laguna’s hopefully by 11am on Sunday.

The special part about this run is that we have anonymous donors who will contribute $200 for each mile that I run (up to $20,000) to The Protect Our Communities Foundation (POC).  The only hitch is that the donors want POC to find matching donations.  If we only get $12,000 in other donations, then the major donor will give us a $12,000 match.  So, for those who can afford to make a donation before August 15th, we will get a match!

We need all the help we can get to stop the Goliath (SDGE/Sempra) from building a transmission line that is clearly not needed and will cause irreparable damage to our beloved backcountry, including our public and private lands, and will most likely contribute to an uncontrollable fire catastrophe like in 2003 and 2007.

If you are inclined please make a donation (Support POC) And wish me a safe journey!

Regards, Denis

Mail: William Metz, Forest Supervisor, 10845 Rancho Bernardo Road, Suite 200, San Diego, CA 92127, ATTN: Sunrise Powerlink Comments

Fax: (858) 673-6192

E-mail: mailroom_r5_cleveland@fs.fed.us, with a subject line of “Sunrise Powerlink Comments”

Phone: (858) 673-6180

Talking Points:

•Thank the Forest Service for delaying the project but ask that they follow the law and prepare a full “Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement” and to distribute this for public review.

•Ask for a public hearing during this 45-day comment period.

•Oppose the powerlink because it’s not needed and would irreparably harm nature, communities, and property.

•Express your concern that the powerlink would unnecessarily undermine existing forest plan goals to limit fire risk, protect scenic natural views, and to protect riparian and roadless areas.

•Remind the Forest Service of its independent duty to protect the Cleveland National Forest and to consider smart, local, renewable energy alternatives to the powerlink. The Forest Service is not bound to the bad decisions and ignorance of other agencies.

•Express that the Forest Service’s internal “supplemental information report” cannot replace a legitimate Supplement Environmental Impact Statement. Point out that the supplemental information report hasn’t even been made public and ask that this be made available for public review with another public comment period.

The lawsuit challenges the decision of the US Bureau of Land Management to approve the power line in January of 2009. Three local community groups, POC, Backcountry Against Dumps, and the East County Community Action Coalition filed the lawsuit after the BLM failed to address issues raised in their administrative appeal.

To read the complete Press Release, click here, and to read the filed complaint, click here.

Thanks to all of our supporters who helped make this possible. The fight has just begun and we will continue to work to stop this project from ever seeing the light of day.

The next step for many of us is to now write to the CPUC to make sure they are aware of ALL the issues that need to be mitigated on this project. SDG&E stated many times last night that were “still studying the problem” regardless of what the question was about. CPUC will not issue a Notice to Proceed until all mitigations have been addressed. If you feel that SDG&E needs to look at something further, please write to the CPUC directly. You should also send a copy of any correspondence to Supervisor Diane Jacob. Their addresses are listed below:

Billie Blanchard
Sunrise Powerlink Project Manager
505 Van Ness Ave, Room 5213
San Francisco, CA 94102

Supervisor Diane Jacob
County Administration Center
1600 Pacific Highway
San Diego, CA 92101

You can also view the slide show presented by County staff at the meeting, showing impacts and details of construction along Alpine Blvd here.

Also, as the year comes to an end, many of you may be looking to make charitable donations. Please consider POC this year for your donation. POC is a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation, which means donations are tax deductible, as allowed by law. We will be ramping up our efforts on the legal front, but we cannot continue this fight without financial support. We hope for 2010 to be the breakthrough year in our battle to stop the Sunrise Powerlink, but we need the support of everyone who can offer it. For information about donating, click on Support POC.

THANKS AGAIN, AND HERE’S TO A POWERLINK FREE 2010!