The Alternative to Gregory Canyon Landfill

Not many people realize that the Envirepel Energy Facility is the first step to removing the need for solid waste landfills like the one proposed at Gregory Canyon. You have read some articles about our “proposed” power plant, but overall, we have been very soft-spoken about our efforts up until now, so I guess it’s time to talk about what we are doing and why.

You have all read about the environmental lawsuits, funding problems, election campaign slogans, years of permitting efforts, and millions of dollars spent trying to get a Class III landfill built in Gregory Canyon, back by the Pala Indian Reservation, on top of the San Luis Rey River. This Gregory Canyon battle continues on next week at the County Water Authority meeting. It should be a good fight. We offered to help them last fall, but I guess that our company, and our project, just wasn’t real enough for them to listen.

Do you hear this kind of opposition about our Renewable Energy Project? Everyone we work with at the county and state levels for permitting of our facility has been absolutely wonderful to work with, so what’s the difference between our project and the landfill? How is it possible for Envirepel to file for a 12-month permit to construct an energy facility and it’s taken the landfill project how many years? We are on the same river, in the same air basin, on the same road, and both “projects” are disposal solutions for similar problems, so what is the difference?

The Fallbrook Renewable Energy Facility, located on the Pankey Ranches at the foot of Lancaster Mountain, will consume green waste and make clean, renewable electricity, so what is the big deal? “Biomass” energy facilities are all over the state; what is so special about this one? I will let the picture speak for itself.

This facility will be able to consume as much tonnage of green waste as the Gregory Canyon landfill and, if I can brag for a minute, it looks better, too. The energy facility doesn’t need a smoke stack, will not have much in the way of emissions, uses greenhouses for cooling to minimize the need for water, and will literally “light up” North County when it operates. What can I say? We are trying to keep those circuit breakers in your house from tripping all summer long.

How does this affect other landfills in San Diego County? Simple: Fallbrook is just the first site of the four sites our company plans to construct and operate in San Diego County. The other three sister facilities will all consume garbage and, with the emissions systems we developed in Fallbrook, be able to consume those waste streams and not pollute the air. Two of them will be on existing landfills. When you have Fallbrook eating green waste and the other three eating garbage and they all make clean energy, you don’t need another landfill in San Diego County for about 75 years.

So why did our company decide to pursue this idea and jump into the political arenas with the big guys? Green waste to energy and trash to cash?

Simple: Envirepel and our stockholders are all local, San Diego County residents. We are trying to make a difference, spend our efforts to benefit local businesses and residents, and keep the lights on in North County. If this sounds like a pie in the sky idea, just go to our Web site, http://www.envirepel.com, and read our business plan. Look at the details of our PUC-approved utility contract with SDG&E and you will understand why. It’s a much better idea than a landfill.