Get the facts on Santan expansion

An opinion letter by Mark Schnepf
July 22, 2000

Mr. Schnepf sent this letter to SRP and various publications in the Valley.

My family settled in the East Valley in the early 1900s, so it's fair to say we have seen a lot of change. Fortunately for all of us, the East Valley has kept its sense of neighborliness and cooperation.

As mayor of Queen Creek for the past 10 years, I have come to understand and appreciate even more the connection and interdependency that links our various East Valley communities. There exists an intricate network of agreements, understandings and good will that help all of our communities continue to be safe, healthy and prosperous places to live.

For instance, Mesa, Scottsdale and Phoenix treat the water that flows in most of our East Valley faucets. Most of our sewage heads west to Phoenix where they run the treatment facility. Queen Creek has played host to a landfill that accepts waste from the entire East Valley including portions of Pinal County. The list is endless as to the number of ways that communities rely on each other.

I reflected on all of this recently when I was reading the fiery rhetoric of a couple of groups organizing to oppose the development of new power plants in the East Valley. I asked myself tough questions: "If I lived next to an existing power plant that was in line to expand, would I be upset and disappointed? The answer was, "Maybe, or maybe not."

It would depend on the accurate information and facts that I could gather. It would not depend on emotion or misinformation. I live fairly close to the Queen Creek landfill, but have taken the time to understand how this operated and what changes in technology now make the operation environmentally safe and non-threatening.

Technology has also improved in regards to power plants. And over the years the public has demanded more accountability. Government has responded and the Environmental Protection Agency has implemented strict standards and guidelines to ensure the public's safety.

Most new power plants today must use clean natural gas to generate electricity because the law requires that for every pound of new pollution, the company building the plant must remove 1.2 pounds of pollution from our air. It is like the difference in auto emissions from cars built in the early 1970s versus cars built today. With improved technology, tougher laws, and higher standards, power plants expansions have little negative impact.

However, plant expansions have some important benefits. There has not been a new power plant built in the East Valley in over 25 years. In that time, nearly half a million people have moved into the region. The region needs more electricity. Rather than trying to site a new facility at a brand new location, it makes sense to expand existing ones.

Public services are funded with taxes. The expansion planned a Gilbert will generate over $101 million in new property taxes to the Town of Gilbert over the next 21 years. Approximately $3 million of the new tax revenue will go to the financially strapped Gilbert Unified School District. Avoiding power, "brown-outs" and excessively high power rates are in the interest of all Valley residents.

In addition, I understand SRP has extensive plans to improve and enhance the areas immediately surrounding the plant including: widening Warner and Val Vista roads, relocating sidewalks, building new medians, lighting, landscaping, and screening of the north and east sides of the plant with vegetation and trees. Anytime we can enhance and beautify our neighborhoods and communities, it is definitely an added benefit.

Over the coming months, as we watch these plans unfold, I would hope that all East Valley residents would be mindful of the contribution each community makes to the region. I would also hope that reason, facts and cool heads would prevail over emotion and misinformation.

As for me, I will continue to read the paper, get on the Web and follow the situation with great interest.