from the DataCenter's Environmental Justice Program, Spring/Summer 2002.

Potrero Plant Threatens to Expand in Overburdened Neighborhood

Mirant Corporation's Potrero Power Plant is the largest source of industrial air pollution in San Francisco. Nevertheless, the company proposes to expand the plant by an additional 540 megawatts. The plant is located in Southeast San Francisco, an area already overburdened by industrial pollution, two freeways, and two major roads carrying a large volume of truck traffic, which result in poor air quality, high pollution levels and health problems.

Mirant plans to release an additional 625 tons of air pollution each year for the life of the power plant, projected to be 40 years. The company proposes to use a new 'once-through' cooling system that would suck in 468 million gallons of bay water a day, releasing heated water and dead fish back into the bay. Projections based on measurements made in 2001 suggest that half a billion larval fish could be killed in the cooling system each year.

Communities for a Better Environment opposes Mirant's application to expand the plant. The group has pursued a multi-pronged approach to stop the power plant. They are actively organizing in the community. Their report, Power and Justice, shows that there is a way to keep the lights on without sacrificing the health of Southeast San Francisco communities. A combination of cleaner electricity technologies can stop the existing Potrero plant, from increasing its pollution and replace the second biggest industrial air pollution source in San Francisco - the Hunters Point Power Plant.

The Bay Conservation and Development Commission (BCDC) held hearings in February at which many community residents and others including the DataCenter testified.

In a decision that could force a major project redesign, the Bay Conservation and Development Commission voted 19 to 0 on March 21st to find that the proposed expansion would violate state law - Mirant could use a cooling tower instead of once-through cooling, and the McAteer-Petris Act prohibits Bay fill when alternatives are available.

BCDC's vote marks the first time a public agency has formally found Mirant's expansion would not comply with the agency's legal requirements. BCDC forwarded its findings to the California Energy Commission. Energy Commission hearings on Mirant's proposal may start in October 2002.

In the meantime, the Mirant proposal is facing opposition from federal and local agencies - including the City of San Francisco. The City's energy plan, released in August 2002, outlines closure of the existing Potrero power plant and makes no mention of the proposed new plant. The plan favors smaller scattered power plants, solar and wind power. A hearing on San Francisco's energy plan is scheduled for September 2002. The National Marine Fisheries Service recommended that the State deny Mirant a permit for the proposed expansion due to potential adverse impact on endangered species.

The DataCenter has provided corporate research support throughout this campaign.

For further information, see Communities for a Better Environment