The Federal Governments Support of the Utility Industry

The latest numbers for fire losses in California continue to amaze me, as  

they increase each day. The most current is the following:

A. ) 838,576 acres burned

B. )     5,600 homes destroyed

New York City is not far behind as the totals are amazing. Just for 2024, they are:

A. ) 170 fires due to lithium-ion battery failure

B. )   59 injuries

C. )     3 deaths

In addition to the above casualty lists for your review, I want to direct your attention to an article provided by Ms. Katie Singer of Substack. The article deals with the United States Government opening up 31 million acres of public land for the installation of Solar Energy farms.  

Further Research into this matter led me to a review of the Federal Register which is The Daily Journal of the United States Government.  I reviewed a notice that was posted on August 30, 2024, concerning the following:

“In compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amended (NEPA), and the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976, as amended (FLPMA), the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has prepared a Final Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) and Proposed Resource Management Plan (RMP) Amendments for Utility-scale Solar Energy Development and by this notice is announcing the start of a 30-day protest period.”

DATES TO PROTEST:

This notice announces the beginning of a 30-day protest period to the BLM and the Proposed RMP Amendments. Protests must be postmarked or electronically submitted on the BLM's ePlanning site within 30 days of the date that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) publishes its Notice of Availability (NOA) in the Federal Register. The EPA usually publishes its NOAs on Fridays.

ADDRESSES:

The Final Programmatic EIS, Proposed RMP Amendments, and associated documents are available for review on the BLM ePlanning project website at https://eplanning.blm.gov/​eplanning-ui/​project/​2022371/​510.

Instructions for filing a protest with the BLM can be found at: https://www.blm.gov/​programs/​planning-and-nepa/​public-participation/filing-a-plan-protest and at 43 CFR 1610.5-2.

All protests must be submitted in writing through one of the following two methods:

· Project website: https://eplanning.blm.gov/​eplanning-ui/​project/​2022371/​510.

· Regular Mail and Overnight Delivery: BLM Director, Attention: Protest Coordinator (HQ210), Denver Federal Center, Building 40 (Door W-4), Lakewood, CO 80215.

Emailed protests will not be accepted as valid protests unless the protesting party also provides the original letter by either regular mail or overnight delivery postmarked by the close of the protest period. Under these conditions, the BLM will consider an emailed protest as an advance copy, and it will receive full consideration.

The planning area is located within the States of Arizona, California (excluding Southern California counties), Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming (hereinafter referred to as the 11 Western States) and encompasses approximately 162 million acres of public land. I wonder how much of this public land was at one time, or still is Native American land?

The Proposed RMP would exclude approximately 131 million acres of public lands from solar applications to protect sensitive resources as described in the exclusion criteria in the Final Programmatic EIS. Approximately 31 million acres of public lands would be available for solar applications under the Proposed RMP.

So in  spite of the devastating fire losses, and the number of lives lost in those fires, our government continues the march forward and will not be satisfied until each home and business in this country is covered with Smart Meter Lithium-ion batteries and the blood of those who lost their lives to make our convenience a little quicker.

As an example of this desire, a crisis has been averted in San Diego, California, at a San Diego Gas and Electric Lithium-ion battery bank station, in which a yard full of Lithium-ion battery banks was placed to serve as a backup for power to San Diego.  A fire took place at one of the battery enclosures and has been controlled by the local fire department.

Once again, I need to ask, “how many lives will be taken so we can turn on our T.V. set, or load the latest PlayStation?”

Respectfully Submitted,

Norman Lambe

nwlambe@gmail.com