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Power plant closure costing Morro Bay, APCD

November 15, 2013

morro bay stacksThe city of Morro Bay and the San Luis Obispo County Air Pollution Control District will lose more than $1 million in combined annual income upon the closure of the Morro Bay Power Plant. [Tribune]

Officials with energy company Dynegy, which owns the plant, announced last week that it plans to close the natural gas-fired plant in February.

Dynegy pays Morro Bay more than $800,000 annually in outfall lease fees. The air district receives more than $270,000 annually from the plant in air pollution fees.

“We’ve been preparing for this for quite some time,” Air Pollution Control Officer Larry Allen said.

The city has been collecting outfall lease fees from the plant since it incorporated and assumed control of the lease in 1984. The plant pays for the environmental impact of bringing in and discharging ocean water as part of its cooling process.

In recent years, Morro Bay has placed much of the revenue from the outfall lease fees in its reserve fund to cushion the blow of the potential plant closure. Previously, outfall lease fees went to the general fund.

The city plans to make up for the lost funds through use of reserves, cost savings and possibly new revenue sources, outgoing City Manager Andrea Lueker said.

 


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Come on Larry, we know you left the thumbs down…


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These government agencies are out of control. Rather than raise income with some new tax, how about cutting expenses? If the plant is gone, it’s no longer “polluting”, therefore we don’t need some of your staff. Cut them!


These government agencies have no real oversight and would regulate themselves even if we were all gone. While the rest of the tax payers went through one of the greatest recession with high unemployment rates, not one of them lost their job. All while being paid by people who were unemployed.


Remember government only has our money, that’s the only place it comes from. Even if its through a corporation, it still originates with us.


Larry… CUT YOUR EXPENSES!


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Starting with “LARRY…..CUT YOUR SALARY AND BENIFITS”


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“We’ve been preparing for this for quite some time,” Air Pollution Control Officer Larry Allen said.


Well yeah they have. Once the APCD realized they couldn’t survive by over-regulating private industry to maintain their bloated salaries, they found a cash cow in the State Park system. Government feeding on government. So when Allen decides he needs another ridiculous raise, or needs to add yet another worthless staff member, I wonder what government agency they will go after next? Perhaps fine Cal Poly $1000 a day for the excessive amount of methane that their dairy cattle produce.


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