By MYRNA FOSTER
Moapa Valley Progress
When the Moapa Town Advisory Board met on Tuesday, July 29, they spent most of the meeting listening to a presentation by Mark Severts and Don Hopper from NV Energy. Janice Ridondo, from Commissioner Tom Collins’s office, also shared information on some projects she’d been working on.
NV Energy spokesman Mark Severts updated those in attendance on the merger between NV Energy and Berkshire Hathaway Energy that happened on December 19, 2013. He pointed out the significant operating assets that come with being part of a larger company but said that NV Energy continues as a local company. Their main offices are still located in Reno and Las Vegas.
Next, Severts reviewed Senate Bill 123. Last year, Governor Brian Sandoval signed the bill into law with the unanimous support of Nevada’s 21 senators. : The bill called for eliminating about 800 megawatts of coal-fueled generation and replacing it with renewable sources and natural gas acquisitions.
NV Energy will retire the three oldest units at the Reid Gardner Power Plant by the end of this year. Reid Gardner Unit 4 will follow by the end of 2017.
Moapa resident Lawrence Brundy asked what NV Energy planned to do with the water rights it holds. He specifically named the Lewis wells and the Perkins wells. He wanted to know if the water rights would be sold back into the community, or if they planned to sell the resources outside the community. He and a few others at the meeting talked about how the water in other local wells went up two feet when Units 1, 2, and 3 were shut down for a few months.
Severts looked to Don Hopper, Plant Director at Reid Gardner, for an answer, but Hopper said he didn’t know what would happen to the water. He said the plant will still need the water to shut things down.
Severts went on to acknowledge that they’d need to come up with answers as to what would happen to the natural resources being utilized by the plant. “The site has natural gas and water,” he said.
Brundy asked if it wouldn’t be more cost effective to transition the plant to natural gas, since the gas is already there.
Severts said they would like to, but didn’t know if it would be possible.
To meet the needs of their customers, Severts said they were hoping to acquire a number of plants, including the solar PV project on the Moapa Band of Paiute land and the one at Nellis Air Force Base.
“When you give up 557 wonderful, base loaded megawatts, you’ve got to get that energy from somewhere, because customers tend to like to be able to turn on their air conditioners.” Severts said. To put the numbers in perspective, he said that one megawatt can power the needs of 600 customers at any given time.
Hopper said that employees would be decommissioning units 1, 2 and 3. Then those employees would be allowed to transition to other open positions in the company over the next few years.
Hopper went on to discuss the removal of pond solids. “We’re planning to close ponds in the near future down in the Muddy River flood plane that runs through the center of the plant,” he said.
MTAB member Ryan Udall asked what NV Energy planned to do with the pond solids, and Hopper replied that they had a permitted landfill.
Brundy said there were caustics and sulfuric acids in those solids.
Hopper showed an aerial view of a pond that had already been done, and it appeared to be green. Udall asked if they put turf down, and Hopper said that was just a spray to keep the dirt down.
Hopper showed another aerial photo of many ponds and outlined a plan to remove solids in all of the ponds pictured by October 2015.
Ridondo wanted to know if Nevada was overseeing the environmental clean-up, or if it was a federal operation.
Severts said they were working with the Nevada Division of Environmental Protection.
After this presentation, MTAB Chairman Craig Wolfley asked if there was any other business that needed to be discussed.
Ridondo said, “The beautiful building is up. I don’t believe it’s operational.”
When people in attendance wanted clarification, Ridondo told them the building would be the concession stand and restrooms for the future ballfields. It’s located north of the playground and pavilion at the Moapa Park.
Brundy asked, “Will they still be able to land the Flight for Life out there?”
Ridondo said she was sure they could.
A member of the community asked if the Wishing Well Mine being proposed on the mesa above Meadow Valley Wash would be coming to the MTAB to explain what they were doing.
Ridondo said, “If the use is an accepted use, then they don’t have to.” She suggested that someone could invite them to make a presentation.
Next, Ridondo said, “Henrie Road, the dedication is done. They’re working through the utility.” She explained that the utility plan still had to be sent to the BLM by the county. She said, “The multi-use trail will begin at the school and head to the end of Henrie Road.
Brundy asked, “Are we going to light them up like Bunkerville?”
Ridondo said that if the lights are built into the plan, there will be lights, but if they aren’t in the plan, there won’t be any. She didn’t think they were in the plan.
Brundy said that if they were going to light up the trail, they should use solar power to make it more cost effective.
Ridondo addressed her last item. “The Mike Little piles of whatever it is at Geneva Pipe should be moving.”
Wolfley said they were already moving.
Brundy said that Little had also started cleaning up the stuff he’d dumped out at Meadow Valley Wash.
Ridondo said that Little had moved two piles, but it would too expensive to move everything he’d dumped. She said they were going to burn the piles with a fire curtain or a machine so that it wouldn’t cause smoke. “The fire department has already blessed it,” she said.
Wolfley said the MTAB’s next meeting would be at 7:00 pm on Tuesday, August 26, with a special call date of August 12 if they need it.
