Unpopular Plan for Power Plant Is Resurrected

Less than a year after residents defeated a plan to build a power plant in South Gate, the controversial proposal appears back on track.

The surprise resurrection of the 550-megawatt project has unleashed a new round of opposition from the blue-collar city and some of its neighbors in southeast Los Angeles County.

The original developer, abiding by the results of a nonbinding referendum, withdrew from the project in March, but recently transferred its permit to a Chicago-based company that appears to be moving forward.

Although the new company, LMI Capital LLC, says the plant would be among the cleanest ever built, residents believe it would spew more pollution into some of the dirtiest air in the state.

The face-off could ultimately be decided by state officials who will have to weigh the residents’ concerns against the power needs of an energy-hungry state.

Like the first time around, community groups are rallying against the proposed plant, most recently Tuesday at a City Council meeting.

“We voted against it and we don’t want it,” said Alvaro Huerta, an organizer for Communities for a Better Environment, a nonprofit group leading the opposition effort.

The Nueva Azalea power plant would be built on a 13.5-acre parcel next to the Long Beach Freeway, on a site now occupied by a diesel truck depot. Under the original proposal, the natural gas plant would generate enough power to serve 500,000 people.

The surrounding area is predominantly Latino, and many charge that the proposal smacks of environmental racism.

Despite a publicity blitz by the original developer, Sunlaw Energy Co., including promises for neighborhood improvements and scholarships, voters overwhelmingly rejected the idea for a power plant.

Sunlaw, which had promised to abide by voters’ wishes, backed out. Sunlaw later transferred its permit to LMI, which asked the California Energy Commission to give the company more time to seek a permit.

The commission agreed Wednesday to extend the permitting process, but still must decide whether to grant an operating permit.

Commission members have asked LMI to address numerous concerns, including pollution. They also note that nearby communities have the highest juvenile asthma rates in the state and that residents in a nearby trailer park also have significant respiratory problems.

The South Gate City Council, including some members who went on a hunger strike this year over the issue, have already come out strongly against the latest proposal.

But Councilman Hector De La Torre noted that the commission has the sole authority to reject or approve power plant licensing.

“This battle is going to be in Sacramento, not South Gate,” he said.

An attorney for LMI did not return calls seeking comment.