Dear ***:
I strongly OPPOSE the Los Angeles Department of Water Power’s (“DWP”) proposed power station at 16931 Marquez Avenue, Pacific Palisades, CA 90272 (the “Marquez site”). I am a homeowner in *** and my ** children attend Marquez Charter Elementary School.
The Marquez site is located in the heart of Marquez Knolls, a quiet residential enclave populated by many families with young children. The Marquez site is bordered by single family homes to the south and the east, a canyon of undisturbed vegetation to the west, and Marquez Charter Elementary School (“Marquez Charter”) to the north. Marquez Charter currently serves 600+ students, ages 4-11, from kindergarten through fifth grade. A power station at the proposed Marquez site raises a number of serious environmental, health and safety issues for the community – and especially the 600+ youngsters and approximately 100 teachers/staff/volunteers who consider the school their second home for 7-10 hours a day, five days a week, year after year.
Specifically, these are my main concerns. [see below for sampling of potential impacts/concerns]
· The risk of explosion and fire at power substations throughout the nation is well documented. The Marquez site sits on top of a canyon of natural vegetation and immediately next to the School. The Los Angeles Fire Department has designated the surrounding area as a “Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone.” The canyon vegetation, combined with frequent Santa Ana winds, make the area particularly vulnerable to fire. Even if the risk of fire or explosion could be reduced at a new, “state-of-the-art” power station, we must consider how the risk will continue and increase over years to come. This concern is further heightened by recent efforts to reduce fire-fighting resources in Pacific Palisades, which may resurface in the future and delay response time. A serious fire during regular school hours would imminently endanger the lives of 600+ youngsters and nearly 100 teachers/staff/ volunteers at the school. It would also endanger the lives of many more youngsters attending the three other preschool/daycare centers in the area. Should a fire spread during the Marquez Charter morning school drop-off or afternoon pick-up hours, evacuating the area would be extremely chaotic, considering the traffic bottleneck that regularly builds up in front of the school during these times.
· Just as concerning, the proposed Marquez site is known to be geologically unstable and prone to landslides. Slope failure leading to structural damage can be triggered by a number of events – heavy rainfall, earthquake, etc. In turn, either can yield to dangerous fires and explosions. Some may question the probability of slope failure at a properly remediated site or structural damage to a new “state of the art” power station. Nonetheless, one cannot overlook the fact that should such an incident occur – perhaps triggered by the next big earthquake – the potential consequences and threat to public safety could be catastrophic.
· Human health effects of electromagnetic fields (“EMF”) from power stations have been studied since the 1970s, and these studies have consistently associated increased instances of childhood leukemia and other cancers with EMF exposure. In 2002, the World Health Organization recognized the International Agency for Research on Cancer’s classification of extremely low frequency magnetic fields as “possibly carcinogenic to humans.” DWP’s own website acknowledges, “childhood studies have reported a[n] association between estimates [of EMFs] and certain types of cancer.” DWP further advises consumers to “limit your exposure [to]” and “increas[e] your distance from EMF sources.” With this knowledge, it defies common sense and sound public policy to install a power station directly next to a public school, where hundreds of children spend most of their waking hours, five days a week, year after year.
· Traffic conditions on this stretch of Marquez Avenue are already severely stressed. This stretch of Marquez Avenue cannot support the additional traffic of heavy construction equipment and trucks that would be required during construction of the proposed power station. Even once the power station is in operation, this stretch of Marquez Avenue cannot tolerate the risk of street closures to accommodate maintenance or repair. Further, should a substation emergency occur during Marquez Charter’s drop-off or pick-up times when the traffic is most congested, evacuation of all the Marquez Charter students and the immediate area would be a near impossible task
· Impacts on community disaster preparedness plans – For many local area families and other preschools/daycare facilities down the road, Marquez Charter is the designated place of reunion and emergency assistance in the event of a natural disaster. Installing a power station directly next door exemplifies poor planning. Not only would the facility itself be at risk in the event of a natural disaster, the additional traffic generated during the construction period would also make access by emergency vehicles virtually impossible.
· Air quality impacts – This includes air quality impacts from on-site construction equipment emissions (i.e., carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, PM10) and fugitive dust from dump trucks and concrete trucks traveling through the neighborhood to and from the construction site. All Marquez Charter students and neighborhood children will be subjected to such pollutants for extended periods of time over many months, even years. Those with asthma and other respiratory conditions would be especially vulnerable to these impacts.
· Noise impacts – Noise from the massive construction project as well as from the operation of the proposed power station would be highly disruptive and disturbing to the Marquez Charter students directly next door as well as nearby residents.
· Biological impacts – The proposed power station site and its adjacent canyon are home to numerous wildlife species. The biological impacts of constructing a power station here could be devastating and long-lasting.
· Impacts on Marquez Charter School – Marquez Charter is a top-ranking school and pride of the community. Many families move to the area in order to send their children to school there — nestled in a quiet residential neighborhood and overlooking a canyon and the Pacific Ocean. Should a massive power station be installed right next door, those parents who have the means are already saying they will send their children to private school, and many others will do what they can to move their children to other area schools. Regrettably, this would drain the school of its much-needed resources and committed parents, and would run the risk of ruining the school. This would be a monumental loss for the entire community.
For all the above reasons, I vehemently oppose the DWP’s proposed electrical distributing station on the Marquez site. [And I strongly urge DWP to explore and consider alternate locations.] [And I respectfully request ** to publicly oppose the DWP’s plans to install a power station at the Marquez site.
Sincerely,
***
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