OUR VIEW
It’s long past due for the promised air monitor on the south side of the Metcalf Energy Plant on Monterey Road.
The headline said it all: “Still no air monitors at Metcalf Plant.”
When Calpine rushed the natural gas fueled Metcalf Energy Center through the regulatory approvals process in the midst of California’s manufactured energy crisis, South County residents were promised that an air quality monitoring station would be placed south of the plant – the direction of prevailing winds – to track the travels of the pollution the plant emits.
Metcalf Energy Center opened in June 2005, yet still no air monitor tracks emissions from that plant that travel toward South County.
South County officials have asked nicely that a southern air monitor be installed posthaste, but San Jose officials don’t feel our urgency.
In fact, they’re talking openly about breaking their promise.
“At this point, for the downwind (south) location, this is something that may have to come back to the (San Jose) City Council to see if the agreement should be amended,” San Jose Planning Director Joe Horwedel told reporter Marilyn Dubil.
It’s irresponsible to let the plant
operate without air monitors and that now San Jose may be considering skirting its responsibility to get the equipment installed by the plant.
It’s time for South County officials – and perhaps health- and environmental-related nonprofit agencies – to put some bite in their bark.
If San Jose and Calpine continue to ignore their promise to South County residents then it’s time to consider a lawsuit or other measures for the sake of our residents’ health.
It’s time for a lawsuit to force the installation of the monitor.
Given the geography of South County, it’s a reasonable guess that, carbon monoxide, particulate matter, and oxides of nitrogen – that is, air pollution – emitted by the Metcalf Energy Center travels southward and is trapped in the valley.
Breathing those contaminants is harmful to human health, especially for people with lung or heart conditions.
Given that, it’s understandable that San Jose and Calpine officials might prefer that South County residents not know what the Metcalf Energy Center is pumping into our air.
But we don’t know unless the southerly air monitoring station is installed. South County’s concerns about the impact of the Metcalf Energy Center were brushed aside when the power plant was approved.
We can’t let that continue to happen.
With San Jose officials openly considering reneging on their long-overdue promise to install a southern air monitor, our elected officials must act now.
It’s time for a lawsuit to force the installation of the much-needed air monitoring station so that we know what we’re breathing in South County.
