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Residents raise health, carbon and forest-concern objections to proposed Golden State Natural Resources pellet plant
Summary
Multiple residents urged the Tuolumne County Board of Supervisors to reject or tightly condition a proposed Golden State Natural Resources wood-pellet project, citing the draft environmental impact report, cancer-risk estimates and concerns that the plant would rely on whole-tree harvests rather than clearing slash piles.
Dozens of residents told the Tuolumne County Board of Supervisors on Feb. 11 that a proposed Golden State Natural Resources (GSNR) wood-pellet project poses significant local health, climate and forest-management risks.
Speakers urged the board to reject the project or require enforceable, independently verified commitments from the developer. Elaine Hagan, a registered nurse who identified herself as a daughter of a logger, said she had read the project’s draft environmental impact report (DEIR) and concluded the project “is all risk and no reward.” She said the DEIR’s air-pollution analysis shows operations at two facilities would “exceed the [cancer] threshold by approximately 3 to 6 times.”
The speakers’ concerns mirrored three themes that recurred in public comment: (1) direct local health impacts from air emissions, (2) flawed claims that the project would reduce…
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