RCRC presents rural priorities to Calaveras supervisors; $28.4 million broadband application pending, biomass project pivots to domestic markets

The Rural County Representatives of California (RCRC) outlined its 2025 strategic priorities to the Calaveras County Board of Supervisors on July 8, including a pending $28.4 million broadband construction grant application for parts of Calaveras County and a decision to pivot a biomass project toward domestic markets.

RCRC representative Mr. Blacklock told the board the Golden State Connect Authority, a joint powers authority of rural counties, obtained $19 million for engineering and has been awarded about $185 million for last-mile fiber construction to date. He said an application for Calaveras County, pending with the California Public Utilities Commission, requests $28,400,000 to provide fiber in parts of West Point, parts of San Andreas, and the Highway 4 corridor, including middle-mile links toward Alpine County.

"If it is awarded, then we would add Calaveras County to the list of counties where we'll be doing construction over the next few years," Mr. Blacklock said. He described the planned network as a publicly owned, open-access system intended to allow private internet service providers to deliver retail services over the new fiber.

RCRC also updated the board on Golden State Natural Resources, a nonprofit affiliate focused on forest resilience. The RCRC representative said the GSNR board on June 25 "unanimously approved pivoting the project to focus more on domestic markets for biomass." He explained the previous plan to convert biomass to pellets for export had become less viable because pellet prices softened and public comment asked for stronger alternatives analysis, including domestic markets.

"We will update the draft EIR to use the two sites to instead of producing pellets, produce wood chips and then rail those chips to some use," the presenter said, and added that commercial domestic markets are expected to emerge over a 7-to-10-year timeframe. He said the agency expects to recirculate an updated draft environmental impact report within six to nine months.

The presentation also covered other RCRC programs, including the Golden State Finance Authorityand the "assist to own" down-payment assistance program for county employees. Mr. Blacklock said roughly 200 Calaveras households have used RCRC-affiliated homeownership programs and that about five county employees in Calaveras had used the county-employee down-payment assistance program.

During public comment tied to the presentation, Christopher Butler, a local publisher, urged RCRC to review permitting and safety procedures for electric vehicle charging stations and to work with member counties to ensure existing Tesla Supercharger sites are "safe, secure, and as fire hazard free as possible." Butler asked RCRC's leader to urge member boards to include local and regional fire officials in permitting for nonresidential EV charging installations.

The board offered brief comments and thanked the RCRC representative for the briefing. No formal board action on RCRC programs was taken at the July 8 meeting.