In his decision signed on June 26, Superior Court Judge Stan Eller rejected the arguments of the Mammoth Community Water District (MCWD) and two union groups who alleged that the project approvals did not comply with the California Environmental Quality Act.
The geothermal reservoirs and the drinking water aquifers located approximately two miles away and separated by a layer of impermeable rock. The Court held that the extensive record of evidence, including expert opinions and scientific studies, established “substantial evidence that there is no connectivity between the deep geothermal reservoir and MCWD’s groundwater aquifer.”
As part of the Great Basin’s approvals, a groundwater monitoring plan must be approved by the federal and state agencies and implemented by Ormat before drilling any new geothermal wells. Ormat has obtained assistance from the California Energy Commission for two new monitoring wells and agreed to the location of those wells with the Water District to ensure that geothermal operations do not affect Mammoth Lakes’ domestic water supply.
The project would include the construction of a new 40 MWe geothermal power plant, up to 16 new production and injection wells, multiple pipelines, and an electric transmission line.
A GRC Field Trip will visit Casa Diablo Hot Springs and the Ormat Mammoth Pacific Power Plants as part of am excursion to the Long Valley, September 18-20, before the GRC Annual Meeting & GEA Geothermal Energy Expo.
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