Mr. Richard Fristik

USDA Rural Development, Utilities Program

1400 Independence Ave. SW Mail Stop 1571, Rm 2237

Washington, DC 20250-1571

 

Dear Mr. Richard Fristik:

 

I object to the lending of money from the Rural Utilities Service, and the USDA approval of the Highwood Generating Station for many reasons but the main two are: 

1)   I heard the state of the Tribe Address for the State of Montana in February, 2007, and Carl Venne, of the Crow Agency, addressed the people and told of how the Crow Agency could sell the Tongue River Electric Cooperative electricity from their coal plant in Hardin for half the price per kilowatt hour at $34.  After Citizens for Clean Energy members did some research, we discovered that the Crow Agency Tribe actually has a law suit against Tim Gregori, the CEO of Southern Montana Electric Cooperatives, and the Big Horn County Electric Cooperative for the reneging on the contract.  Here is a coal plant already built with power already to administer to at least one of the cooperatives, and contract was broken by Tim Gregori and a venture capitalist merchant plant of the Highwood Generating Plant was planned.  I feel that the USDA RUS needs to really analyze the character of Tim Gregori which the board of the SME chose to follow.  Here is the web site which will show you the copy of that law suit and the reasons for it.  http://www.littlehorn.com/Crow_Court/Decisions/Big%20Horn%20Electric%20Opinion.htm  I plan to send a hard copy of it to you as well.

 

2) The FEIS in book two listed 44 pages of names of people who are for the HGS.  Apparently the SME had postcards for the people to fill out in support of the plant.  It was brought to my attention that 3 of the names were of people who do not support the plant.  One name is John D. Smillie on page L-40 and the other two were Ryan T. Fix and Lorraine M. Fix on page L-15.  John Smillie is the coordinator of the Western States Resource Council, a parent of the Northern Plains Resource Council, and John Smillie is a flaming environmentalist.  He said that he wrote negative comments about the plant before sending the postcard in to Kathleen Johnson of the Montana Department of Environmental Quality.  Mark Fix is the chair person of Northern Plains Resource Council, an environmental organization, and he said the Fix’s, Lorraine being his mom, do not support the plant.  They are too, are environmentalists.  Mark Fix said that his mom is elderly and it could be that she sent in the card not realizing what it was for.  How many people in the SME territory are elderly and sign things without reading.  I think it is common.  Also the Reservations of Fort Belknap and Rocky Boy Tribal Councils wrote letters in opposition of the Highwood Generating Plant but that was not mentioned anywhere in the FEIS.  I called Kathleen Johnson of the MDEQ and she said that she entered in all the postcards except if there were comments.  Obviously that is not true in Smillie’s case.  Kathleen Johnson also told me in our conversation that she was given a data base from the SME to register into the FEIS.  It was a list of names without the comment of oppose or in support of. The petition of Citizens for Clean Energy was given one small paragraph and the lack of mentioning that two Reservations were opposed showed obvious discrimination against people who are opposed to the HGS.  Kathleen Johnson apologized but it needs to be amended. Please expect the paper copy in the mail to be post dated on March 19th.  Thank you.

 

Sincerely yours,

 

 

Lisa Hardiman,