LAKEPORT, Calif. – Lake County planning commissioners will consider a final environmental document on a geothermal steamfield expansion project at a special meeting Wednesday.

The Lake County Planning Commission will meet starting at 9 a.m. Wednesday, Dec. 22, in the board chambers at the Lake County Courthouse, 255 N. Forbes St., Lakeport.

The commission will hold a public hearing, set to start at 9:05 a.m., on the final environmental impact report and environmental assessment on Bottle Rock Power Steam's proposed geothermal field expansion project.

The project is located within the Binkley and Francisco Leaseholds at 6743, 6825, 7358, 7385 and 7500 High Valley Road, Cobb.

Bottle Rock Power LLC is seeking a use permit, rezone and proposing modifications to its existing use permit and associated traffic control and road maintenance plan, as Lake County News has reported.

The company wants to rezone 60 acres of the property so that it can build two new geothermal well pads along with an access road, and 1.3 miles of new pipeline to connect to the existing pipeline serving the power plant, according to planning documents.

As part of the project, the company is proposing constructing up to 22 production and injection wells, which would be drilled on the two proposed well pads over the life of the project.

The county's planning department reported that the primary purpose for the proposed modifications to the existing permit and plan is to allow for relocation of the guard that is required during construction activities, and to update agency names and miscellaneous, obsolete provisions.

During the hearing the commission will consider certifying the final EIR and decide on the permit requests, as well as make a recommendation on the rezone proposal to the Board of Supervisors.

The commission held a Nov. 3 hearing on the draft environmental document, during which it took several hours of public testimony from residents of the area, who are concerned not only about the project but about Bottle Rock Power's adherence to its current permits and operational guidelines.

Those concerns have been the focus of several community meetings in Cobb over the last few years, as Lake County News has reported.

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