A community meeting in Cantua Creek to discuss the Valley Clean Infrastructure Plan.Leadership Counsel for Justice and Accountability

Cantua Creek demands protection from Valley Clean Infrastructure Plan | Opinion

· The Fresno Bee

On Dec. 16, the Westlands Water District Board will decide whether to approve the Valley Clean Infrastructure Plan, a massive, 136,000 acre solar project proposed for rural West Fresno County, impacting eight disadvantaged unincorporated communities in or near the Project Area.

I live in one of those communities: Cantua Creek. For neighborhoods like mine, this decision isn’t just about solar panels, it’s about whether our lives, well-being and voices will continue to be ignored in California’s clean energy future, or if this project will finally set a new precedent that protects communities like ours.

I’ve called this area home since I was a child; I first lived in El Porvenir from age 9 to 22 and I have lived in Cantua Creek since 1984. I have seen firsthand how we have been overlooked by government agencies who push forward with their proposals. Now, we’re being asked to live next door to a massive energy project without the basic services and protections other communities take for granted.

We are not against clean energy, but we are against being sacrificed for it.

An impact map of the Valley Clean Infrastructure Plan created by Leadership Counsel for Justice and Accountability.Leadership Counsel for Justice and Accountability

In Cantua Creek, many residents live in homes or trailers that aren’t even electrified or weatherized. Last summer, my air conditioning broke, and it was hotter indoors than outside. I even told my daughter, “Please check on me to make sure I’m still alive.” It’s a reality this community lives with every summer.

Many of us haven’t had drinkable tap water for decades, and some people rely on deliveries of bottled water. (I get mine every week or two.) Some of us use canal water for cleaning and other basic needs, even though it’s not safe to drink.

Our roads are falling apart too, and we don’t have sidewalks. While there are finally plans to build a fire station, the closest one right now can take more than 30 minutes to respond. That’s part of the reason why I got involved with Futuro Justo para el Oeste de Fresno, a community group with members living in disadvantaged communities like El Porvenir, Cantua Creek, Five Points, Lanare, Kerman and San Joaquin.

The Valley Clean Infrastructure Plan is the largest proposed solar energy project in the world. Our concerns are real, including increased traffic and worsened air quality. We feel like we have no meaningful say in what happens in our communities. We live in a drought area with extreme heat and are already overburdened by pollution from surrounding agriculture and pesticide sprays.

Without protections or additional benefits, this plan could become just another example of clean energy built on the backs of poor, rural, farm working families. The decision on the Valley Clean Infrastructure Plan will set the tone for every future clean energy project.

The Valley Clean Infrastructure Plan’s draft environmental review.Valley Clean Infrastructure Plan

While a draft environmental review was prepared, it was only provided in English, despite many residents in the project area speaking primarily Spanish. Our requests for a Spanish-translated review were denied.

If Westlands wants to move the project forward in our communities, it must ensure all community questions, concerns and priorities are addressed in its draft environmental review and commit to a collaborative, inclusive and accessible community benefits agreement development process.

Our community is tired of hearing empty promises. We deserve action. We deserve affordable energy rates, local hiring and workforce training requirements. We deserve what other communities already have, such as sidewalks, safe roads, active transportation, green spaces, clean air and affordable, drinkable water.

I still have hope: I’ve seen how our communities are coming together through the work of Futuro Justo Para el Oeste de Fresno. I’ve seen my neighbors stand up and demand change.

The Westlands Water District board members must hear our voices and reject the Valley Clean Infrastructure Plan. If the plan is approved, Westlands needs to address all of the project’s impacts on disadvantaged communities in West Fresno County, making sure that this opportunity uplifts us.

Esther Ramirez has lived in Cantua Creek for 41 years. She is an active volunteer in her community.

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