From its inception, the developers of the Project have taken seriously its potential environmental impacts, and therefore they have engaged highly qualified engineering and scientific consultants to help identify, study, and formulate policies to eliminate them where possible and mitigate them when necessary. Project impacts on the quality and quantity of water from Anderson Ranch Reservoir, as a participating reservoir for the Project, should be minimal. Plans to mitigate any impacts on sensitive sage-grouse and bull trout populations are being developed by experts, and ungulate and avian/bat migration corridors will be respected.
Among its reasons for issuing Conditional Use Permits to Cat Creek Energy, the Elmore County, Idaho, Commissioners listed the following as County objectives that the Project would support:
a) “Diversify and improve the economy of Elmore County in ways that are compatible with community values.”
b) “…protect, develop, and maintain the quality of our water resources…Encourage land management and development of soil and water resources for economic growth in the County.”
c) “Sustain the fish and wildlife habitats necessary to provide quality fish and wildlife-related recreation.”
d) “Encourage developments that will maintain the aesthetic and scenic value of the areas with the least possible disturbance to soil, vegetation, and water.”