Perry Thompson of Hat Creek Construction– the applicant for the aggregate mine and asphalt plant–said during a Portola City Council meeting several weeks ago that he hoped the mine would be “neutral” for residents of Portola.
I would encourage people to be alarmed about this statement, as it shows real delusions that the impacts of his mine can somehow be “mitigated” away. I would recommend not trusting anything this man says. His smooth talking demeanor and seeming reasonableness are just acts to get his mine approved- hopefully everyone realizes this.
Having a “neutral” project is a fiction- there is no real way to “offset” the damage this plan would cause. Nevertheless, I would expect all sorts of shenanigans from Hat Creek, such as:
– offering to pave Portola roads
– offering cash payments to close neighbors
– soundwalls
– bottled water to neighbors
– offering to pay to preserve trees somewhere else…
– etc. etc.
There was a spoof company several years back called “CheatNeutral” — you could pay to “offset” your infidelity by paying someone else to stay faithful. The idea was that the overall cheating levels would not increase if you wanted to have a fling. It is hilarious. The mine — if approved — would not be.