From the December 2003 Idaho Observer:

Epidemic illnesses downwind of Cogen

Inquiries indicate toxic materials being used to “fuel” electricity generators

This story began innocently enough. Dennis Grover observed that a lot of people in a small northern California town were sick so he decided to find out why. During the initial investigation Grover has been blocked from obtaining cricital information. This story has national implications; the government may be conducting a program of incinerating the tons of chemicals it has been stockpiling at its military installations by covertly adding them to the “fuel” used to produce electricity at waste-to-energy plants across the country. We believe people can no longer take the simple act of breathing for granted. Until the government and the private companies under contract to operate these co-generation plants begin to answer our questions and support them with documentation and evidence, we should go forward with the suspicion that our nation is under biological smoke stack attack.

by Dennis Grover and Theresa Falco

Loyalton, a small town of approximately 1,100 people in northern California, hosts a small co-generating plant (affectionately called a “Cogen”) that produces electricity . The Cogen burned wood chips from a lumber mill that was operating next to it. The mill was closed a few years ago by the spotted owl or some other creature but the Cogen continues to operate.

It is claimed that the Cogen stayed in operation by burning Biomass -- up to 100 semi-truck loads daily.

It turns out that a new Cogen designed to burn biomass from the Tahoe National Forest, was built right next to the wood burning one. Most of the residents here are unaware that a new plant exists. They thought the original wood-burner from the mill was the one still in operation.

There are five of these Cogen plants in this area. The plant manager told me the Loyalton facility burns 200,000 lbs per hour, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Many of the trucks used for hauling the “fuel” for these plants are leased from private individuals and many are from landfill and sanitation companies located up to 300 miles away.

At an air quality town meeting on September 15, 2003, which I videotaped, the residents were told that the plant burns municipal yard waste -- grass, leaves and tree trimmings -- and that all of the “fuel” is inspected and they are not burning garbage. The more palatable term “Urban Fuel” was also introduced at this meeting. At the burning rate of 200,000 lbs per hour, it seems to me that tree trimming and yard raking would be the career of choice in that area. That's a lot of tree trimmings and grass clippings for this sparsely-populated area.

At the next meeting, October 10, 2003, which I also videotaped, the residents were told it was hard to separate garbage from the “municipal yard waste” and so they had relaxed their requirements to allow one percent plastics and other non-organic material.

Gretchen Benitt, the representative of California's air quality office, claimed not to even know what an “environmental impact study” was, so, apparently, no such studies were conducted prior to or after “relaxing” their requirements.

A review of the videotaped meetings reveals the extent to which the “authorities” sidestepped and non-answered the public's legitimate questions and concerns about what may be contained in the air they are breathing.

No consideration was given to the fact that this “fuel,” even if it is yard waste, contains the toxic chemical pesticides, herbicides and fertilizers that have been sprayed on it even though it has been demonstrated elsewhere that measurable quantities of these chemicals are generally present in the exhaust mixture of incinerated yard debris.

Smoke from the Cogen is constant during daylight hours and its volume seems to increase at night. The residents were told at the first meeting, however, that one must attend “Smoke” school in order to see smoke. Plainly stated in the operating permit for this plant is the stipulation that smoke could only emanate from the stack for three minutes in any hour. When this was brought up the residents were not responded to, probably because none of them had graduated from “Smoke School.”

The Cogen is operated by Sierra Pacific Industries which hosted an open house tour of the plant to assure local residents that they were not doing any harm to them or the environment. It was a guided tour and barbecue, however I was stopped at the front door with my video camera. It was not allowed on the grounds.

Back to this little town

There are no less that 11 welfare and social service offices in this town of 1,100 and I have been told that the state is moving women with small children there. Since the mill closed, this has become an increasingly depressed area -- both economically and emotionally. Loyalton offers few, if any employment opportunities. With the strange influx of welfare families moving there, there aren't any more homes available for rent.

Having been an Agent Orange victim in Vietnam and carrying the effects for 20 years, my body is keenly sensitive to dioxin poisoning. It reacted after a few days up there and I took the necessary, chelation, oxygenation and nutritional steps necessary to keep myself “clean.”

Questions

The investigation is in its infancy. We have yet to discover where all of these trucks and their tons of waste are coming from. We have also not been able to see copies of the contracts with local authorities under which Sierra is operating. It appears that county officials are keeping information from the citizenry.

We have also not been able to obtain any reports regarding compliance with state and federal air quality standards.

It will be difficult to uncover epidemiological trends in this area because there is no centralized hospital or clinic that would be keeping such records.

A pattern is, however, emerging. We have discovered that other areas in the U.S. have these Cogens and there is evidence to suggest they may also be operating under clouds of secrecy.

Grounds for concern

Even a one percent mix of garbage in this fuel amounts to 24 tons of who knows what being burned each day, not to mention the 865 tons of Carbon Monoxide it admittedly spewed out in 1999. When you add these poisons to the air and water there with human bodies already straining under a toxicological burden derived from chemtrails, fluoride, processed foods and vaccinations, every breath being drawn by the people in this area must be imposing detrimental health effects on them without their consent.

My hunch is that people the state has determined to be of no value are being moved here and are, perhaps, part of some perverse study on how human bodies die slowly from systemic exposure to certain pollutants. I also believe it is possible that the federal government could be using these plants to incinerate the tons of chemical and biological weapons it has been stockpiling since WWI.

This issue needs to be further investigated and exposed as soon as possible for its nationwide environmental implications and its impact on public health.

***

Dennis Grover is one of the nation's most dedicated patriots. He is the author of “Knowledge Equals Freedom,” the host of the cable access TV program “With Liberty and Justice for All” and has produced several videos including, “Leaving You Breathless” which discusses the effects of chemtrails and cogens on the environment and human health.

Dennis needs your help and input. He can be contacted through his website at www.knowfree.com or by phone at 775-284-1388.