Yep. I havn't posted it yet on SS. It looks like Plan B Rally could be the last competition we have on the property The solar farm isn't totally set in stone yet, but the chances of getting a conditional use permit is slim when you have a $750 million dollar next door neighbor that has issues with dust and such. And the possibility of building houses out there kind of goes out the window also as the solar arrays are all as tall as houses and would be between us and the Sierra's which puts a hurt on views. Depending on the time frame it could be possible to still see High Desert Trails National out there next year thru NASA Rally Sport but we are talking to our broker tomorrow about listing the property for future sale.

umm.....I've driven down to Ridgecrest a few times. I'm sure I don't have to tell you guys....there's a whole lot of nuthin' down there. They have to build this thing RIGHT NEXT to your property? frikin buzz kill.

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Jon Burke - KI6LSW
Blog: http://psgrallywrx.blogspot.com/

Hey Mark,

We have one similar issue at Rally WV, where we dusted up a rye crop badly on an adjacent farm field. It was enough that they could not get a 2nd cutting of hay from part of the field in the late summer. They also did not like one other pasture dusted up.

Praying for rain is not an good option for you, but we are going to solve the pasture dusting with a water truck this year. For the rye field, we will just not use about .45 mile of that stage and transit it at 20 mph.

Dunno if the water truck idea is an option for you; I suspect it depends on the area water supply and the amount of mileage you have in mind.

Good luck,
Mark B.

Hey Mark,

Yes we've been using a water truck just to be pro-active to keep any of the complaints to a minimum. It's not easy watering 6 miles of thirsty desert. Only thing is when we apply for the Conditional Use Permit to run an operation year round as a business, (instead of the occasional race) the county will mandate mitigation for dust and errosion, noise, etc. They are pretty tight out here, especially now with all the "global warming" and other environmental issues. This and the fact that the solar farm is a $750 million dollar venture and since a solar farm relies on mirrors and has issues with any dust due to reduced reflection the chances of us getting approved are slim. It may not be an issue, but we would have to pay around $30k for the CUP application and impact study and could still be denied. A lot of risk for not much gain at this time. It's become a tough issue financially for my partners.

But surely there has to be other dust sources that the farm would have to deal with?

Ever look into surface binder treatments? I haven't yet but may look into it to have in my back pocket. One would need to understand any pollution impacts.

The $30k study has to be a killer, though. Can't think around that one, unells we have someone in the community willing to do things like environmental impct studies at low cost.

Regards,
Mark B.