Letter to the editor: Manzanar Committee opposes LADWP Solar Ranch
Looking
east from the visitor’s center at Manzanar National Historic Site. The
floor of the Owens Valley, along with the Inyo Mountains in the
background, are visible. But this view could be destroyed by a massive
solar energy generating station, proposed by the Los Angeles Department
of Water and Power. National Park Service Photo
Manzanar Committee Denounces LADWP Proposal To Build 1,200-Acre Solar Farm Near Manzanar
LOS ANGELES — On August 16, the Manzanar Committee announced its
opposition to the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power’s (LADWP)
proposed 1,200-acre Southern Owens Valley Solar Ranch, which would be
constructed east of the Owens River, but in a direct line of sight with
the Manzanar National Historic Site, which lies to the immediate west.
The proposed site would generate electricity that would be delivered
to LADWP customers in Los Angeles. But generating that energy would
result in the destruction of Manzanar’s historic solid waste dump, which
has not undergone an archeological study. Equally important, the site’s
approximately one million solar panels, along with buildings, large
equipment, transformers, a substation, transmission lines, and much
more, would destroy a significant portion of the historic landscape
surrounding Manzanar National Historic Site.
“The importance of maintaining and enhancing the physical
characteristics of the Manzanar National Historic Site cannot be
downplayed or overlooked,” said Manzanar Committee Co- Chair Bruce
Embrey. “One of the most powerful parts of Manzanar is the unobstructed
view, and that many of the structures, gardens and other features of the
World War II American concentration camp have not been bulldozed over
or destroyed by ‘development.’
“Some of the best and most memorable parts of Manzanar have always
been seeing the remnants of the camp set in contrast to the natural
landscape of the area,” added Embrey. “The continued restoration of the
gardens, the apple orchard, and other crucial archaeological aspects,
including Manzanar’s World War II-era solid waste dump, which
undoubtedly contains historically significant artifacts—none of that
should be compromised for commercial exploitation.”
Embrey noted that while LADWP has supported the Manzanar Pilgrimage
for many years, this proposal is yet another blot on their poor record
regarding the site.
“LADWP has a long and checkered history regarding the establishment
of the Manzanar National Historic Site,” Embrey stressed. “They have
offered support over the years to the annual Manzanar Pilgrimage, led
for decades by Sue Kunitomi Embrey. But the relationship between LADWP
and the Manzanar Committee has been marked by serious and fundamental
disagreements along the way.”
“LADWP opposed efforts to establish a National Historic Site at
Manzanar, arguing instead for a local memorial park,” added Embrey.
“Even as late as 1991, they continued their efforts, under then-General
Manager Michael Gage, to prevent the establishment of a National
Historic Site under the auspices of the National Park Service.”
As a response to an LADWP-supported bill in Congress that would have
established a locally administered memorial at Manzanar, rather than a
National Historic Site, in an October 5, 1991 letter to the editor, Sue
Kunitomi Embrey, one of the founders of the Manzanar Pilgrimage and the
Manzanar Committee, wrote in the
Los Angeles Times:
“The DWP proposal is highly inappropriate and totally unacceptable to
the Manzanar Committee for many reasons, the important one being that
Manzanar has national significance, and local jurisdiction does not give
Manzanar the integrity and national recognition it deserves.”
More than twenty years later, LADWP’s insensitivity and disregard for
Manzanar, not to mention the people who were unjustly incarcerated
there, and their families, continues.
“The very idea that any land in or around the Manzanar National
Historic Site could be used for a massive generating facility would not
harm the ongoing efforts to preserve and understand the tragedy of
justice that occurred there is simply beyond insensitive, and it’s not
just insensitive to the Japanese American community, the survivors of
America’s concentration camps and their families,” Embrey lamented.
“That gross insensitivity extends to the efforts of the National Park
Service, and others who have worked so hard to bring this brief, but
essential, part of American History to light.”
“George Santayana said, “those who cannot remember the past are
doomed to repeat it,” Embrey added. “This is true for our nation, and
for the LADWP. Their proposed solar farm will severely harm efforts to
remember our past.”
“The long-term, negative impact on the Manzanar National Historic
Site cannot be understated. We call on the Inyo County Board of
Supervisors, as well as the LADWP, to revisit the proposal and find
another, more suitable location for the proposed solar generating
station.
The Manzanar Committee is dedicated to educating and raising
public awareness about the incarceration and violation of civil rights
of persons of Japanese ancestry during World War II and to the
continuing struggle of all peoples when Constitutional rights are in
danger. A non-profit organization that has sponsored the annual Manzanar
Pilgrimage since 1969, along with other educational programs, the
Manzanar Committee has also played a key role in the establishment and
continued development of the Manzanar National Historic Site. For more
information, send e-mail to info@manzanarcommittee.org, call (323)
662-5102, or check their blog at http://blog.manzanarcommittee.org.
