Evironmental Groups sue over Electric Generation

The ongoing struggle between energy and the environment ratcheted up a notch in Southern California:

In legal papers filed with the state Supreme Court, environmentalists have accused California energy regulators of violating state law by approving an expansion of the El Segundo power plant without requiring operators to study the potential harm to marine life.

Santa Monica Baykeeper and Heal the Bay alleged in the filing last week that the California Energy Commission went against state recommendations to study the effects of large water pipes that suck in and destroy trillions of marine organisms every year.

El Segundo plant operators plan to increase the amount of Santa Monica Bay seawater pulled in by 25%, for an annual total of about 127 billion gallons. The water is used to cool the plant's generators.

While the environmentalists claim that they do not oppose the plant and do not want to cause another energy crisis, so they would rather let both happen as an unintended consequence of their actions.