You’ve probably heard by now that the North Fork Bioenergy project was awarded a $4.9 million grant from the CA Energy Commission. The project managers are taking this opportunity to do more outreach to the community to answer any questions and address any concerns. If you are interested, please attend the community meeting on April 29th (Download the flyer). And feel free to spread the word to any and all community members and groups!

Date: April 29, 2015

Time: 5:30-8:00 PM

Location: North Fork Fire Station at the old mill site

On April 8, 2015, the California Energy Commission officially approved the award of nearly $5 million for the North Fork bioenergy project. See the press release from the CEC below.

CEC News Release – Announcing the North Fork project award

As the CDC moves through the process of infrastructure planning, draft maps are being prepared and discussed. The Board of the CDC has opted to pursue entitlements from the county for a high-density development plan. The following two maps show the most recent draft maps. These will change between now and the end of September planning deadline. If you have any input or comments please feel free to send them to us via the contact page.

Site Map with Zones

Site Map with Proposed Parcel boundaries

On January 28th, the Madera County Board of Supervisors heard the appeal of the conditional use permit previously approved by the Planning Commission. The appeal was brought by the Center for Biological Diversity (CBD). The Board of Supervisors heard comments from many experts and members of the North Fork community. They also heard comments from the attorney for CBD. The Board voted unanimously to reject the appeal.

The video of the proceedings are on the County website. The hearing starts at 1:28:30 of the video and the Board vote is at 2:42:00. You can also click the drop down menu below the video and select #13 for the start of the hearing. For video click here.

See the “Notice of Determination” here.

The North Fork Community Development Council is moving forward with the planning for constructing a 1MW bioenergy generation facility at the town’s former Mill Site. The project is a strategic step to producing green energy and finding economic uses for biomass material generated by forest management and hazardous field treatment activities in the area. It is also an important step towards redeveloping the mill site and restoring the town’s economy.

This workshop will provide a project overview and an update to the initial project workshop last November.  There will be time to address questions and issues of concern.  We also plan to make it out in the field to view forest conditions and visit the proposed project location.

Please RSVP to: bdmillsite@gmail.com – The workshop will be held at the North Fork Rancheria Community Center. An agenda and directions will be provided upon RSVP.

Please click the following link to see the workshop flyer.
Flyer for bioenergy Project Workshop – april 2 2013

For more information, please contact Elissa Brown ( 559-877-2432) or Brittany Dyer ( 559-877-8664).

Click here to see the meeting minutes from the Bioenergy Committee meeting on February 6, 2013.

You can see the minutes from the January 9 Bioenergy Project Meeting by clicking here.