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Welcome
to the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) website for the
environmental review of Pacific Gas and Electric Company’s
(PG&E’s) proposed Crazy Horse Canyon Switching Station Project
(Project). This proposed Project includes construction and installation
of a new switching station and associated facilities, and rearrangement
of the existing electrical power circuits.
The objectives of the proposed
Project are to improve transmission reliability by allowing
PG&E to quickly detect power outages on the existing 115 kV
lines, and to increase operational flexibility by allowing PG&E
to re-route power on the existing 115 kV lines to serve existing
customers while simultaneously performing routine or emergency
maintenance on lines connected to the station.
The proposed Project is subject to
review under California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), and the CPUC
is the CEQA Lead Agency. A CEQA review was performed to evaluate the
potential environmental impacts associated with this Project. This
website provides access to public documents and information relevant to
the CEQA.
Application
PG&E’s Application and associated Proponent’s
Environmental Assessment (PEA) for the Crazy Horse Canyon Switching
Station Project may be viewed here (50 MB).
Project Description
PG&E proposes to construct and operate the Crazy
Horse Canyon Switching Station Project. The Project is located north of
the City of Salinas in Monterey County, northeast of the intersection
of Crazy Horse Canyon Road and San Juan Grade Road.
The Crazy Horse Canyon Switching Station would replace
the Lagunitas Switch, an existing power line tower located
approximately 850 feet west of the proposed switching station site. The
Lagunitas Switch would be removed once the Crazy Horse Canyon Switching
Station is operational, and the 115 kV lines that enter and leave the
new switching station would be sectionalized and renamed. No new power
lines would be constructed as part of this Project.
Environmental Review
PG&E’s Application and PEA were deemed complete
by the CPUC on September 3, 2010. The CPUC subsequently determined that
an Initial Study/Mitigated Negative Declaration (IS/MND) was the
appropriate CEQA document to evaluate potential environmental issues
associated with this project.
On March 9, 2011, the CPUC released a Notice of Intent to Adopt a MND
for the Crazy Horse Canyon Switching Station Project. The findings of
the Draft IS/MND are that the proposed project, as mitigated, would not
have any significant effects on the environment.
The Draft IS/MND can be viewed here (26 MB).
The Draft IS/MND underwent a public review period from
March 9, 2011, through April 8, 2011.
Comments on the Draft IS/MND were submitted to the CPUC
during the public review period ending on April 8, 2011. The CPUC’s
responses to the comments received are presented in Chapter 5 of the
Final IS/MND. The Final IS/MND was published on May 19, 2011. The
conclusions of the Draft IS/MND remain unchanged in the Final IS/MND;
the proposed project would not have a significant effect on the
environment.
The Final IS/MND can be viewed here (28 MB).
There is no comment period following issuance of the
Final IS/MND. The CPUC evaluated and adopted the Final IS/MND on June
17, 2011 as being compliant with CEQA. The CPUC issued a Proposed
Decision on the Application, and a Notice of Determination was mailed
to the State Clearinghouse on August 10, 2011. The 30-day statute of
limitations for court challenges begins after the Notice of
Determination is filed.
Mitigation Monitoring
A
Mitigation
Monitoring, Compliance, and Reporting Plan (MMCRP) was prepared to
ensure
compliance with applicant proposed measures (APMs) and mitigation
measures
approved in the Final IS/MND. This MMCRP was developed to provide
guidelines
and standardize procedures for environmental compliance during project
implementation. The procedures were developed in coordination with
PG&E and
CPUC and define the reporting relationships, the roles and
responsibilities of
the project’s environmental compliance team members, compliance
reporting
procedures, and the communication protocol.
The MMCRP can be viewed here
(3.5 MB).
The CPUC issued approvals for PG&E's Notice to Proceed (NTP)
requests #1 and #2 on March 12, 2012. The approval letter for NTP #1
and NTP #2 can be viewed here (0.7 MB).
NTP #1 authorizes PG&E to commence preconstruction surveys,
installation of exclusion fencing, and burrow excavation within fenced
areas using picks and hand trowels for California tiger salamander in
all project areas in order to comply with conditions of the Incidental
Take Permit.
Subsequesnt to the March 12, 2012 approval of NTP #1 and
NTP #2, the CPUC recinded NTP #2 on April 5, 2012 due to concerns
regarding the draft Avian Protection Plan and tree remocal during the
nesting season. Conditional approval of NTP #1 remains in
effect.
PG&E requested approval of four minor project modifications on
July 30, 2012. These minor project modifications are shown in the table
below.
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PG&E Proposed Minor
Modifications
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Modification #
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Changes
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Net Acreage Change/Additional
Tree Removal
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1
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CDFG-directed
use of the Hollister Project helicopter landing zone and access road
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1.5
acres
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2
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Alteration
to the workspace area footprint for project construction
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3.6
acres
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3
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Additional
Segment of Access Road
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215
feet long, 0.079 acre
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4
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Increased
oak tree removals
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76
additional oak trees; 0.46 acre of oak woodland
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The CPUC determined
that the environmental effects of the
proposed modifications would be similar to those of the originally
proposed
project, and the CPUC conditionally approved the four minor project
modifications. The August 16, 2012 letter approving Minor Project
Modifications
#1-4 can be viewed here (2.2 MB).
The CPUC issued an approval for PG&E's NTP #3 on August 17,
2012. The approval letter for NTP #3 can be viewed here (1.2 MB).
NTP
#3 authorizes PG&E
to commence the following construction activities for the Crazy Horse
switching
station facility:
- Removal
and/or trimming of approximately 202 trees and vegetation trimming and
clearing within all of the approved project work areas
- Construction
of temporary and permanent access roads, including blading a new
logging road
- Installation
of Towers 10/51 and
10/52
NTP
#3 does not authorize any other construction
activities, including grading and cut-and-fill activities for the
construction
of the switching station, installation of switching station components,
installation of additional towers and poles, or stringing of new
overhead
wires. A separate NTP request must be submitted by PG&E and an
NTP issued
by the CPUC before these additional activities can commence.
The
CPUC issued an approval for
PG&E's NTP #4 on February 22, 2013. The approval letter for NTP
#4 can be
viewed here
(1.2 MB).
NTP
#4 authorizes PG&E to
commence the following construction activities for the Crazy Horse
switching
station facility:
- Installation
of a nesting bird visual barrier fence
on the project site
within the previously installed sensitive amphibian fencing, which was
authorized under NTPs #1 and #2.
NTP
#4 does not authorize any
other construction activities, including grading and cut-and-fill
activities
for the construction of the switching station, installation of
switching station
components, installation of additional towers and poles, or stringing
of new
overhead wires. A separate NTP request must be submitted by
PG&E and an NTP
issued by the CPUC before these additional activities can commence.
For Additional Information
The CPUC, through its Environmental Review Team,
manages
the environmental evaluation of the proposed project. To request
additional information or to be added to the mailing list, please
contact us by email, fax, or phone, as follows:
Project email: susanne.heim@panoramaenv.com
Project fax number: (650) 373-1211
Project voicemail: (650) 340-4803
The CPUC’s Project Manager is:
Andrew Barnsdale, CPUC Project Manager
California Public Utilities Commission
505 Van Ness Avenue, 4th Floor
San Francisco CA 94102
Email: andrew.barnsdale@cpuc.ca.gov
Fax: (415) 703-2200
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