STATE OF CALIFORNIA
PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION

Schedule

Introduction and Background

Welcome to the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) web page for the environmental review of the San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E or the Applicant) Tie Line (TL) 649 Wood-to-Steel Replacement Project (the "Project"). The CPUC is the lead agency under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) for the Project, and is therefore responsible for evaluating the Project's potential environmental impacts.

The Project will replace the existing wood poles supporting the power line with steel poles to increase fire safety and service reliability. The portion of TL 649 in which the existing poles will be replaced is approximately seven miles long, located in southern California, near San Diego and the United States-Mexico border. The Project extends through portions of the City of Chula Vista, the City of San Diego, and unincorporated San Diego County.

SDG&E submitted to CPUC a Proponent's Environmental Assessment (PEA) in August 2015, as part of its application (A.15-08-006) for a Permit to Construct, as specified in CPUC General Order (G.O.) 131-D. The PEA and related project documents are available under the "Quick Links" heading below. Additional information on the Project and the CPUC's environmental review process are also provided below.

Quick Links

• CPUC Proceeding No. A.15-08-006
• Proponent's Environmental Assessment (PEA), dated August 10, 2015
• PEA Only [5.6 MB]
• PEA Attachment 3-A, Detailed Route Map [16.0 MB]
• PEA Attachment 3-B, Typical Drawings [3.1 MB]
• PEA Attachment 3-C, Construction Equipment Summary [15 KB]
• PEA Attachment 4.1-A, Visual Characterization Photographs [1.6 MB]
• PEA Attachment 4.1-B, Visual Simulations [21.4 MB]
• PEA Attachment 4.3-A, Air Quality Modeling Results [721 KB]
• PEA Attachment 4.4-A, Biological Technical Report [139.9 MB]
• PEA Attachment 4.4-B, SDG&E Subregional NCCP [1.3 MB]
• PEA Attachment 4.4-C, SDG&E Low-Effect HCP for Quino checkerspot butterfly [1.8 MB]
• PEA Attachment 4.5-A, NAHC Correspondence [10.5 MB]
• PEA Attachment 4.5-B, Historic Significance Evaluation [9.4 MB]
• PEA Attachment 4.6-A, Geotechnical Investigation [51.9 MB]
• PEA Attachment 4.8-A, EDR DataMap Corridor Study [584 KB]
• PEA Attachment 4.8-B, Construction Fire Prevention Plan [410 KB]
• PEA Attachment 4.9-A, Jurisdictional Delineation Report [32.0 MB]
• PEA Attachment 4.10-A, Policies Consistency Analysis [21 KB]
• PEA Attachment 4.12-A, Construction Noise Calculations [19 KB]
• PEA Attachment 4.17-A, Otay Water District Will Serve Letter [369 KB]
• Deficiency Letter #1, dated September 9, 2015, from CPUC to SDG&E regarding completeness review of SDG&E application (A.15-08-006) and PEA [367 KB]
• SDG&E Response to Deficiency Letter #1, dated October 20, 2015 [93 KB]
• Deficiency Letter #2, dated November 20, 2015 [354 KB]
• SDG&E Response to Deficiency Letter #2, dated December 28, 2015 [3.9 MB]
• Application Deemed Complete Letter, dated January 25, 2016 [68 KB]
• Data Request No. 1, dated March 18, 2016 [146 KB]
• SDG&E Response to Data Request No. 1, dated April 15, 2016 [11.4 MB]
• Draft Initial Study/Mitigated Negative Declaration (IS/MND), dated May 2018
  • Notice of Intent to Adopt a Mitigated Negative Declaration, dated May 16, 2018
  • Draft IS/MND without Appendices, dated May 2018
    • Draft IS/MND Appendices A through H
    • Draft IS/MND Appendix I
    • Draft IS/MND Appendices J through O
    • Note: for PEA documents, please see links above under PEA
• Final IS/MND, dated October 2018
  • Final IS/MND without Appendices
  • Appendices A through E
  • Appendices F and G
  • Appendices H through I
  • Appendix J
  • Appendices K though P
• Decision Granting SDG&E a Permit to Construct the Tie Line 649 Wood-to-Steel Replacement Project
• Notice to Proceed (NTP) Request Letter, dated June 11, 2019
• NTP Letter, dated June 21, 2019
• Mitigation, Monitoring, Compliance and Reporting Program
  • Appendix A: Detailed Route Mapset
  • Appendix B: Project Description
  • Appendix C: Mitigation Measure Compliance Tracking Table
  • Appendix D: Project Contact (Confidential)
  • Appendix E: Weekly Compliance Checklist Form
  • Appendix F: Minor Project Refinement Form
  • Appendix G: Temporary Extra Workspace Request Form
• Compliance Documentation
  • Focused Plant Survey Report (MM-BIO-01)
  • Pre-Activity Survey Report (MM-BIO-02)
  • Supervisory Environmental Training Program Presentation (MM-BIO-03)
  • Environmental Training Brochure
  • Environmental Training Hardhat Decal
  • Burrowing Owl Monitoring and Management Plan (MM-BIO-17)
  • Main Street Yard Verfication Survey Memo
  • Quino Checkspot Butterfly Survey Report (MM-BIO-21)
  • Cultural Resources Monitoring Plan (MM-CR-03)
  • Geotechnical Considerations (MM-GEO-01)
  • Soil Contamination Handling Plan (MM-HAZ-03)
  • Fire Prevention Plan (MM-HAZ-04)
  • Noise Complaints Procedures (MM-NOI-03)
  • Noise Management Plan (MM-NOI-05)
  • Vibration Impact Assessment Report (MM-NOI-06)

Project Objectives

The objectives of the Project as defined by the Applicant are as follows:

• Increase the fire safety and service reliability of TL 649
• Locate proposed facilities within existing utility corridors to the extent feasible

Project

Project Description

The Project includes four primary components:

1. Wood-to-steel replacement of existing facilities
2. Conversion of approximately 430 feet of underground power line cable under State Route 125 to an overhead configuration
3. Interception of existing underground distribution lines by trenching approximately 80 to 100 feet to pole location 25 and approximately 20 feet to pole location 18.5
4. Modification of existing access roads as needed to ensure safe access by expanding the road width by approximately five feet at pole location 34, 35, 36, and 75 for lengths measuring approximately 50 feet, or as dictated by the condition of the road at the time of construction

Because the existing 69 kV conductors will be transferred to the new poles and no changes to any associated substation or other infrastructure were proposed, the Project would not increase the capacity of the existing system.

Project Location

The Project is located in the southeastern portion of San Diego County, California, approximately 12 miles southeast of downtown San Diego and approximately 1.5 miles north of the United States–Mexico border. The Project would traverse the City of Chula Vista, the City of San Diego, and unincorporated San Diego County. The portion of TL 649 that will be replaced is approximately seven miles in length and between pole locations 1 and 117. TL 649 extends farther than the Project alignment; however, wood-to-steel replacement will only occur on this portion of the power line. Replacement poles will be placed within SDG&E's existing alignment. Land uses along the Project route include residential, recreation, institutional, open space, public lands, rural lands, and utility corridors.

Environmental Review

As the lead agency under CEQA, CPUC conducted its own independent analysis of the potential environmental effects of the Project, and prepared an appropriate CEQA document based on the potential for significant environmental effects. Part of CPUC’s environmental review process involved assessing the completeness of the PEA.

The CPUC deemed SDG&E’s application complete on January 25, 2015 after receiving SDG&E's responses to Deficiency Letters #1 and #2. Based on its preliminary review of the Project as a whole, CPUC decided to prepare an Initial Study/Mitigated Negative Declaration (IS/MND).

The Draft IS/MND was published for public review and comment on May 16, 2018. The Draft IS/MND can be downloaded under the "Quick Links" section above. The Draft IS/MND was circulated for a 30-day public review period, ending on June 15, 2018. CPUC received comment letters from California Department of Fish and Wildlife and Caltrans.

The Final IS/MND was published on October 5, 2018. The Final IS/MND can be downloaded under the "Quick Links" section above.

Construction Monitoring

The Project is currently under construction. The construction process is estimated to take approximately nine months, beginning in July 2019 and ending in April 2020. SDG&E will be responsible for fully implementing the mitigation measures included in the Mitigation, Monitoring and Reporting Program (MMRP) for the Project, which was included as part of the IS/MND (Appendix C). CPUC will monitor SDG&E's compliance, and, as lead agency under CEQA, is ultimately responsible for ensuring that the MMRP is fully implemented.

The Mitigation, Monitoring, Compliance and Reporting Program (MMCRP) is the CPUC's framework for ensuring environmental compliance for projects during construction. The MMCRP for the Project is available for viewing/download at the Quick Links above, and provides additional information on the project schedule, monitoring requirements, communication protocols, and other procedures to be followed during the Project construction period. Appendix C of the MMCRP documents compliance with specific mitigation measures and associated monitoring actions. This appendix will be continuously updated throughout the course of the construction process as items are completed.

For Additional Information

The CPUC's Environmental Review Team is managing the environmental evaluation of the Project. To request additional information or be added to the mailing list, please contact us by email, fax, or phone at:

The CPUC's project manager for the Project is:

John Forsythe, AICP
Energy Division
Infrastructure Permitting and CEQA
300 Capitol Mall, Suite 418
Sacramento, CA 95814