Welcome to the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) website for the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) review of the proposed Sunrise Powerlink Transmission Line Project. Applications for this project were submitted to the CPUC on December 14, 2005 (A.05-12-014) and August 4, 2006 (A.06-08-010). This site provides access to public documents and information relevant to the CEQA and National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) review processes.

Background

SDG&E has filed an application with the CPUC to construct the Sunrise Powerlink Project (SRPL). The CPUC is the CEQA lead agency and the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is the lead agency under NEPA. The CPUC and BLM are preparing an Environmental Impact Report (EIR, under CEQA) and an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS, under NEPA), which will be published as a single joint document, an EIR/EIS.

This project was approved by the California Independent System Operator on August 3, 2006. The Proponent's Environmental Assessment was filed with the CPUC on August 4, 2006 and is available on SDG&E's project website.

The CPUC maintains other web pages for documents related to its proceeding on the SRPL, where it makes available documents filed by parties to that proceeding. The web page for Application A.06-08-010 incorporates the earlier filing, and lists documents and rulings filed in the proceedings. The CPUC also maintains a page of general information on the SRPL project.

The SRPL Project, as proposed by SDG&E, includes a new, approximately 90-mile, 500 kV line from Imperial Valley Substation (in Imperial County, near the City of El Centro) to a new Central East Substation (in central San Diego County, south of the intersection of County Highways S22 and S2). The 500 kV portion would approximately follow the eastern boundary of BLM lands west of El Centro and SR 78, and would pass through Anza-Borrego Desert State Park.

The SRPL Project also proposes approximately 60 miles of 230 kV transmission lines from the new Central East Substation to SDG&E's existing Peñasquitos Substation (in the City of San Diego). SDG&E proposes to construct two segments underground (one segment south of Ramona and another in the community of Ranchos Peñasquitos, San Diego). Figure 1 shows an overview of the proposed project route.

Recirculated Draft EIR/Supplemental Draft EIS

A Recirculated Draft EIR/Supplemental Draft EIS was released to the public on July 11, 2008, and a 45-day public comment period on this document ends on August 25, 2008. The RDEIR/SDEIS is available here and is also available at numerous area libraries and government offices.

La Recirculación del borrador EIR/Suplemento del borrador EIS fué publicado para el público el 11 de Julio de 2008, y el periodo de comentario sobre este documento termina el 25 de agosto de 2008. Un resumen del documento en español es disponible aquí, y el documento entero en inglés es disponible arriba.

In order to help the public understand the RDEIR/SDEIS, and to explain how to participate in the CPUC and BLM's decision-making processes, the CPUC and BLM will hold two workshops on August 4, 2008, as described below.

PUBLIC WORKSHOPS

Monday, August 4, 2008 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. Highlands Senior Citizens Center 44681 Old Highway 80 Jacumba, California

From San Diego: Take Interstate 8 to Exit 65 for CA-94 toward Boulevard. Turn right at CA-94 / Ribbonwood Road and continue for 0.5 miles, then turn left at Old Highway 80 and continue for 8.1 miles. From El Centro: Take Interstate 8 to Exit 77 for In-Ko-Pah Park Road. Turn left at In-Ko-Pah Park Road and continue for 0.3 miles (crossing under I-8). Turn right at Old Highway 80 and continue for 5.3 miles.

This informal workshop is an opportunity to speak with CPUC and BLM representatives and some of the specialists who wrote the Recirculated Draft EIR/Supplemental Draft EIS and ask questions. A brief presentation will summarize the EIR/EIS process, the information presented in the RDEIR/SDEIS, and the decisionmaking process. Presentation notes will be available, so attendance at the beginning of the workshop is not required. While written comments may be submitted during the workshop, there will be no facilities to record oral comments.

Comments must be postmarked or received by fax or e-mail no later than August 25, 2008. Please be sure to include your name, address, and telephone number. Written comments should be sent to:

CPUC/BLM c/o Aspen Environmental Group 235 Montgomery Street, Suite 935 San Francisco, CA 94104 Fax: (866) 711-3106 E-mail: sunrise@aspeneg.com

The Final EIR/EIS is expected to be published in October 2008.

Draft EIR/EIS

The Draft EIR/EIS was released to the public on January 3, 2008 and the public comment period ended on April 11, 2008. It is available here and is also available for review at numerous area libraries and government offices.

Copies of the Executive Summary of the Draft EIR/EIS along with a DVD of the complete document may be requested. The CPUC and BLM also have a limited number of copies of the complete six-volume Draft EIR/EIS document available to the public. Requests for documents should be made to (866) 711-3106 (phone or fax) or via e-mail to sunrise@aspeneg.com.

Resumen en Español. Un resumen del borrador Informe de Impacto Ambiental/Declaración de Impacto Ambiental en español está disponible aquí.

Informational Workshops. The CPUC and BLM held 9 informational workshops during the week of January 28, 2008.

Public Participation Hearings. Five Public Participation Hearings were held in February 2008 to receive oral and written comments on the Draft EIR/EIS from interested parties. Transcripts of these hearings are available at the links below:

San Diego, 2/25/08
Pine Valley, 2/25/08
Borrego Springs, 2/26/08
Ramona, 2/26/08
Julian, 2/27/08

Two additional Public Participation Hearings were held on May 12, 2008 by the Administrative Law Judge and attended by Commissioners Peevey, Grueneich, Simon, and Bohn. Comments made at these May 12 hearings will be considered by the Commission in its Decision on the project, but are not part of the EIR/EIS process. A transcript of the May 12 hearings is available here.

Comments on the Draft EIR/EIS

Written comments on the Draft EIR/EIS have been received in the following categories, and are available at the links below:

• Agencies and Tribal Governments (35 letters)
• Groups, Organizations, Nonprofits, and Private Companies (50 letters)
• Individuals (227 letters)
• San Diego Gas & Electric Company (4 letters)
  

EIR/EIS Alternatives

Throughout 2007, the CPUC and BLM gathered information on alternatives to the proposed Sunrise Powerlink Project through an extensive public involvement process. Information and documents from that process are available here.

Documents Available

In addition to the EIR/EIS, other documents that were published during the CEQA and NEPA processes are available here.

Data Requests

The EIR/EIS Team submits Data Requests to SDG&E and other entities when it needs specific information to support EIR/EIS preparation. These requests are available here at the time they are issued.

Requests for Technical Information Related to the Draft EIR/EIS

During the 90-day public comment period on the Draft EIR/EIS, various parties submitted requests for technical information related to that document. The information provided has available here.

For Additional Information

To request additional information or to be added to the mailing list, please contact us by email, fax, or phone, as follows:

The CPUC's Project Manager is: