STATE OF CALIFORNIA
PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION

Southern California Edison
Viejo System Project

(Application A.03-03-043, filed March 21, 2003)

Welcome to the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) website for the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) review of the proposed construction of Southern California Edison's (SCE) Viejo System Project. An application for this project was submitted to the CPUC on March 21, 2003 (Application A.03-03-043), and the project was approved by the CPUC on July 8, 2004, in Decision D.04-07-027. This site provides access to public documents and information relevant to the CEQA review.

Background

The purpose of the Viejo System Project is to improve reliability and meet projected electrical load requirements in the rapidly urbanizing south Orange County area. SCE is constructing a 220/66/12 kilovolt (kV) substation (Viejo Substation) on a 12.5-acre site located in the City of Lake Forest and a 3.1-mile 66 kV subtransmission line along the corridor between the proposed Viejo Substation and the existing Chiquita Substation located in the City of Mission Viejo. In addition, the project includes the replacement of 19 double-circuit tubular steel poles with 13 H-frame structures capable of carrying four 66 kV circuits, and the installation of two optical ground wires. The project components are listed below:

• Construction of the Viejo Substation on a 12.5-acre site adjacent to State Route 241 in the City of Lake Forest
  
  
• Addition of a new 3.1-mile 66 kV line between the Chiquita and Viejo Substations
  
  
• Replacement of 19 double-circuit tubular steel poles with 13 H-frame structures
  
  
• Replacement of three 220 kV lattice towers to relocate 0.3 miles of 220 kV line into the Viejo Substation.
  

In accordance with Public Utilities Code Section 1001, SCE is seeking approval of a Permit to Construct from the CPUC.

Approved Route

The approved route can be viewed at the two links following:

Regional Vicinity Map
Proposed Substation Site and 66 kV Subtransmission Line Route

SCE's Proponent's Environmental Assessment (PEA)

The PEA may be viewed online here.

Environmental Review

The Mitigated Negative Declaration and supporting Initial Study (released on March 10, 2004) may be viewed here. The Final MND/IS is available to the public at the locations listed below, and may also be viewed here.

Construction Progress and Mitigation Monitoring

Construction for the project began in August 2004. Monitoring reports may be viewed here.

The CPUC, through its Environmental Review Team, managed the environmental review of the project. The CPUC's Project Manager in the Energy Division's CEQA unit is:

Jensen Uchida, CPUC Project Manager
California Public Utilities Commission
505 Van Ness Avenue
San Francisco, CA  94102
Tel. (415) 703-5953
Fax (415) 703-2200

To request additional information, please contact us via e-mail, fax, or phone, as follows:

Project e-mail: viejosystem@aspeneg.com
Project fax and voicemail: (949) 606-8494

Fact Sheet on EMF Safety

The State of California Department of Health Services and the Public Health Institute have prepared a short fact sheet on electric and magnetic field (EMF) safety issues as part of the California Electric and Magnetic Fields Program. This document answers some common questions about the safety of powerlines and appliances.

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