INITIAL STUDY
ENVIRONMENTAL CHECKLIST

Introduction, Purpose and Need for the Project

Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) is proposing to build a 230 kV substation, referred to as the Vasona Substation, in Los Gatos, California (PG&E, 1997a, 1997b). Under General Order No. 131-D of the Public Utilities Commission of California (CPUC), PG&E must apply for a Permit to Construct the proposed facility. General Order No. 131-D requires compliance with the requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) (Public Resources Code Section 21000 et seq.) to support the CPUC's decision on the Permit to Construct. This Initial Study is the required CEQA document for the proposed project.

Los Gatos is located approximately seven miles southwest of San Jose in Santa Clara County. This substation is proposed to meet expected electrical load growth occurring in the Santa Clara Valley including the Los Gatos area and to ensure that PG&E can adequately and reliably supply the area's future demand for electrical energy. Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) provides electrical power services in the South De Anza and West San Jose area which encompasses the City of Saratoga, Town of Los Gatos, Town of Monte Sereno, City of Campbell, southern and western parts of the City of San Jose and the eastern side of the Santa Cruz Mountains (from Loma Prieta to Steven's Creek Reservoir). In providing these services, PG&E currently operates four substations, referred to as Saratoga, Los Gatos, El Patio, and Hicks substations. Figure 1 shows the electric service area the proposed Vasona Substation would serve.

According to the PG&E Proponent’s Environmental Assessment (PEA), activity and growth in the South De Anza and West San Jose area have been susceptible to economic trends. The recent trends indicate an upswing in the local economies fueled by strong performance by high technology companies throughout the Silicon Valley. A potential growth area exists along the Highway 85 corridor, and more specifically, near Highway 17, Los Gatos Boulevard and Winchester Boulevard.

The expected electrical load growth is the sole reason for installation of the Vasona Substation. The capacity of the existing electric distribution system in the area is 349.2 megawatts (MW). PG&E's (1997b) forecasts of load growth project a 1998 peak summer area load of 375.2 MW and an area deficiency of 26 MW (7.4%). This projection includes block loads of 3 MW from the Valley Medical Hospital, 5 MW from the Campbell Industrial Park and an annual growth rate of 3.84 MW from residential and commercial uses in the area. The project's purpose is to provide facilities that will prevent the projected deficiency in electric power loads. According to PG&E’s PEA, the ability to provide load transfers from PG&E's Saratoga, Los Gatos, El Patio, and Hicks Substations to accommodate the expected growth would soon be exhausted. The use of the existing 230 kV transmission line capacity to serve the proposed substation is sufficient to serve the South De Anza and West San Jose area for the foreseeable future.

Project Description

Information in this section is taken from PG&E's Application (1997a) and Amendment to the Application (1997b) for a permit from the California Public Utilities Commission to construct the Vasona Substation. The Town of Los Gatos is located approximately seven miles southwest of downtown San Jose. The project site is located on a 3.2-acre (120,032 square-feet) site near the northern boundary of the Town of Los Gatos (Figure 1). According to PG&E the site was purchased in 1973 in anticipation of building a substation to accommodate the projected electric load growth in this area. The proposed site is owned by PG&E and the existing Metcalf-Monta Vista 230 kV transmission line runs through the proposed site. The proposed site is bordered by Winchester Boulevard to the west, a property development with a commercial office building to the south, the Charter Oaks Circle residential condominium complex to the east, and the Santa Clara County Central Fire Protection District Administration Offices to the north (Figure 2). The site is bisected by PG&E's Metcalf-Monta Vista 230 kV transmission line. Other land uses in the vicinity of the project site include the Elk's Lodge, across and uphill of Winchester Boulevard southwest of the proposed site.

The proposed site is flat and is mostly vacant, with one temporary trailer and a small shed structure located on site. The area on the north side of the property is currently being used as a staging area for PG&E's contract tree trimmers with no immediate plans for relocation. The contract tree trimmers consists of approximately 12 workers with four to five trucks. No servicing of vehicles or equipment and no wood chipping occurs on site. No waste is generated or disposed of on site at present.

The proposed substation at full build out is planned to be a remote-controlled, two- transformer bank, low profile facility occupying an area approximately 250 feet by 150 feet and would require maintenance inspections once a month (Figure 3). Development of the site for the substation would involve the following phases:

Phase	Development
1	Site Improvement including minor regrading, resurfacing, paving, laying of foundations, and construction of the sound wall addition.
2	Initial substation equipment installation and transmission line modifications including installation of a transformer bank, bus structure, switchgear, and replacement of wood poles with tubular steel poles; coincident with this phase would be the under grounding of two distribution circuits.
3	Line/Substation testing, conversion and energizing station including testing and conversion to new lines and project clean-up.
4	Future addition of the second transformer bank.

The first three phases would require approximately four months to complete. Electrical service interruptions to customers in the area are not expected during the construction of the substation because PG&E plans to reroute electrical power on its transmission system to ensure continuous service to the service area.

All construction equipment, vehicles, personnel and staging areas would be accommodated within the fenced portion of the proposed substation site. Access to the substation would be from an existing entrance at the north side of the property along an existing driveway at Winchester Boulevard and adjacent to Santa Clara County Fire Protection District office. Contingent on CPUC action, PG&E plans to begin construction in December 1997 and requires approximately four months to complete construction. The following is a general description of the construction activity that would take place on site.

• Final grading of the site. Since the site was graded 20 years ago, the current construction would require minor regrading of the surficial soils and resurfacing to establish proper drainage patterns and drainage channels.
  
  The transformer pad would be built on approximately one foot of engineered fill to establish proper elevation so that the pond drains correctly in the event of an oil spill. A minor cut around the Spill Prevention Containment and Countermeasure (SPCC) pond would form the directed ditch pond that would be six feet wide and one foot deep. Soil excavated from the drainage troughs and minor resurfacing would be used for the transformer pad fill avoiding the exporting of spoil. Soil and gravel/crushed rock would be imported to create a raised transformer pad and cover the substation equipment yard area. Approximately 550 cubic yards of soil and gravel/crushed rock would be imported. The service road would be constructed with two inches of asphaltic concrete over four inches of rock base material. The standard method of 95 percent compaction would be used for engineering the fill.
  
  Impermeable surface area would increase from an existing 6,620 square feet to 40,825 square feet. To accommodate increased runoff, a new storm water collection ditch system and 20,700 square-foot storage area at the north end of the site would collect surface runoff. The drainage collection system is designed to accommodate runoff from a storm with a ten-year recurrence and five-minute duration (4.32 inches of rainfall per hour). Flows would be discharged into the Town of Los Gatos drainage system.

• Installation of substation. Construction materials would be transported to the site to assemble the 230/12 kV, 45 Megavolt-Ampere (MVA) transformer. A SPCC pond and a paved driveway within the substation for the internal circulation of vehicles would also be constructed.

• Modification of the existing Metcalf-Monta Vista 230 kV transmission line to serve the proposed substation would replace the double wood pole support structures with single tubular steel poles as described below:
  
  The two existing wood poles at the proposed substation site would be replaced at approximately the same location with self-supporting tubular steel poles; and
  
  The two existing wood poles north of Winchester Boulevard on the Elk's Lodge property would be replaced with a single self-supporting tubular steel pole (Figure 1) placed between the locations of the existing poles. Because the 230 kV transmission line already passes through the site, no new extension and realignment are required to connect the substation to the transmission system. The existing poles would be reused elsewhere.
  
  The tubular steel poles proposed to replace the existing wood poles would be approximately ten feet higher than the existing wood poles, for a total height of approximately 100 feet (Masuoka, 1997). Tubular steel poles would be installed on concrete foundations. Grading around the proposed foundation pole sites is not required.
  
  New overhead transmission lines would be strung on the circuit (Circuit No. 1) connecting the substation to the tubular steel pole on the Elks Lodge property. The other circuit (Circuit No. 2) which bypasses the substation would be reattached to the new tubular steel poles.

• Installation of the sound wall. The perimeter fencing and landscaping around the substation would remain except along the easterly boundary where the existing wire cyclone-type fencing would be replaced with a precast sound wall. An eight-foot high solid sound wall would be constructed along the easterly boundary of the site between the Charter Oaks condominium complex and the substation. The wall would be of similar color and texture to the existing wall along the southern, northern and western site boundaries, except that no wood slats would be used in the sound wall.

• Modification of existing electrical distribution lines. The existing overhead distribution line along Winchester Boulevard between Lark Avenue and the northerly boundary of the proposed substation would be placed underground during the construction period for the project. Construction of two underground 12 kV distribution circuits which would connect the Vasona Substation to the existing electric distribution system. The electric distribution feeder line would run along the east side of Winchester Boulevard commencing from the substation (opposite Wimbledon Drive) and along the south side of Lark Avenue to an overhead transition pole at Lark Avenue and Los Gatos Creek, located southeasterly of the substation site. The underground distribution line would be installed in trenches at a minimum depth of 24 inches, as required by General Order 128, Section 31.4.C.3. Construction activities for the underground distribution line would occur in off-peak hours of traffic as a temporary lane closure would be required in both Winchester Boulevard and Lark Avenue.

The proposed site is bordered by Winchester Boulevard to the west, a property developed with a commercial office building to the south, the Charter Oaks Circle condominium complex to the east, and the Santa Clara County Central Fire Protection District Administration Offices to the north (Figure 1). The site is bisected by PG&E's Metcalf-Monta Vista 230 kV transmission line. Other land uses in the vicinity of the project site include the Elk's Lodge, across and uphill of Winchester Boulevard southwest of the proposed site. The existing Metcalf-Monta Vista 230 kV transmission line runs through the proposed site.

Pursuant to State Law the California Public Utilities Commission is the eminent permitting authority for the project. CPUC General Order No. 131-D establishes that local jurisdictions acting pursuant to local authority are preempted from regulating electric power line projects, distribution lines, substations, or electric facilities constructed by public utilities subject to the CPUC's jurisdiction. Therefore, the Town of Los Gatos does not have discretionary permitting authority over the substation project. PG&E would submit information materials to comply with applicable Town ministerial permits, including: building permits, grading permits, and encroachment permits (including construction-related traffic plans).

CPUC General Order 131-D encourages public utilities like PG&E to consult with local government agencies regarding land use matters and seek to resolve disputes with those agencies. If PG&E and the local jurisdiction are unable to reach an agreement on land use matters, the CPUC will set a hearing on the matter within 30 days after receiving formal notification from either party to the dispute.

ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS POTENTIALLY AFFECTED

The environmental factors checked below would be potentially affected by this project, involving at least one impact that is a "Potentially Significant Impact" as indicated by the checklist on the following pages.

DETERMINATION

(To be completed by the Lead Agency.)

On the basis of this initial evaluation:

TOP