Background and Project Description

SCE and the City of Riverside's Municipal Utility Department (known as Riverside Public Utilities [RPU]) jointly planned the RTRP. RPU is a consumer-owned water and electric utility that has been providing services throughout the City of Riverside since 1895. The project would be owned and operated by both RPU and SCE. The RPU would own and operate certain elements of the RTRP including the new 69-kV Wilderness Substation, 69-kV subtransmission lines, and interconnection and telecommunication facilities. The SCE CPCN application covers the construction of RTRP elements that would be owned and operated by SCE, which would include:

•    Approximately 8 miles of new overhead 230-kilovolt (kV) transmission line;

•    Approximately 2 miles of new underground 230-kV transmission line;

•    New 230-kV Wildlife Substation;

•     Modifications of existing overhead distribution lines;

•     Modifications at existing substations; and

•     Telecommunication facilities between the existing Mira Loma and Vista Substations and the proposed Wildlife Substation.

The RTRP was first proposed by RPU. Acting as the CEQA Lead Agency, the City of Riverside prepared an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) to analyze the environmental impacts from construction, operation, and maintenance of the RTRP.  While there are separate permit requirements and authorizations required for RPU and SCE, the project EIR considered the “whole of the action” under CEQA (CEQA Guidelines §15378[a]) since neither the RPU elements nor the SCE elements could operate independent of one another. The City of Riverside certified the 2013 RTRP Final EIR and approved the project on February 5, 2013.

Following certification of the RTRP EIR, residential and commercial developments within SCE’s proposed transmission line route were approved by the City of Jurupa Valley. Construction of several of these developments has begun or been completed; therefore, construction of the original RTRP transmission line route would require SCE to claim eminent domain through recently entitled developments including the Lennar Homes’ Riverbend Community, the Vernola Marketplace Apartment Community, and the Stratham Homes Harmony Trails Subdivision. In September 2016, SCE revised the proposed transmission line route to avoid these three development projects. The September 2016 transmission route revisions were not included in the 2013 RTRP EIR and have not yet undergone environmental review.

CPUC is the next-in-line public agency with discretionary approval of the CPCN. The CPUC has determined that changes in the baseline physical condition (development within the proposed transmission alignment) and changes in the project description (SCE modifications to avoid the new development) require additional analysis under CEQA. 

Detailed maps of the proposed route and project components can be viewed here.

CPCN Application

SCE filed an Application for a CPCN (A.15-04-013) on April 15, 2015, which included the certified 2013 RTRP Final EIR prepared by the City of Riverside and associated administrative record. The RTRP Final EIR was filed by SCE as equivalent information to a Proponent’s Environmental Assessment. SCE filed an Amended Application on April 30, 2015.

The Application and Amended Application can be viewed here:

Application (3.4 MB)

Amended Application (2.5 MB)

The 2013 RTRP Final EIR can be viewed here.

The CPUC deemed the application complete on January 5, 2017. The letter of completeness can be viewed here.

Deficiencies, Data Requests, and Responses

The CPUC Environmental Review Team submitted data requests to the applicant for specific information to support the environmental review process. Those requests and the applicant's responses are published below.

Additional Information Requests

Environmental Review

Final Subsequent Environmental Impact Report

Draft Subsequent Environmental Impact Report

The Draft Subsequent EIR was released for public review on April 2, 2018.

The Notice of Availability can be viewed here.

The Draft Subsequent EIR can be viewed here.

The CPUC, as the CEQA lead agency, held public informational workshops on the 24th and 25th of April at Mira Loma Middle School in Jurupa Valley. The purpose of the workshops were to help affected communities understand the Revised Project, its alternatives, the Draft Subsequent EIR, and how to participate in the CPUC decision-making process. Public informational workshop materials can be found below.

CEQA Initial Study Checklist

Notice of Preparation and Scoping

Issuance of a CEQA Notice of Preparation (NOP) is the first step in the EIR Process. The NOP provides a description of SCE's application and the revised project as well as a summary of environmental topics to be considered in the Subsequent EIR. The NOP was issued on January 25, 2017 and is available here. 

For Additional Information

Additional information will be posted at this site as it becomes publicly available.

The CPUC, through its Environmental Review Team, is conducting an environmental review of the project. To request additional information, ask a question, or be added to the project mailing list, please contact:

Voicemail or Fax	v: (650) 373 - 1200, f: (650) 373 - 1211
U.S. Mail or Courier	Andrew Barnsdale California Public Utilities Commission c/o Panorama Environmental, Inc. 717 Market St. Suite 650 San Francisco, CA 94103
Email	riversidetrp@panoramaenv.com