Environmental Impact Report
The 11,000 page Environmental Impact Report conducted by the California Public Utilities Commission favored no transmission line as its first alternative. Instead, the report recommended a mix of energy sources, including local solar generation. San Diego County is one of the sunniest counties in the country and is a favorable venue for rooftop solar voltaic generation, as pointed out in a comprehensive report discussing various energy options for the region . The project has also generated controversy concerning the choice of route. Rather than following roads (e.g. Interstate 8) or existing transmission lines, SDG&E originally proposed to build it in wilderness, cutting across Anza-Borrego Desert State Park and Cleveland National Forest. The route approved by the California Public Utilities Commission avoids Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, and instead traverses the Cleveland National Forest and the communities of Jacumba, Boulevard, Campo, Japatul Valley, Lyons Valley, Alpine, and Lakeside. The U.S. Forest Service is currently considering a proposed plan amendment and Record of Decision that would allow the line to cross a section of the Cleveland National Forest. The project can not be built without Forest Service approval. SDG&E has stated that the Sunrise Powerlink is expected to be in service by 2012.
The project's Environmental Impact Report "Fire and Fuels Management" section lists numerous unmitigable significant impacts; known as Class 1 impacts, which are the highest level of impact that a project can have. The final EIR states that, "San Diego County is an extremely fire-prone landscape. Winds originating from the Great Basin, locally known as Santa Anas, create extreme fire weather conditions characterized by low humidity, sustained high-speed winds, and extremely strong gusts. Santa Ana winds typically blow from the northeast over the Peninsular Range. As the air is forced through coastal mountain passes, wind speeds of 40 mph (64 km/h) can be maintained for hours with gusts from 70 to 115 mph (185 km/h) possible (Schroeder et al., 1964). Santa Ana winds create extremely dangerous fire conditions and have been the primary driver of most of California's catastrophic wildfires. Because of the presence of dense, dry fuels and periodic Santa Ana winds, southern California has been characterized as having one of the most fire-prone landscapes in the world.
The Final EIR cites the following unmitigable impacts:
Wildland firefighters working around energized power lines are exposed to electrical shock hazards including: direct contact with downed power lines, contact with electrically charged materials and equipment due to broken lines, contact with smoke that can conduct electricity between lines, and the use of solid-stream water applications around energized lines. Between 1980 and 1999 in the U.S., there were 10 firefighter fatalities due to electrical structure contact during wildfire suppression (NFPA, 2001). Maintaining a minimum 500-foot (150 m) safety buffer greatly reduces the risk of electrical structure contact, and it also reduces the effectiveness of ground-based frontal attacks.
The presence of the overhead transmission line would reduce the effectiveness of firefighting (Class I) - Aerial and ground-based firefighting efforts would be compromised by the introduction of an overhead transmission line due to the introduction of various hazards as identified in the Containment Conflict Model results, including increasing the risk of transmission line contact by aircraft or water buckets, creating indefensible landscapes, and obstructing historical fire containment boundaries.
The outcome of not fighting a wildfire in an otherwise defensible landscape under favorable weather conditions is that it is able to build in size and intensity unchecked by firefighters who are forced to wait until the fire passes through the area. Delays in containment allow for rapid fire perimeter growth. With the increase in the fire perimeter comes the potential for wind-blown embers to ignite spot fires ahead of the fire front, which further complicates fire suppression activities.
Impact F-2: Presence of the overhead transmission line would increase the probability of a wildfire (Class I)- The presence of the overhead transmission line would create an ongoing source of potential wildfire ignitions for the life of the project. Line faults can be caused by such unpredictable events as conductor contact by floating debris, gun shots, and helicopter collisions; these events are rare but would be unavoidable. Impact F-2 is considered a significant impact because certain ignition sources are unavoidable. Due to the potential for unavoidable ignitions related to the presence of the overhead transmission line to occur during extreme fire weather, the presence of the project would significantly increase the likelihood of a catastrophic wildfire (Class I). The risk of ignitions and the risk of damage from a project-related ignition can be reduced, though not to a level that is less than significant.
Impact F-3: Presence of the overhead transmission line would reduce the effectiveness of firefighting. (Class I)- Aerial and ground-based firefighting efforts would be compromised by the introduction of an overhead transmission line due to the introduction of various hazards as identified in the Containment Conflict Model results, including increasing the risk of transmission line contact by aircraft or water buckets, creating indefensible landscapes, and obstructing historical fire containment boundaries. The outcome of not fighting a wildfire in an otherwise defensible landscape under favorable weather conditions is that it is able to build in size and intensity unchecked by firefighters who are forced to wait until the fire passes through the area. Delays in containment allow for rapid fire perimeter growth. With the increase in the fire perimeter comes the potential for wind-blown embers to ignite spot fires ahead of the fire front, which further complicates fire suppression activities."
In addition, numerous environmental groups believe that construction of the power line, as well as the power line itself, will be harmful to the environment, will cost ratepayers more than better alternatives, and will actually add more greenhouse gases than it will save. The Draft Environmental Impact Report finds that several alternatives would be better for the environment than the Sunrise Powerlink.
However, the Environmental Impact Report itself is only one factor officials use in deciding the overall merits of a project. The Sunrise Powerlink EIR states that, "This EIR/EIS does not make a recommendation regarding the approval or denial of the project. It is purely informational in content, and will be used by the CPUC and BLM in considering whether to approve the Proposed Project or any of the alternatives analyzed in this EIR/EIS."
Read more about this topic: Sunrise Powerlink
Famous quotes containing the words impact and/or report:
“One can describe a landscape in many different words and sentences, but one would not normally cut up a picture of a landscape and rearrange it in different patterns in order to describe it in different ways. Because a photograph is not composed of discrete units strung out in a linear row of meaningful pieces, we do not understand it by looking at one element after another in a set sequence. The photograph is understood in one act of seeing; it is perceived in a gestalt.”
—Joshua Meyrowitz, U.S. educator, media critic. “The Blurring of Public and Private Behaviors,” No Sense of Place: The Impact of Electronic Media on Social Behavior, Oxford University Press (1985)
“What has history to do with me? Mine is the first and only world! I want to report how I find the world. What others have told me about the world is a very small and incidental part of my experience. I have to judge the world, to measure things.”
—Ludwig Wittgenstein (1889–1951)