Notice and Public Participation

The process of preparing the FEIR included the steps described below, which offered numerous opportunities for public involvement and were designed to maximize agency and public input for the Tri Valley 2002 Capacity Increase Project environmental review process. The scoping process for the Tri Valley 2002 Capacity Increase Project EIR consisted of five elements:

1. Publication of a Notice of Preparation (NOP) of an EIR and Notice of Public Scoping Meetings soliciting comments from affected public agencies, as required by CEQA, as well as from the public;

2. Public scoping meetings and meetings with agencies;

3. Summarization of scoping comments in a Scoping Report;

4. Distribution of the Scoping Report and scoping comments as appropriate to the commenting agencies, scoping meeting attendees, the EIR team members for use in work planning and impact analysis, and to public libraries designated as project repository sites for members of the public interested in reviewing the report and comments; and

5. Establishment of an Internet web site, electronic mail address, a telephone hotline, and local EIR Information Repositories.

The Commission issued the NOP on April 21, 2000 and distributed it to the State Clearinghouse and city, county, state and federal agencies, affected state and federal legislators, and local elected officials. Interested parties received 30 days to submit comments regarding the content of the EIR. Copies of the NOP were distributed by mail and at scoping meetings. Approximately 430 copies were distributed.

Scoping meetings are held prior to selection of alternatives to be studied in order to receive input from the public regarding the proper scope and content of the EIR. The scoping process is also used to identify alternatives and mitigation measures that should be considered in the analysis.

Three public scoping meetings were conducted as part of the EIR scoping process. An initial mailing list was developed based on PG&E's list of property owners located on or near the route of its Proposed Project, as well as agencies, groups and individuals with a vital interest in the Proposed Project identified by the EIR Team. The Notice of Scoping Meeting was mailed to over 1,100 individuals, groups and government agencies identified for the mailing list. The dates, times and locations of the three scoping meetings were included in the NOP mailed to affected agencies and parties to this proceeding, about two weeks in advance of the meetings. This information was also posted on the Commission's project website and on the project hotline. On May 3 and 4, 2000, quarter-page ads were published in The Tri-Valley Herald and the Alameda Times-Star, two newspapers in the project area.

Scoping meetings were held May 8, 2000 (Dublin and Livermore) and May 9, 2000 (Pleasanton). In all, approximately 230 people attended the scoping meetings. In July 2000, a scoping report was issued summarizing issues and concerns identified by the public and various agencies during the scoping process. This report was made available for review at the five local EIR Information Repositories³ and on the Internet, and mailed to agencies and individuals who registered at the scoping meetings or requested copies.

A newsletter was distributed in early November 2000 to describe the EIR process and the alternatives selected for detailed analysis in the DEIR. The newsletter mailing list contained over 11,000 recipients, and included postal carrier routes near the Proposed Project and the alternatives, as well as those added to the mailing list since the mailing of the Scoping Meeting Notice. A Notice of Release of the DEIR was mailed to the project mailing list on December 15, 2000. The notification included the dates and times for the informational meetings and public participation hearings. A newspaper notice was also published in the Alameda Times-Star and the Tri-Valley Herald on January 3 and 18, 2001 to announce the release of the DEIR. An additional postcard listing the dates, times, and locations of the three public participation hearings was mailed to approximately 11,000 recipients on February 2, 2001.

Following the release of the DEIR, three informational meetings were held: on January 23, 2001 at Vintage Hills School, Pleasanton; on January 24, 2001 at Dublin Elementary School, Dublin; and on January 25, 2001 at the City of Livermore Council Chambers, Livermore. The purpose of the meetings was to help affected communities understand the proposed project, the findings of the DEIR, and to explain how to participate in the Commission's decision making processes. At the workshop, EIR preparers and Commission staff were available to respond to attendee questions and provide clarification regarding the technical aspects of the proposed project, EIR alternatives, and the impact analysis presented in the DEIR.

A 58-day public review period for the DEIR was established, ending on February 23, 2001. Three public participation hearings were held by the assigned ALJ on February 8, 13, and 15, 2001 at the City of Livermore Council Chambers, Vintage Hills School, and Dublin Elementary School, respectively, to receive oral and written testimony on the DEIR from interested parties.

We have described the public participation and notice process in detail because at the public participation hearings, some speakers raised concerns about inadequate notice of the Proposed Project and alternatives being considered. CEQA requires that a notice of availability for a DEIR must be issued to the county clerk, all responsible and trustee agencies, and any person or organization requesting, or who previously requested, a copy. In addition, CEQA requires that notice be issued in one of the following three manners: publication in a newspaper of general circulation; posting on and off the project site; and direct mailing to owners and occupants of contiguous property. Rule 17.1 of the Commission's Rules of Practice and Procedure requires two notices in newspapers. Consistent with these requirements, notices of availability were published in the Alameda Times Star and the Tri-Valley Herald on both January 3, and 18, 2001. In addition, on December 15, 2000 the notice of availability was sent to the Tri Valley EIR mailing list. The mailing list consisted of approximately 10,500 recipients and included persons and organizations who had requested to receive a copy, affected landowners, and public agencies. The mailing list was expanded to encompass residents within 300 feet of the Proposed Project and alternatives. The bulk of the mailing list was purchased from a mailing house company based on carrier routes within the Proposed Project and alternative routes. After investigating the concerns over notice, we believe that the notification procedures employed for this project more than meet the requirements of CEQA.