VIII. Assignment of Proceeding
Loretta M. Lynch is the Assigned Commissioner and Kim Malcolm is the assigned Administrative Law Judge in this proceeding.
1. The Commission is the lead agency under CEQA with respect to the environmental review of the project and preparation of the FEIR and has conducted an environmental review of the project in conformance with CEQA. The FEIR consists of the DEIR, revised to incorporate comments received by the Commission from the proponent, agencies, and the public, and the responses to comments. The FEIR has been completed in accordance with CEQA Guidelines, Sections 15120 through 15132.
2. The Miguel Mission Project is needed to improve the management of the statewide transmission system and reduce congestion fees incurred by SDG&E and other California utilities.
3. There are no class one environmental impacts from either the proposed project or the "environmentally preferred route" proposed by the EIR.
4. The EIR proposes an "environmentally preferred route" but it is within the discretion of the Commission to adopt that route or some other variation.
5. The proposed project is preferred over the "environmentally preferred route" in a majority of the issue areas examined in the EIR
6. The "environmentally preferred route" of the EIR (undergrounding existing 138kv/69kv transmission lines of the Jamacha Valley and City of Santee sections) is not adopted in this decision because it would provide a minimal reduction of visual impacts, and based on the totality of the considerations attendant to the proposed project and alternatives, including cost-effectiveness concerns, congestion costs, and delays in construction time associated with undergrounding.
7. The FEIR identifies environmental effects of San Diego's proposed project that may be mitigated or avoided. The FEIR describes mitigation measures that would avoid or reduce such effects to less than significant levels.
8. The mitigation measures identified in the FEIR are feasible and reasonable.
9. As lead agency under CEQA, the Commission is required to monitor the implementation of mitigation measures adopted for this project to ensure full compliance with the provisions of the monitoring program.
10. The Mitigation Monitoring, Compliance, and Reporting Plan in the FEIR conforms to the recommendations of the FEIR for measures required to mitigate or avoid environmental effects of the project as modified and adopted that can be reduced or avoided.
11. The FEIR concludes that the project adopted herein will not impose any significant impact on the environment.
12. The Miguel Mission Project, as adopted today, is needed to promote more economic and reliable operation of the electric system.
13. The economic benefits of the Miguel Mission Project outweigh the economic costs, applying the assumptions and the Henwood model described herein.
14. SDG&E has met all project milestones adopted in D.03-02-069 with one minor exception for which it has provided reasonable justification.
1. The procedures employed for this project are in conformance with CEQA. The contents of the FEIR comply with the requirements of CEQA and represent the Commission's independent judgment. Accordingly, the FEIR should be certified for the project in accordance with CEQA.
2. The Commission has jurisdiction over the proposed project pursuant to Pub. Util. Code Section 1001 et seq.
3. The Commission, under CEQA Guidelines Section 15021, has an obligation to balance economic, social/community factors, timing of need, along with the environmental information presented in the FEIR to make the ultimate determination regarding which route (if any) is to be approved.
4. The Commission retains authority to approve SDG&E's mitigation plan to ensure that the Miguel Mission Project does not affect the environment adversely.
5. Commission approval of SDG&E's application, as modified herein, is in the public interest.
6. The approval of the application, as provided herein, should be conditioned upon the completion of the mitigation measures identified in the FEIR. Those mitigation measures should be adopted and made conditions of project approval.
7. SDG&E should be granted a CPCN for the Miguel Mission Project because of its beneficial impact on the operation of the state's electrical system.
IT IS ORDERED that:
1. The Final Environmental Impact Report (FEIR) is certified as the Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for the Miguel Mission Project, which is the subject of this application and is certified for use by responsible agencies in considering subsequent approvals for the project, or for portions thereof.
2. A Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity is granted to San Diego Gas and Electric Company (SDG&E) to construct the Miguel Mission Project consistent with the environmental and regulatory requirements set forth herein.
3. SDG&E shall, as a condition of approval, build the project in accordance with the proposed overhead route as described in the FEIR. In addition, SDG&E shall comply with the mitigation measures applicable to the proposed project, as specified in the DEIR and FEIR.
4. The Executive Director shall supervise and oversee construction of the project insofar as it relates to monitoring and enforcement of the mitigation conditions described herein. The Executive Director may delegate his duties to one or more Commission staff members or outside staff. The Executive Director is authorized to employ staff independent of the Commission staff to carry out such functions, including, without limitation, the on-site environmental inspection, environmental monitoring, and environmental mitigation supervision of the construction of the project. Such staff may be individually qualified professional environmental monitors or may be employed by one or more firms or organizations. In monitoring the implementation of the environmental mitigation measures described in the DEIR and FEIR, the Executive Director shall attribute the acts and omissions of SDG&E's employees, contractors, subcontractors, or other agents to SDG&E.
5. SDG&E shall comply with all orders and directives of the Executive Director concerning implementation of the environmental mitigation measures described in the DEIR and FEIR.
6. The Executive Director shall not authorize SDG&E to commence actual construction until SDG&E has entered into a cost reimbursement agreement with the Commission for the recovery of the costs of the mitigation monitoring program described in Section F of the Final Environmental Impact Report, including, but not limited to, special studies, outside staff, or Commission staff costs directly attributable to mitigation monitoring. The Executive Director is authorized to enter into an agreement with SDG&E that provides for such reimbursement on terms and conditions consistent with this decision in a form satisfactory to the Executive Director. The terms and conditions of such agreement shall be deemed conditions of approval of the application to the same extent as if they were set forth in full in this decision.
7. SDG&E's right to construct the project as set forth in this decision shall be subject to all other necessary state and local permitting processes and approvals.
8. SDG&E shall file a written notice with the Commission, served on all parties to this proceeding, of its agreement, executed by an officer of SDG&E duly authorized (as evidenced by a resolution of its board of directors duly authenticated by a secretary or assistant secretary of PG&E) to acknowledge SDG&E's acceptance of the conditions set forth in Ordering Paragraphs 1 through 9, inclusive, of this decision. Failure to file such notice within 75 days of the effective date of this decision shall result in the lapse of the authority granted by this decision.
9. The Executive Director shall file a Notice of Determination for the project as required by the California Environmental Quality Act and the regulations promulgated pursuant thereto.
10. Application 02-07-022 is closed.
This order is effective today.
Dated July 8, 2004, at San Francisco, California.
Michael R. Peevey
President
Geoffrey F. Brown
Susan P. Kennedy
Commissioners
I reserve the right to file a dissent.
/s/ LORETTA M. LYNCH
I dissent.
/s/ CARL W. WOOD
