III. Environmental Review Process and the EIR/EIS

A joint Draft Environmental Impact Report/Environmental Impact Statement (EIR/EIS) was published in July 2006 by the CPUC and the Forest Service in compliance with CEQA and NEPA requirements. The Final EIR/EIS on the Project was published in January 2007. The Final EIR/EIS has been prepared for the CPUC in accordance with CEQA (Public Resources Code §21000 et seq.) and the State CEQA Guidelines (14 California Code of Regulations [CCR], §15000 et seq.), as amended. As allowed for in §15084(d)(2) of the State CEQA Guidelines, the CPUC retained a consultant to assist with the preparation of the environmental documents. The CPUC, acting as State Lead Agency, has reviewed and edited as necessary the submitted drafts to reflect its own independent judgment. The key milestones associated with the preparation of the EIR/EIS are summarized below. In addition, an extensive public involvement and agency notification effort was conducted to solicit input on the scope and content of the EIR/EIS and to solicit comment on the results of the environmental analysis presented in the Draft EIR/EIS. In general, the preparation of the EIR/EIS included the following key steps and public notification efforts:

· Notice of Preparation. Thirty-day scoping process began with the CPUC's issuance of the Notice of Preparation (NOP) of an EIR on June 24, 2005 and the Forest Service's publication of the Notice of Intent (NOI) to prepare an EIS in the Federal Register on June 28, 2005 (Volume 70, Number 123, pages 37080-37083).

· The NOP was filed with the State Clearinghouse on June 28, 2005. Seventy-seven (77) copies of the NOP were distributed to federal, State, regional, and local agencies, and elected officials. A separate notice of the two public scoping meetings was mailed to over 2,500 individuals in the Project area. Copies of the NOP were available at 16 local libraries and agency offices.

· The EIR/EIS preparers attended seven (7) consultation meetings with agencies and local jurisdictions to discuss the Project and hear any comments or concerns.

· Scoping Report. In August 2005, a comprehensive Scoping Report was issued, summarizing issues and concerns received from the public and various agencies during the scoping period. A total of 13 written comments were submitted and nine individuals presented verbal comments during the public scoping meetings. In addition, 21 phone messages were received on the Project hotline.

· Draft EIR/EIS. The CPUC issued the Draft EIR/EIS on July 24, 2006. Copies of the full Draft EIR/EIS and Appendices were sent to 147 interested parties and agencies, including the 16 document repositories. Twelve copies of the Executive Summary and 135 CDs with the text of the Draft EIR/EIS were also sent out. Additional copies of the Executive Summary and of the CDs with the text of the Draft EIR/EIS were distributed at the EIR/EIS Public Meetings held in August 2006.

· Notice of Completion. The Notice of Completion for the Draft EIR/EIS was filed with the State Clearinghouse on July 24, 2006.

· Notice of Availability. A Notice of Availability (NOA) of the Draft EIR/EIS was mailed to approximately 2,700 interested parties, agencies, county and city departments, special districts, as well as property owners along the Alternative 5 route, in July 2006.

· Public Meetings. Four Public Meetings were held in August 2006. Approximately 330 members of the public, including representatives of organizations and government agencies, were documented in attendance at the Public Meetings for the Draft EIR/EIS.

· Project Resources. The Project e-mail address, telephone hotline, and a Project-specific Internet site were available to provide another avenue for public comment and inquiry. All meetings and document publications were also advertised in at least five local and regional newspapers.