Assignment of Proceeding

Catherine J.K. Sandoval is the assigned Commissioner and Katherine MacDonald is the assigned Administrative Law Judge.

Findings of Fact

1. Notice of the application was published in the Commission's Daily Calendar on June 14, 2010. No protests have been filed. No hearings were conducted.

2. ExteNet holds a CPCN authorizing the provision of full facilities-based telecommunications services in this state.

3. Under D.06-04-063, ExteNet is required to apply for Commission authorization to perform full facilities-based construction projects and to undergo CEQA review if, based on information submitted by ExteNet, ED finds that the proposed project is not exempt from CEQA and therefore is unable to issue a Notice to Proceed with construction.

4. ExteNet is applying for authorization to construct a fiber-fed DAS system along State Route 35 in San Mateo County (the State Route 35 Project).

5. Pursuant to the expedited procedure adopted in D.06-04-063, ExteNet previously applied to ED for a determination that the State Route 35 Project is exempt from CEQA and for authorization to proceed with construction, but ED did not issue a Notice to Proceed based on its determination that a formal application and CEQA review should be required in this case.

6. ED determined that the State Route 35 Project should undergo CEQA review because the project will be constructed in a right-of-way adjacent to a scenic highway, and certain project facilities will be constructed above-ground when, as a general policy, utility facilities along scenic highways must be located underground.

7. The Commission is the lead agency for the State Route 35 Project under CEQA.

8. Commission staff prepared and issued an ISMND pursuant to CEQA on September 2, 1011.

9. The ISMND prepared by the Commission analyzed the potential environmental impacts of the State Route 35 Project over the entire range of applicable environmental resources and concluded that the project would not have a significant adverse effect on the environment with the required mitigation.

10. Commission staff filed the ISMND with the State Clearinghouse Office of Planning and Research on September 2, 2011, in order to circulate the ISMND for formal comment for 30 days from September 2, 2011 through October 3, 2011. No comments were received.

11. The Commission's ISMND identified a number of project elements that are required to be addressed by ExteNet as Conditions of Approval. These elements were associated with avoiding impacts in the areas of Aesthetics, Air Quality, Biology, Cultural Resources, Geology and Soils, and Transportation and Traffic.

12. The Mitigation Measures outlined in the Commission's ISMND are required mitigation and will be made Conditions of Approval for the State
Route 35 Project.

13. The Commission has independently considered the ISMND for ExteNet's State Route 35 Project in its decision-making process in accordance with the CEQA Guidelines Section 15096(f).

14. On the basis of the whole record, including the ISMND, the Commission finds that there is no substantial evidence the project will have a significant effect on the environment.

15. The State Route 35 Project will increase the availability of telecommunications services in this state and will help ensure that existing systems remain compatible with future technological advances in fiber-optic equipment.

16. In order to abide by resource avoidance timetables, ExteNet must begin construction of the project in the fall of 2011, prior to the rainy season.

17. The Final ISMND must be formally adopted by the Commission on an expedited basis so that ExteNet may obtain necessary construction permits and contracts needed to begin construction prior to the rainy season of 2011/2012.

18. The Final ISMND can be found at: http://www.cpuc.ca.gov/environment/info/mha/hwy35/hwy35.htm.

Conclusions of Law

1. The application is uncontested, and a public hearing is not necessary.

2. It is not necessary to disturb the preliminary determinations made in Resolution ALJ 176-3256 regarding the category of this proceeding and the need for a hearing.

3. Granting ExteNet's application to construct the State Route 35 Project, as described in the application and subject to the mitigation measures required by the ISMND, is in the public interest.

4. The ISMND developed by Commission staff was prepared pursuant to CEQA and is adequate for the Commission's decision-making purposes.

5. The Final ISMND is competent, comprehensive, and has been completed in compliance with CEQA and the Public Resources Code.

6. The Final ISMND reflects our independent judgment.

7. The Final ISMND should be adopted by the Commission as adequate for our decision-making purposes pursuant to CEQA.

8. Under Rule 14.6(b) parties have stipulated to reducing the comment period to two days.

9. Approving this Decision and adopting the Final ISMND is in the public interest and outweighs a full comment period.

10. In order to expedite construction of the State Route 35 Project, our approval of this application should be made effective immediately.

ORDER

IT IS ORDERED that:

1. The application of ExteNet Systems (California) LLC, for authorization to construct a fiber-fed Distributed Antenna Communications System along State Route 35 in San Mateo County (the State Route 35 Project), as described in the application, is granted, subject to the conditions below.

2. The Final Study/Mitigated Negative Declaration ( http://www.cpuc.ca.gov/environment/info/mha/hwy35/hwy35.htm) prepared by Commission staff for ExteNet Systems (California) LLC State Route 35 Project is adopted.

3. Commission staff shall file a Notice of Determination for the Study/Mitigated Negative Declaration with the State Office of Planning and Research within the time required by law.

4. The Mitigation Measures outlined in the Commission's Final Study/Mitigated Negative Declaration are required as Conditions of Approval for the State Route 35 Project. ExteNet Systems (California) LLC, must comply with these mitigation measures in its construction of the State Route 35 Project.

5. The ExteNet Systems (California) LLC authorization to construct the State Route 35 Project shall expire if not exercised within two years, unless this time is previously extended at least 30 days in advance of expiration by the Commission's Energy Division.

6. Our authorization for ExteNet Systems (California) LLC to construct the State Route 35 Project may be revoked or modified, after giving notice to ExteNet Systems (California) LLC, if the public convenience, necessity, or health and safety so require.

7. Application 10-06-004 is closed.

This order is effective today.

Dated October 20, 2011, at San Francisco, California.

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