Welcome to the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) website for the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) review of Southern California Edison's (SCE's) proposed Banducci Substation Project (Proposed Project). An Application for this project was submitted to the CPUC on November 15, 2012. The CPUC approved the Proposed Project and granted SCE a Permit to Construct (PTC) on June 11, 2015. This website provides access to public documents and information relevant to the CEQA review process and construction monitoring for the Proposed Project.

Application A.12-11-011
Decision D.15-06-009

PROJECT STATUS

The Final MND was adopted by the CPUC on June 11, 2015 in Decision D.15-06-009. In accordance with CEQA, a Mitigation Monitoring, Compliance, and Reporting Plan (MMCRP) was prepared to ensure compliance with the mitigation measures approved in the MND. The MMCRP is available here. SCE started construction of the Banducci Substation Project on July 26, 2017, and the majority of construction activities were completed by June 2018; testing and driveway paving remain. The Final Report documenting construction and compliance activities is available here (17MB).

Pre-construction Compliance and Notices to Proceed

Notices to Proceed (NTPs) were issued by CPUC by subsection of the project as requested by SCE. Issuance of NTPs was contingent upon SCE's compliance with pre-construction requirements as specified by the approved mitigation measures and responsible agency permitting requirements. Table 1 summarizes the Banducci Substation Projects NTPs issued.

Table 1. Notices to Proceed (NTPs)
NTP No.	Date Requested	Date Issued	Phase	Description
NTP #1	11/22/16	01/19/17	Banducci Substation and Subtransmission	Construction of the Banducci Substation and the associated 69 kV subtransmission features located on Pelliser Road near the town of Tehachapi.
NTP #2	07/31/17	08/31/17	Telecommunications	Telecommunications related components of the Banducci Substation (see MPC #1, Table 2).
NTP #3	02/07/17	03/29/17	12 kV Distribution Getaways and a Portion of the Telecommunication Route #1	Construction of the distribution getaways and a portion of Telecommunication Route #1 along Pelliser and Highline Roads.

Other responsible agency permits required for construction, and their amendments, are listed in the MMCRP (see above). Major compliance plans requiring CPUC and/or permit agency review and approval included the following:

• Preconstruction Survey Reports
  
• Salvage and Relocation Plan, if special-status plants can not be avoided.
• Habitat Restoration Plan for Tehachapi Slender Salamander, if occupied habitat is directly impacted
• Nesting Bird Management Plan
• Ecological Restoration Plan / Compensation Plan, if avoidance is not feasible
• Jurisdictional Delineation Reports
• Cultural Resources Treatment Plan
• Paleontological Resources Management Plan
• Geotechnical Report
• Fire Management Plan
• Restoration Plans as necessary
• Storm Water Pollution Prevention Plans (SWPPPs)
• Worker Environmental Awareness Program Plans

Construction Monitoring and Minor Project Change Review

CPUC Environmental Monitors monitored construction activities to ensure that construction was conducted in accordance with the approved mitigation measures and permit conditions. Monitoring reports documenting construction and monitoring activities are available here.

As final engineering was completed or as construction necessitated, Minor Project Changes (MPCs) were submitted by SCE for the Project. Each of these requests was reviewed by CPUC to ensure that no new impacts or increase in impact severity would result from the requested change. Table 2 provides a summary of the MPCs submitted for the Banducci Substation Project.

Table 2. Minor Project Changes (MPCs)
MPC No.	Date Requested	Date Issued	Phase	Description
MPC #1	07/31/17	08/31/17 Approved under NTP #2	Telecom	Changes to Telecommunication Routes #1 and #2 (see NTP #2, Table 1).
MPC #2	08/09/17	08/11/17	12 kV	Relocation of 12 kV distribution infrastructure to avoid an existing, unmarked utility.
MPC #3	08/21/17	08/25/17	Substation	Extend use of water source for duration of project (originally approved under a TEWS).
MPC #4	11/06/17	11/09/17	Telecom	Change to Telecommunication Route #2.
MPC #5	03/06/18	03/20/18	Substation	Adjustments to Substation level of disturbance and GIS changes to reflect final build.

BACKGROUND

Project Description

The proposed Banducci Substation Project includes the following components:

• Construction of a new Banducci 66/12 kilovolt (kV) Substation. Banducci Substation would be an unstaffed, automated, 56.0 megavolt-ampere (MVA), low-profile substation with a potential capacity of 112 MVA at final buildout. The proposed 66/12 kV distribution substation would be located on an approximately 6.3 acre parcel in the unincorporated Cummings Valley area of Kern County.
  
  
• Construction of two new 66 kV subtransmission line segments that would loop the existing Correction-Cummings‒Kern River 1 66 kV Subtransmission Line: one that would enter and one that would exit the proposed Banducci Substation creating the new Banducci‒Kern River 1 66 kV Subtransmission Line and the new Banducci-Correction-Cummings 66 kV Subtransmission Line.
  
  
• Construction of three new underground 12 kV distribution getaways.
  
  
• Installation of telecommunications facilities to connect the proposed Banducci Substation to SCE's existing telecommunications system.
  

Environmental Review Process

SCE filed its original Proponent's Environmental Assessment (PEA) with the Application on November 15, 2012. The PEA provided a starting point for the environmental review process that is to be conducted by the CPUC. After reviewing the 2012 PEA, CPUC directed SCE to supplement and submit additional information. A number of requests and responses ensued, culminating in SCE submitting an amended PEA dated June 6, 2014.

Original Proponent's Environmental Assessment 2012 (superseded)
Amended Proponent's Environmental Assessment 2014

Original (2012) PEA Review

SCE's Application and original PEA were reviewed by the CPUC. The Energy Division sent a letter to SCE on December 17, 2012, indicating that the submitted PEA for the Banducci Substation required supplementation and resubmission.

PEA Completeness Letter #1

SCE subsequently submitted supplemental information to the CPUC on February 5, 2013.

Supplemental PEA Information #1

The Energy Division sent a letter to SCE on February 25, 2013, indicating that the PEA for the Banducci Substation requires further supplementation and resubmission.

PEA Completeness Letter #2

In response, SCE submitted additional supplemental information to the CPUC on April 19, 2013.

Supplemental PEA Information #2

After reviewing the supplemental information, the Energy Division sent a letter to SCE on May 8, 2013, indicating that the PEA for the Banducci Substation again requires further supplementation and resubmission.

PEA Completeness Letter #3

In response, SCE submitted additional supplemental information to the CPUC on June 3, 2013:

Response to Question #1, Right-of-Way Description and Land Rights Definitions
Response to Question #2, Soil Types GIS Data (.zip file; right-click to download)
Response to Question #3, Vegetation GIS Data (.zip file; right-click to download)
Response to Question #4, Cultural Resources Survey Description (PDF)
Revised Mapping Suite of Data Package (.mpk file; right-click to download)

After reviewing all supplemental information, the Energy Division sent a letter to SCE on July 2, 2013, indicating that SCE has submitted all necessary information at this time. However, in order to deem the PEA complete, the CPUC requested that SCE re-file the PEA in its entirety in the format consistent with the CPUC's PEA Checklist for Transmission Line Projects (2008).

PEA Completeness Letter #4

Amended (2014) PEA Review

The requested Amended PEA was submitted in June 2014.

Amended PEA 2014

After a completeness review of the amended PEA, the CPUC deemed SCE's Application and PEA complete on July 15, 2014.

PEA Completeness Letter #5

Mitigated Negative Declaration Preparation

On November 14, 2014, the CPUC released a Notice of Intent to Adopt a Mitigated Negative Declaration (MND) for the Banducci Substation Project, showing that the Proposed Project, as mitigated, would not have any significant effects on the environment.

Draft Initial Study/Mitigated Negative Declaration (IS/MND)

The Proposed IS/MND was made available for public review and comment from November 14, 2014, through December 15, 2014.

In order to help affected communities understand the Proposed Project and the Proposed IS/MND and to explain how the public can participate in the CPUC's decision-making process, the CPUC held an informational meeting on December 11, 2014, at the Tehachapi Police Department, Community Room.

On March 10, 2015, the CPUC released a Final Mitigated Negative Declaration, showing that the Banducci Substation Project, as mitigated, would not have any significant effects on the environment. The Final IS/MND details the Proposed Project, evaluates and describes its potential environmental impacts, identifies those impacts that could be potentially significant, and presents mitigation measures to avoid or minimize these impacts.

Final Initial Study/Mitigated Negative Declaration (IS/MND)

For Additional Information

To request additional information, please contact the CPUC, as follows: