Q1 Please see response to Comment I1.

Q2 Comment noted. Please see responses to Comments H1 through H71.

Q3 While the age of the Geysers units and declining pressure in the steam fields potentially leading to unit closures are legitimate areas of concern, they are beyond the scope of the EIR since these events will happen regardless of the ownership of the plants and will not be affected by the proposed divestiture. Therefore, the EIR does not include guidelines or criteria for mitigation of such occurrences by potential buyers. Note that the importation of additional wastewater for injection may reduce the rate of decline in steam pressure and delay the subsequent closure of some units. Please see the response to Comment B5 for more information on decommissioning requirements.

Q4 The Santa Rosa Wastewater Modified Geysers Recharge Project is discussed in the DEIR in the Cumulative Impacts chapter, page 5-10, and its impacts in conjunction with divestiture are analyzed in the DEIR. Please note that while the City of Santa Rosa has certified the EIR for the project and has initiated design, the federal lead agency, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, has not approved the Record of Decision of the EIS. The impact of this additional water source would equally affect both the new owners, if the units are sold, and PG&E if the units are not sold, so it is not an effect of the divestiture project covered in this EIR. Therefore, the EIR does not include guidelines or criteria for use of this water. The environmental effects of the use of the water are assessed in the Santa Rosa environmental document.

Q5 The DEIR clearly states in the Executive Summary (page S-5, second paragraph) and the Project Description (page 2-2, first full paragraph and bulleted items) that the proposed project entails the sale of power plants by PG&E in four packages: the Pittsburg and Contra Costa plants together (the Delta plants), the Potrero Power Plant, the Geysers units in Sonoma County, and the Geysers units in Lake County. This means that two buyers may be involved in the transfer of the Geysers Power Plant, and the DEIR addresses the potential impacts associated with two separate entities operating the power plants located in the Geysers geothermal field. The commenter is correct that, were the Geysers units to be sold to three or more operators, additional environmental effects could result. Under CEQA, if PG&E decided prior to project implementation to sell the Geysers units to three or more buyers, this EIR would have to be revisited. The CPUC would need to decide whether this EIR were sufficient for its purposes, or whether to prepare a Supplement to the EIR, an Addendum to the EIR, or a new EIR altogether. There is presently no indication that the project as defined in the DEIR has changed, or is reasonably likely to change.