VIII. ENERGY AND MINERAL RESOURCES

1. The proposed project is not energy consumptive. Minor amounts of fuel would be used during construction activities. The project would have no conflict with energy conservation policies and no impact would occur.

2. The project would use a variety of widely available non-renewable materials for construction of the facilities, including aggregate, asphalt, iron and related minerals used in manufacturing steel, mineral oil, and fuel to power construction vehicles and equipment. Long-term operation would require only a minor amount of fuel for site inspection vehicles. Proposed construction and operation of the project would not involve the wasteful use of non-renewable resources; no impact would occur.

3. The Fulton Substation site has no known mineral, oil, gas, geothermal, or aggregate resources. The Geysers site may contain cinnabar (a source of mercury) and other metals, however, these are not mined in the immediate area of the proposed facilities and therefore no impact would result from the project. The Geysers site is within the Known Geothermal Resource Area, and geothermal energy development is present in the immediate surrounding areas. The steam field operator, Unocal, was contacted in October 1997 and indicated they have no plans to construct geothermal wells at the project site. The proposed power line would not interfere with existing geothermal operations. Oil, gas and aggregate resources are not present at the Geysers site. Therefore, no impact would occur.

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