Status: Construction Complete
Welcome to the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) website for the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) review of Pacific Gas and Electric Company’s (PG&E’s) Humboldt Bay-Humboldt No. 1 60kV Reconductoring Project (proposed Project). An application for the proposed Project was submitted to the CPUC on February 7, 2019 (Application A.19-02-004). The CPUC certificated the Final Initial Study/Mitigated Negative Declaration (IS/MND) prepared for the Project and approved the application on November 23, 2020. Construction of the Project began on September 15, 2021, and was completed on October 15, 2023. This site provides access to public documents and information relevant to the CEQA environmental review process.
Project Overview
The proposed Project (see Location Map) occurred in unincorporated Humboldt County, and in the City of Eureka, California. The proposed Project components are summarized below:
The proposed Project was needed to improve transmission system reliability for portions of unincorporated Humboldt County and the City of Eureka. The proposed Project included replacement (or reconductoring) of 7.8 miles of power line currently consisting of 336 All Aluminum Conductor (AAC) and 2/0 diameter copper conductor with oil impregnated 715 kcmil aluminum lines connecting the Humboldt Bay Substation to the Humboldt Substation. As proposed by PG&E, the project included:
- Replacing the existing single circuit 336 AAC conductor and 2/0 copper conductor and connectors with oil impregnated 715 kcmil aluminum,
- Replacing up to 120 existing wood and light duty steel (LDS) poles (currently holding the 336 AAC and 2/0 copper conductor) with approximately 67 wood poles, 38 LDS poles, two tubular steel poles, four lattice towers, and one engineered direct embedded pole, and
- Reconductoring 0.6-mile of the Humboldt Bay-Eureka 60 kV power line, which would be co-located with Humboldt Bay-Humboldt No. 1 60 kV power line
- The proposed Project also included minor changes at Humboldt Bay Substation and Humboldt Substation.
Application and Proponent’s Environmental Assessment
On February 7, 2019, PG&E filed an application (A.19-02-004) for a PTC which included a Proponent’s Environmental Assessment (PEA) for the proposed Project pursuant to Rule 2.4 of the CPUC's Rules of Practice and Procedure.
Environmental Review
| Project Milestones | |
|---|---|
| Milestone | Date |
| Application and PEA submitted by PG&E | February 7, 2019 |
| Draft Application deemed complete by CPUC | April 18, 2019 |
| Draft Initial Study/Mitigated Negative Declaration Published | February 12, 2020 | Public Comment Period | February 12, 2020 – March 13, 2020 | Final Initial Study/Mitigated Negative Declaration Published | April 17, 2020 | CPUC Certification of Final IS/MND | November 23, 2020 | Construction under NTP #1 | September 1, 2021 - October 15, 2021 | Construction under NTP #2 | June 1, 2022 - December 31, 2022 | Construction under NTP #3 | June 1, 2023 - October 15, 2023 |
Public Comment Period and Meetings
The Draft IS/MND was available for a 30-day public comment period, February 12, 2020 through March 13, 2020. The public comments and CPUC's responses to the comments received are presented in Section 2 of the Final MND. The Final MND was published on April 17, 2020. The conclusions of the Draft IS/MND remain unchanged in the Final MND; the proposed Project would not have a significant effect on the environment.
Documents Available for Review
Public documents related to the PG&E Application for a Permit to Construct (PTC) and the PEA for the proposed Humboldt Bay-Humboldt No. 1 Reconductoring Project can be found here:
Final IS/MND
Final/MND with Appendix A
Public Draft IS/MND
Public Draft IS/MND Appendices
Notice of Intent (NOI) (February 12, 2020)
PG&E PTC Application (February 7, 2019)
Proponent’s Environmental Assessment (PEA) for the proposed Humboldt Bay to Humboldt #1 60 kV Reconductoring Project (filed February 7, 2019)
CPUC PEA Deficiency Letter (March 8, 2019)
PG&E Deficiency Response (April 8, 2019)
Letter of Application Completeness (April 18, 2019)
Minor Project Refinements
Minor project refinements (MPRs) are strictly limited to changes that will not trigger an additional permit requirement (except local government ministerial permits and associated requirements), do not substantially increase the severity of a previously identified significant impact based on criteria used in the IS/MND, create a new significant impact, are located within the geographic boundary of the study area of the IS/MND, and that do not conflict with any mitigation measure or applicable law or policy. Eight minor project refinement requests have been submitted by PG&E and are provided below.
PG&E Minor Project Refinement (MPR) #1 Request (August 18, 2022)
CPUC MPR #1 Response (October 18, 2022)
PG&E Minor Project Refinement (MPR) #2 Request (August 23, 2022)
CPUC MPR #2 Response (September 14, 2022)
PG&E Minor Project Refinement (MPR) #3 Request (August 25, 2022)
CPUC MPR #3 Response (August 26, 2022)
PG&E Minor Project Refinement (MPR) #4 Request (September 16, 2022)
CPUC MPR #4 Response (September 22, 2022)
PG&E Minor Project Refinement (MPR) #5 Request (September 20, 2022)
CPUC MPR #5 Response (September 30, 2022)
PG&E Minor Project Refinement (MPR) #6 Request (September 23, 2022)
CPUC MPR #6 Response (October 5, 2022)
PG&E Minor Project Refinement (MPR) #7 Request (June 15, 2023)
CPUC MPR #7 Response (June 19, 2023)
PG&E Minor Project Refinement (MPR) #8 Request (July 5, 2023)
CPUC MPR #8 Response (July 6, 2023)
Data Request
CPUC Data Request No.1 (July 17, 2019)
PG&E Data Request No.1 Response (August 9, 2020)
Project Construction Mitigation Monitoring
A Mitigation Monitoring, Compliance, and Reporting Program (MMCRP) was approved by the CPUC to ensure compliance with applicant proposed measures and CPUC mitigation measures identified in the Final IS/MND.
Mitigation Monitoring, Compliance and Reporting ProgramNotice to Proceed
PG&E was required to obtain a Notice to Proceed (NTP) from the CPUC prior to initiating construction activities in accordance with the procedures outlined in the MMCRP. Three NTP requests have been submitted by PG&E. The requests and subsequent CPUC NTP approvals are provided in the table below:
| Request | Description | Date Submitted | Approval Letter |
Approval Date |
| NTP #1 (A & B) NTP #1 (C) |
PG&E submitted a Notice to Proceed Request (NTPR-1) to the CPUC seeking the authority to proceed with vegetation removal activities in advance of construction of the Project. PG&E is also requesting a minor expansion of the work areas at TSP 1a and pole 77, and overland access along the right‐of‐way between poles 57 and 58. | 7/26/2021 | 1 | 8/11/2021 |
| NTP #2 | PG&E submitted Notice to Proceed Request 2 (NTPR-2) to the CPUC seeking the authority to begin construction of the Project and proceed with completing work from pole 6 (near Golden West Drive) to pole 115 (at Humboldt Substation).PG&E is also requesting modifications to the staging area at Redwood Acres Fairgrounds and to allow for a taller and slightly moved engineered direct embedded pole (EDEP). | 5/27/2022 | 2 | 6/3/2022 |
| NTP #3 | PG&E submitted Notice to Proceed Request 3 (NTPR-3) to the CPUC seeking the authority to resume construction and complete the remaining portion of the Project, including: cutting berries, willow sprouts and other vegetation to ground level within structure work areas that were previously cleared in September-October 2021; installing structures and reconductoring, from TSPs 1a and 1b adjacent to the Humboldt Bay Substation to structure 6; removing old poles and topping other poles to remain as distribution poles within this same area; and ongoing use of the Fields Landing and Golden West Drive TCEs. | 5/5/2023 | 3 | 5/15/2023 |
For Additional Information
The CPUC, through its Environmental Review Team, managed the environmental review of the Project.
CPUC Project Manager Mailing Address:
Mr. John Forsythe, AICP
California Public Utilities Commission
300 Capital Mall, 5th Floor
Sacramento, CA 95814