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Home My WebLink About11 CEQA Electric System Projects Agenda Item # 11 UCKEE O Public it Memorandum To: Board of Directors From: Joe Horvath, Electric System Engineer Date: August 10, 2007 Date of Board Meeting: August 15, 2007 Subject: Proposed CEQA Services for Electric System Projects 1. WHY THIS MATTER IS BEFORE THE BOARD Board authorization is required to approve the CEQA services proposal. 2. HISTORY The approved 2007 operating budget includes capital improvement projects necessary for the District's electrical system. The projects include the following: Donner Lake Substation Rebuild, Tahoe Donner Substation Upgrade, and the new Donner Lake Circuit No. 3 feeder. At the February 7, 2007 Board meeting, I discussed the need for soliciting professional engineering design services to keep these projects moving forward. The Board agreed that Tim Taylor would review the Request for Proposal documents before making the RFP available to interested firms. 3. NEW INFORMATION President Taylor made a number of improvements to the RFP document and his assistance is greatly appreciated. One of his suggestions was to remove the CEQA task from RFP scope of work so the District can use our existing environmental consultant to start this work as soon as possible. I agreed with his suggestion and contacted Dr. Glenn Merron of Inland Ecosystems who has prepared a proposal to perform the CEQA work. Attached for your consideration is a copy of Inland Ecosystem's proposal. Their not to exceed cost to perform the CEQA survey work and CEQA environmental documents is $8,130. A portion of the proposed Donner Lake Circuit No. 3 feeder project is proposed to be underbuilt on Sierra Pacific's 60kV transmission line structures. In discussing this project with Sierra Pacific, they mentioned that sections of their transmission line may cross lands owned by the United States government. If so, Sierra Pacific informed me that a National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) process must be performed in addition to the CEQA requirement. Sierra Pacific is researching land ownership information but has yet to advise me of their findings. In anticipation of crossing federal lands, I asked Inland Ecosystems to prepare an estimate to perform the NEPA study at the District's option. Their not to exceed cost to perform the NEPA work is $5,800. 1 4. RECOMMENDATION I recommend that the Board: 1. Approve issuance of a new Task Order with Inland Ecosystems to perform the CEQA work for the electric system capital improvement projects for an amount not to exceed $8,130. 2. Authorize the General Manager to approve the issuance of a new Task Order with Inland Ecosystems to perform the NEPA study for an amount not to exceed $5,800 if Sierra Pacific informs the District that they have easements across U.S. government property. Attachment Inland Ecosystems Proposal 2 INLAND ECOSYSTEMS 1000 Bible Way, Suite 16 Reno, NV. 89502 INLAND, Phone: (775)786-3223 Fax: (775) 786-3229�s ECOSYSTE MS Email: � £ : g:r � _. ��t ,1-o,, xvn August 7, 2007 Mr. Joe Horvath Electric System Engineer Truckee Donner Public Utility District 11570 Donner Pass Road Truckee, CA 96161 Subject: Proposal to Prepare a California Environmental Quality Act(CEQA) Initial Study/Mitigated Negative Declaration for the District's Electric Distribution System and OPTIONAL National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) Dear Mr. Horvath: Inland Ecosystems(IE) is pleased to submit this scope of work and cost estimate to assist the Truckee Donner Public Utility District(District)with preparation and circulation of a California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Initial Study and Proposed Mitigated Negative Declaration for the District's Electric Distribution System (System). In addition, IE has outlined an OPTIONAL task to complete the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) documentation for the 10,000 feet of underbuilt transmission line owned and operated by Sierra Pacific. The project includes the complete rebuild of the Donner Lake Substation, installation of 12,000 feet of new distribution feeder to be underbuilt on a transmission line that connects Donner Lake and Tahoe Donner Substations, and the replacement of high voltage fuses with a circuit switcher and associated relay protection at Tahoe Donner Substation. Anticipated completion of project construction is expected on or before November 2008. The following scope of work is anticipated under CEQA and OPTIONAL NEPA: TASK 1: Biological Resources Surveys - Special-status bird, mammal, and plant surveys will be conducted in the areas potentially affected by the proposed action including the Donner Lake Substation, Distribution Feeder, and Tahoe Donner Substation. A target list of potential sensitive special-status species will be identified using data collected from the California Natural Diversity Database and U.S. Fish and 1 Wildlife Service Database. A habitat characterization of the project sites and adjacent areas will be prepared including pre-construction photographs. TASK 2: Cultural Resources Survey - A Cultural Resources Record Search will be conducted through the North Central Information Center of the California Historical Resources Information System including an archaeological assessment by a registered professional archeologist. The California Native American Heritage Commission will be contacted regarding the project and consultation with other Native American groups will be completed. TASK 3: California Environmental Quality Act(CEQA) - Prepare a California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Initial Study/Proposed Mitigated Negative Declaration for the District's Electric Distribution System. Mitigation measures will be identified where required, as for example, pre-construction bird surveys to offset any potential impact to breeding birds should construction be carried out during the nesting season. TASK 4(OPTIONAL): National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) — As part of the NEPA process an Environmental Assessment (EA) must be prepared according to federal guidelines. In addition, NEPA requires project compliance with Section 106 of the federal National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA). IE's goal is to conclude that a "Finding of No Significant Impact" (FONSI) is an appropriate document for NEPA compliance. Inland Ecosystems has assembled a highly qualified team to assist the District with CEQA (and NEPA) compliance including the required biological and cultural resource assessments. Mark Chainey, Wildlife Biologist, will conduct the Biological Resources surveys. Dr. Susan Lindstrom and/or Dan Hart, registered professional archeologists,will carry out the Cultural Resources surveys. All team members included in our proposal have successfully worked together for many years on a variety of District and non- District projects. Dr. Glenn Merron, Environmental Scientist, will supervise all aspects of the proposed scope of work. Dr. Merron has over 25 years of experience and has previously served as Project Manager for several of the District's environmental and cultural resource projects. Inland Ecosystems has an established working relationship with several clients and a proven track record of integrity and quality environmental deliverables. Our cost estimate for the CEQA survey work and preparation of the CEAQ environmental document is a "not to exceed"contract amount of$8,130. Our cost estimate for the OPTIONAL NEPA (TASK 4) requirements and preparation of an EA and FONSI is a "not to exceed" contract amount of$5,800. Therefore,total project cost amounts to $13,930. 1 realize that the District has a range of environmental consultants that are available to carry out this important work. I believe that Inland Ecosystems offers services to the District in a cost effective and efficient manner. Our team is committed to providing a 2 high quality of excellence and responsiveness in our work efforts to ensure that the project is carried out with the least amount of environmental disturbance. Should you have any questions please contact Inland Ecosystems at (775) 786-3223. We look forward to assisting the District with this important project. Sincerely, f�} f Glenn S. Merron, Ph.D. 3