Imperial-Mexicali 230-kV Transmission Lines EIS Information Center

This web site is the online center for public information and involvement in the Imperial-Mexicali 230-kV Transmission Lines Environmental Impact Statement (EIS).

The United States Department of Energy (DOE), with the United States Department of the Interior's Bureau of Land Management (BLM) acting as a cooperating agency, prepared an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) to evaluate environmental impacts that would accrue in the United States from the construction and operation of two electric transmission lines crossing the U.S.-Mexico border and from the operation of two related Mexican power plants.

This web site is the online center for public information and involvement in the EIS process.

Record of Decision Available

The full text of the Record of Decision and Floodplain Statement of Findings; Imperial-Mexicali 230-kV Transmission Lines is available for downloading or online browsing in Adobe Acrobat PDF format.

Final EIS Document Available

The full text of the Imperial-Mexicali 230-kV Transmission Lines Final EIS is available for downloading or online browsing in Adobe Acrobat PDF format.

Summary

Baja California Power, Inc. (BCP) and Sempra Energy Resources (SER) were issued presidential permits by DOE to separately construct double-circuit 230,000-volt (230-kV) electric transmission lines across the U.S. border with Mexico. Later, the SER Presidential permit was transferred to TUS. In addition, right-of-way grants were issued to each company by the Department of the Interior's Bureau of Land Management (BLM) for construction of the domestic portion of both transmission lines on federal land. The transmission lines originate at new power plants in Mexico, pass west of Calexico, California, and terminate at San Diego Gas & Electric Company's (SDG&E's) Imperial Valley Substation near El Centro, California.

Under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA), DOE and its cooperating agency in that proceeding, BLM, prepared an environmental assessment (EA) and a finding of no significant impacts (FONSI) prior to issuance of the presidential permits and right-of-way grants. On May 2, 2003, the United States District Court for the Southern District of California held that the EA and the FONSI did not comply with NEPA, and, on July 8, 2003, the court sent the matter back to the respective agencies for additional NEPA review. DOE prepared an environmental impact statement (EIS) addressing BCP's and SER's projects after conducting two public scoping meetings. Although the two transmission lines have been constructed and are in service, DOE, in accordance with the court's July 2003 order, conducted this NEPA review as if the transmission lines did not exist. BLM was a cooperating agency.