The Imperial-Mexicali 230-kV Transmission Lines EIS

The Imperial-Mexicali 230-kV Transmission Lines EIS addresses Baja California Power's (BCP's) and Sempra Energy Resources' (SER's) transmission line projects.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), with the United States Department of the Interior's Bureau of Land Management (BLM) as a cooperating agency, prepared an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) addressing BCP's and SER's transmission line projects. The EIS considers impacts associated with the construction of two parallel transmission lines running from separate power plants located near Mexicali, Mexico to the Imperial Valley Substation located about six miles north of the border in Imperial County, California. The EIS also evaluates impacts occurring in the U.S. from the operation of the gas-fired power plants in Mexico. Although the two transmission lines had been constructed and were in service, DOE and BLM, in accordance with a court's July 2003 order, conducted this National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) review as if the transmission lines did not exist. Accordingly, DOE and BLM based their EIS analysis on the same purpose and need as they did in the original Environmental Assessment that was prepared for these projects: whether to grant or deny presidential permits and rights-of-way to BCP and SER.

For more information about the contents and scope of the EIS, see What's in the Imperial-Mexicali 230-kV Transmission Lines EIS.

Preparation of the Imperial-Mexicali 230-kV Transmission Lines EIS was a multi-step process that included publication of a Draft EIS, a Final EIS and Record(s) of Decision. These and other EIS documents are available for downloading and browsing on the Documents page of this Web site.

The EIS was prepared by DOE, with assistance from Argonne National Laboratory.

Follow the links in the menu at left to learn more about the EIS process, preparers, and schedule.

See Getting Involved to learn how the public participated in the EIS process.