DOE/EA-2220: Documents Available for Download

Otay Mesa Generating Company, LLC (OMGC) proposes to construct a nominal 510 megawatt (MW) combined cycle, natural gas- fired power plant on east Otay Mesa in southwestern San Diego County adjacent to the existing Miguel- Tijuana 230 kV transmission line. OMGC proposes to interconnect the Otay Mesa Generating Project (OMGP) to the SDG&E grid. Interconnection of the OMGP to the SDG&E grid will require significant modification of the existing Miguel-Tijuana transmission line and, therefore, an Amendment to Presidential Permit 68. This Environmental Assessment addresses the environmental impacts of the proposed interconnection activities in accordance with NEPA.

Platte River is proposing to add additional generation at its Rawhide Energy Station, located approximately 18 miles north of Fort Collins, to serve increasing demands for electricity. In order to deliver the additional power generation to customers, the electric transmission system in the Fort Collins area needs to be upgraded. These upgrades require adding new wires to existing power poles or, in some areas, rebuilding the existing transmission line (see Figure 1-1). The proposed upgrades and rebuilds will be within the rights-of-way (ROW) of existing lines. The ROW width of the existing lines are 75-120 feet. The ROWs for the proposed lines will be 75- 100 feet within the ROWs of the existing lines. Some of the transmission lines that need to be improved are owned by the U.S Department of Energy (DOE), Western Area Power Administration (Western).

In order to connect Otay Mesa Generating Project (OMGP) to the existing international transmission facilities, SDG&E proposes to construct a 5-acre switchyard within the fenced boundary of the new powerplant and to construct approximantely 0.1 miles of new 230-kV transmission line extending from the new switchyard to interconnect with the previosuly permitted Miguel-Tijuana transmission line. From the point where OGMP woudl be connected to the existing international transmission line north to SDG&E's Miguel Substation (a distance of approximately 9 miles), SDG&E propses to reconductor the existing facilites by adding an additional conductor to each existing conductor and to operate the bundled facilites as two circuits. The 1.5 mile portion of SDG&E's Miguel-Tijuana international transmission line south of the OMGD will remain unchanged.

The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) has assigned a continuing role for Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) in carrying out its national security mission. To continue this enduring responsibility requires that NNSA maintain the capability and capacity required to support its national mission assignments at LANL. One of the buildings that houses programmatic, management, and support functions essential to the overall LANL operations and nuclear weapons work performed for the United States Department of Energy and the NNSA is the Administration Building (Building 3-43) at Technical area (TA) 3. This building has many identified structural, systemic, and security problems associated with it. NNSA needs to correct these problems so that the necessary programmatic, management, and support functions housed within can continue to function at LANL with a high level of efficiency. Additionally, NNSA also needs to minimize, wherever possible, the use of energy and fiscal outlays for maintaining operations.