Western Area Power Administration (Western) and Aspen developed an EA and seven operation and maintenance (O&M) Plans and procedures in response to proposed changes in O&M procedures within Western’s Central Valley Project and Pacific AC Intertie ROWs and the Transmission Agency of Northern California’s (TANC) California-Oregon Transmission Project ROWs. Collectively, these ROWs and associated access roads encompass more than 1,100 miles between Tracy, California, and the Oregon border. During O&M activities, such as vegetation management, equipment maintenance, and erosion control, the GIS-based Transmission Asset Management System will inform Western’s line crews of Standard Operating Procedures and Project Conservation Measures for sensitive resource areas to implement during O&M activities (access road inventory and upgrades, relocation of towers, modification of tower footings because of erosion. etc.)
Key features of this project included: State-of-the-art Transmission Asset Management System; 100 Project Conservation Measures; 62 Standard Operating Procedures; detailed surveys of 800 miles of transmission ROW and 300 miles of access roads. Important issues involved the National Park Service, USDA Forest Service, and BLM concerns about herbicide use, soil erosion, access roads, and vegetation disturbance. It also presented unique versions of O&M plans for each land manager.
Aspen performed agency coordination such as monthly roundtable meetings and coordination with the NPS, BLM, and Forest Service; and consultation with the State Historic Preservation Office, National Marine Fisheries Service and US Fish and Wildlife Service.
