Jurupa Valley accuses the Greater Riverside Chambers of Commerce and the city of Riverside of providing "false and misleading information" about the plan to build a second connection to the state power grid.
Jurupa Valley accuses the Greater Riverside Chambers of Commerce and the city of Riverside of providing "false and misleading information" about the plan to build a second connection to the state power grid.
Jurupa Valley accuses the Greater Riverside Chambers of Commerce and the city of Riverside of providing "false and misleading information" about the plan to build a second connection to the state power grid.
“= ===" City of Jurupa Valley
STAFF REPORT
DATE: MARCH 7, 2019
TO: HONORABLE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL
FROM: — GARY S. THOMPSON, CITY MANAGER
SUBJECT: AGENDAITEM NO. 16.B
AUTHORIZING CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS TO SIGN A LETTER
PROTESTING FALSE AND MISLEADING STATEMENTS BY THE CITY
OF RIVERSIDE AND THE RIVERSIDE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
LETTER SOLICITING PUBLIC LOBBYING IN SUPPORT OF THE
RIVERSIDE TRANSMISSION RELIABILITY PROJECT (RTRP) AND
UPDATE ON STATUS OF PROCEEDINGS BEFORE THE CALIFORNIA
PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION
RECOMMENDATION
That the City Councit
1) Review the draft letter protesting false and misleading statements by the City of
Riverside and the Riverside Chamber of Commerce letter soliciting public
lobbying in support of the RTRP and authorize each member of the City Council
to sign the letter.
2) Receive update report from Staff on the status of RTRP proceedings before the
California Public Utilities Commission.
ANALYSIS
Letter to Riverside Chamber of Commerce and City of Riverside protesting false and
misleading statements
In an effort to generate public support for the Riverside Transmission Reliability Project
(RTRP), the Riverside Chamber of Commerce and the City of Riverside are soliciting
residents and businesses to sign a petition and send a letter to the California Public
Utilities Commission lobbying for the approval of the RTRP.
The Riverside Chamber of Commerce and the City of Riverside are providing false and
misleading information to residents and businesses about the Riverside Transmission
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wwwjurupavalley.orgReliability Project in an effort to obtain the signatures of residents and business on a
petition urging the California Public Utilities Commission to approve the RTRP.
The City of Jurupa Valley supports the undergrounding of the RTRP within the City of
Jurupa Valley as opposed to the overhead routing currently proposed. Undergrounding
the RTRP within Jurupa Valley will provide the residents and businesses in the City of
Riverside with the same electrical security as would exist with the above-ground option
Undergrounding the RTRP high-voltage transmission lines in Jurupa Valley will not be
expensive for the residents and businesses in the City of Riverside. According to Dr.
Keith Casey, California Independent System Operators (CAISO) V.P. Infrastructure,
Riverside’s share of the costs of the RTRP, including any undergrounding in Jurupa
Valley, is a mere 1.04% to 1.07% of the costs of the RTRP paid over the life of the
facilities. CAISO is the entity that ordered City of Riverside and SCE to create the
secondary connection for Riverside in 2006.
By undergrounding the RTRP’s high-voltage transmission lines, the City of Riverside
and Southern California will save millions of dollars in the costs of acquiring private land
for the transmission line towers, Under its franchise agreement with the City of Jurupa
Valley, Southern California Edison will not need to pay for the right to use the City street
to construct the lines underground. Despite being requested by City staff to provide
cost information, the City of Riverside and Southern California Edison have either
refused or are unable to justify their statements that the undergrounding will be
expensive, and will significantly impact the City of Riverside ratepayers to the extent
being represented by Riverside and the Riverside Chamber of Commerce
The people of Jurupa Valley will unjustly bear all of the burdens resulting from the
RTRP lines being constructed above ground within Jurupa Valley but will not receive
any benefits from this project. Undergrounding mitigates many of the adverse effects of
the RTRP above-ground lines on the City of Jurupa Valley documented in the
Commission's Supplemental Environmental Impact Report for the RTRP. The
Supplement Environmental Impact Report found that undergrounding the RTRP in
Jurupa Valley is the “environmentally superior alternative,” the best option for the RTRP.
Therefore, Staff recommends that the Council authorized each Council Member to sign
the proposed letter to the Riverside Chamber of Commerce and the City of Riverside.
Update on the Status of RTRP Proceedings.
The City of Riverside and Southern California Edison have applied to the California
Public Utilities Commission for a permit to construct up to and exceeding 100 foot tall
high-voltage 230kv electrical transmission towers and lines along the I-15 Freeway in
Jurupa Valley, known as the Riverside Transmission Reliability Project (RTRP). City of
Riverside and SCE have agreed to underground the lines from Limonite Avenue south
to the Santa Ana River, but the 100 foot towers and transmission lines will be above
ground north of Limonite.
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wwwjurupavalley.orgThe City of Jurupa Valley and property owners under the proposed lines support the
undergrounding of the RTRP in Jurupa Valley but have actively opposed the above-
ground lines.
The Administrative Law Judge assigned to the RTRP Application has set the following
schedule for a decision on the Application:
A.
March 1, 2019: Southern California Edison and City of Riverside submit
written direct testimony in support of Application
May 31, 2019: City and the other opponents submit written direct
testimony in opposition to the Application.
July 12, 2019: Southern California Edison and City of Riverside submit
written rebuttal testimony
August 6, 7, and 8, 2019: Evidentiary Hearing will be held before the
Administrative Law Judge in San Francisco with no general public
testimony.
August 30,2019: Both sides submit Opening Briefs.
September 20, 2019: Southern California Edison and City of Riverside
submit Reply Brief.
September 20 to December 19,2019: During this period, _the
Administrative Law Judge will submit a Proposed Decision on the RTRP
Application to the Commission
No earlier than 30 days after submission of the Administrative Law
Judge's Proposed Decision, the California Public Utilities Commission will
issue a Final Decision on the RTRP Application at a public meeting of the
Commission in San Francisco.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
Approval of the RTRP with above ground high voltage transmission towners and lines
will have a devastating negative impact on the people of the City of Jurupa Valley.
‘Submitted by: Reviewed by:
, WVAA _—
(ea
“Gary Thompson Peter M. Thorson
City Manager City Attomey
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www jurupavalley.org,