Power lines undergrounded throughout majority of new route
Edgewood, watershed and San Bruno Mtn. spared
by Kathy Switky

Over the past year or so, the California Public Utilities Commission (PUC) has been studying various routes for the proposed new PG&E Jefferson-Martin Transmission Line to meet increased demand and avoid outages on the Peninsula.

Well into the process, the Committee and others were successful in getting the project revised so that the southern 10 miles of the project brought the new 230-kilovolt power lines underground, protecting sensitive habitat and viewsheds in Edgewood County Park and Natural Preserve and the Peninsula Watershed.

Along the northern segment of the route, however, plans for larger transmission towers threatened San Bruno Mountain State Park.

This August, we met with success. The PUC's final decision adopted the position advocated by Committee for Green Foothills and others. Throughout the new route, lines will be undergrounded under existing roads, except for a three-mile section north of Trousdale Drive in Burlingame and west of 280, where the lines will follow the existing route.
Sxast.

In areas where the new lines are near residences, the PUC directed that they be buried 11' underground (rather than the standard 7') to reduce exposure to electromagnetic fields.

OCGF activists, along with the National Park Service, Fish and Wildlife Service, Friends of Edgewood Park, People for a Golden Gate National Recreation Area, and a number of other environmental organizations all helped the PUC and PG&E make an environmentally-sound decision.

Thanks to all who spoke up!