Friday, August 4, 2017

Power Line Study at Long Beach

By Karen Robes Meeks

The Port of Long Beach is seeking community input on a draft report that studies the environmental impact of Southern California Edison’s proposal to modify transmission and telecommunication lines that cross the Cerritos Channel.

A hearing on the draft environmental impact report, which was released Monday July 24, will take place at 6 p.m. Wednesday August 16, in the Board Room at the Port of Long Beach Interim Administrative Offices, 4801 Airport Plaza Drive in Long Beach.

The base of the new bridge replacing the aging Gerald Desmond Bridge will be 205 feet above the port’s back channel, higher than Edison’s current transmission towers’ electric lines, which are 155 feet above water. Edison would need to take out and replace the transmission towers and raise the electric lines where they cross the channel at Piers A and S so that the lines don’t impede movement through the back channel.

A copy of the draft report can be found www.polb.com/ceqa.

Written comments must be submitted by September 11 to Heather Tomley, Director of Environmental Planning, Port of Long Beach, 4801 Airport Plaza Drive, Long Beach, CA 90815, or to ceqa@polb.com, indicate the project title in the subject line.