STAFF REPORT - Government of New Jersey

STAFF REPORT

PLEASE REFER TO DRCC # WHEN SUBMITTING ADDITIONAL DOCUMENTS

DRCC #: 20-5560 DATE: March 10, 2021 PROJECT NAME: PSE&G Roseland-Pleasant Valley Transmission Project Latest Submission Received: March 2, 2021

Applicant: Thomas Patterson Licensing & Permit Manager Public Service Electric & Gas Company (PSE&G) 4000 Hadley Road South Plainfield, NJ 07080 Thomas.Patterson2@ brandi.bartolomeo@

Engineer: Joshua Fink, P.E. PSE&G Asset Management Electric Transmission Engineering 4000 Hadley Road South Plainfield, NJ 07080 Joshua.Fink@

Project Location:

Road

Municipality

County Block(s) Lot(s)

Hopewell Township

Mercer

Various

East Amwell Township West Amwell Township

Lambertville City

Multiple Multiple Hunterdon

Jurisdictional Determination: Zone A

Major

Nongovernmental

Subject to Review for:

Drainage X

Visual X

Traffic X

Stream Corridors X

THIS STAFF REPORT IS ISSUED AS A GUIDE TO APPLICANTS IN COMPLYING WITH DRCC REGULATIONS. IT IS NOT AN APPROVAL. NO

PO BOX 539

STOCKTON, NJ 08559 dep/drcc/

609-397-2000

DRCC #: 20-5560

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DATE: March 10, 2021

PROJECT NAME: PSE&G Roseland-Pleasant Valley Transmission Project

CONSTRUCTION SHALL BEGIN UNTIL A CERTIFICATE OF APPROVAL HAS BEEN ISSUED.

Documents Received: Site Plans (18 sheets) dated May 2, 2020; Watershed Delineation Plans (14 sheets) dated March 20, 2020; Parking Lot Restoration Plan (3 sheets) revised January 15, 2021; DRCC Ramp Walls Exhibit (2 sheets) dated January 15, 2021; prepared by PSE&G. Project Description and DRCC Application Report dated May 2020; Stormwater Management Statement dated May 2020; DRCC Parking Lot Landscape and Swale Restoration Plan (1 sheet) dated May 13, 2020, revised March 9, 2021; Tree Removal and Restoration Plan (3 sheets) dated December 22, 2020, revised March 9, 2021; Visual and Stormwater Mitigation Proposals Report (12 pages) dated January 2021 prepared by DW Smith Associates.

The application is complete and shall be presented to the Commission for their action with a staff recommendation of approval at the March 17, 2021 meeting, based upon the following analysis:

Existing Conditions: The Public Service Electric and Gas Company (PSE&G) electrical transmission right-of-way (ROW) corridor, commonly referred to as the Roseland-toPleasant Valley (RPV) ROW corridor, is located within the townships of East Amwell, West Amwell and the City of Lambertville in Hunterdon County, and the Township of Hopewell in Mercer County. The existing RPV ROW corridor within the Commission Review Zone is part of a larger, 52-mile long, typically 150-foot wide transmission corridor which traverses 17 New Jersey municipalities, running in a northeasterly to southwesterly direction between the Borough of Roseland, Essex County, to the northeast and the Township of Hopewell, Mercer County.

The project is located within both Commission Review Zone A and Review Zone B. The definition of "review zone" at N.J.A.C. 7:45-1.3 states that if any part of a project site is within Zone A then the entire project shall be considered to be in Zone A.

The overall project consists of two segments: the first being the Roseland to Branchburg portion (Segment 1) of the RPV transmission system; and the second (Segment 2) being the portion than runs from Branchburg Township in Somerset County, to Pleasant Valley (West Amwell/East Amwell/Hopewell). Segment 2 is that portion of the RPV ROW project which falls under the jurisdiction of the Commission and spans 12.5 miles. As required by both State and federal regulatory agencies, the ROW for overhead electrical transmission systems must be maintained with low-growing vegetation which cannot interfere with the overhead transmission wires.

The present ROW corridor has existed for more than 90 years, and pre-dates the construction of much of the current highway networks and other improvements in the area, as well as nearly all environmental regulations, including those of the Commission. A 10-foot wide compacted gravel maintenance and emergency access road was established through the majority of the ROW. The ROW in some areas also includes other public utility easements such as fiber optic cable, petroleum pipelines, sanitary sewer, natural gas and water supply mains.

DRCC #: 20-5560

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DATE: March 10, 2021

PROJECT NAME: PSE&G Roseland-Pleasant Valley Transmission Project

After evaluating both the age of the subject equipment and performing condition assessment studies, the applicant determined that the Roseland-to-Pleasant Valley electric transmission overhead facilities have reached the end of their useful life.

Proposed Project: The existing towers have been assessed and determined to have reached a level of condition which requires replacement. The proposed project has been designed to maintain and strengthen the service redundancy and reliability of the transmission system by replacing aging infrastructure that has reached the end of its useful life. Accordingly, the applicant proposes to replace the existing lattice-type electric transmission towers with new, taller Y-frame and H-frame structures along the ROW corridor. The structures will be built to the PSE&G 345kV standard, but operated at 230kV. Should the future electricity demand require 345kV, the stations along the ROW would require future upgrades that are not being proposed as part of this project. The transmission line is being replaced in-kind at 230kV. Within the Commission Review Zone, PSE&G proposes to replace 49 existing lattice towers with 46 Y-frame monopoles and 3 H-frame structures.

The project has been approved by the Pennsylvania-Jersey-Maryland (PJM) Interconnection, the regional transmission organization (RTO) that coordinates the movement of wholesale electricity in all or parts of 14 states and the District of Columbia, and includes New Jersey. In addition, the project was approved by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) Form 715 Local Criteria Equipment Assessment Project.

The proposed new Y-frame and H-frame structures would be taller than the existing lattice towers. The increased height of the replacement structures is required largely due to public utility regulations and current construction standards.

Specifically, certain minimum vertical clearances between the ground and the overhead lines that must be maintained in order to comply with IEEE standards of the National Electrical Safety Code (NESC),Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) standards, as well as State regulations with respect to noise and electric magnetic fields. In addition, the applicant must also comply with regulations of the Board of Public Utilities (BPU) regarding Electric Utility Line Vegetation Management (N.J.A.C. 14:5-9.1 et seq.), which ensures the safe operation of high voltage overhead electric lines.

The applicant has optimized the location of the new Y-frame and H-frame structures, and chosen the replacement locations based upon existing terrain features, environmentallysensitive areas, the location of existing roadways, railroads and overhead obstructions that cannot be changed or relocated, and to provide spacing between poles in order to minimize the total number of new structures.

As noted hereinabove, within the Commission Review Zone, 49 existing lattice towers and associated foundations -- 4 foundations per tower, totaling 196 foundations, with an area of 1,601 square feet (0.03 acre) will be removed. They will be replaced with 46 Y-frame monopoles and 3 H-frames along with associated foundations -- 1 per each

DRCC #: 20-5560

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DATE: March 10, 2021

PROJECT NAME: PSE&G Roseland-Pleasant Valley Transmission Project

monopole, 2 for each H-frame -- totaling 52 foundations with an area of 3,991 square feet (0.09 acre). Based upon the submitted application, the overall net increase in impervious area coverage within the Commission Review Zone is estimated to be approximately 2,390 square feet (0.055 acres).

Specifically, the increase in impervious surface can be broken down as follows: 285 square feet (0.01 acres) within Commission Review Zone A, and 2,105 square feet (0.05 acres), within Commission Review Zone, respectively. In addition, the area of proposed land disturbance within the review zones will be 204,489 square feet (4.69 acres) in Review Zone A, and 2,851,770 square feet (65.47 acres) in Review Zone B, respectively.

Stream Corridor: The PSE&G ROW includes 13 stream crossing locations that will be impacted as a result of the proposed project, including Alexauken Creek, tributaries to Alexauken Creek, Swan Creek, tributaries to Swan Creek and tributaries to the Delaware and Raritan Canal. All of these stream crossings were evaluated for their respective contributory drainage areas sizes to determine if a particular stream crossing would be regulated by the Commission. By the Commission definition, a stream corridor starts at the point from which the watercourse enters the park, upstream to the point that the water course or its tributaries drain less than 50 acres.

The 100-year floodplain extent of the various reaches of Alexauken Creek, tributaries to Alexauken Creek, Swan Creek, tributaries to Swan Creek and tributaries to the Delaware and Raritan Canal that run parallel to and/or intersect with the ROW have been delineated by various methods. The floodplain limits are necessary to delineate the limits of the Commission stream corridors and any related impacts.

The project proposes multiple intrusions within the defined Commission stream corridor areas. Specific impacts to the Commission corridor include the removal of existing lattice towers, the installation of monopoles and the placement of timber matting to facilitate construction access. These intrusions fall under prohibited uses within stream corridors at N.J.A.C. 7:45-9.3(a). Therefore, the project is subject to stream corridor impact review pursuant to the provisions of N.J.A.C. 7:45-9.1(a).

A total of 5 existing lattice towers and associated foundations, comprising a total of 189 square feet of impervious surface will be removed. They will be replaced with 4 new structures and associated foundations, with a total of 463 square feet of impervious surface. The overall net increase in impervious surface in Commission-regulated stream corridors totals 274 square feet (0.006 acres).

In addition, 200,880 square feet (4.61 acres) of temporary disturbance is proposed as a result of the placement of timber matting within the stream corridor area. Specifically, this will include: 48,870 square feet (3.42 acres) within the stream corridor of Alexauken Creek; 20,609 square feet (0.47 acre) within the stream corridor of tributaries to Alexauken Creek; and, 31,401 square feet (0.72 acre) within the stream corridor of tributaries to Swan Creek.

DRCC #: 20-5560

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DATE: March 10, 2021

PROJECT NAME: PSE&G Roseland-Pleasant Valley Transmission Project

For access to the proposed monopole locations and staging areas located in regulated areas, the contractor will place timber matting to minimize disturbances to the underlying soil and to provide additional protection to underground gas lines as required pursuant to safety protocols. The mats will be placed and secured consecutively from an upland location until the monopole location is reached and staging areas are constructed.

The construction of new structures, regrading and removal of vegetation are all prohibited uses pursuant to N.J.A.C. 7:45-9.3(a).

For the proposed impacts, the applicant is seeking a waiver of strict adherence with the stream corridor impact review standards based upon compelling public need. In order to meet the criteria for such a waiver under the Commission's regulations, the applicant must demonstrate by clear and convincing evidence that strict adherence would conflict with a compelling public need and that the project will not impair the purpose of the Master Plan (See N.J.A.C. 7:45-12.3(a)).

Specifically, the applicant must demonstrate, based on specific facts:

? The project will serve an essential public health or safety need; ? That the public health and safety require the requested waiver; ? That the proposed use is required to serve existing public health or safety needs;

and, ? That there is no alternative available to meet the established public health or

safety need.

The applicant states that they are proposing to upgrade the existing transmission system to ensure continued compliance with the regional reliability standards imposed upon it by PJM and FERC, and to meet the electrical load growth projections as determined by the Regional Transmission Expansion Plan (RTEP) adopted by PJM.

The applicant notes that the ROW passes through Rural, Rural/Environmentally Sensitive, Environmentally Sensitive and Parks and Natural planning areas of the New Jersey State Development and Redevelopment Plan. Since the project proposes to utilize the existing ROW corridor, it does not propose to alter the current use of those lands. The applicant states that the proposed project is in the public interest in order to ensure the continuance of safe and reliable electric power to the public and to ensure compliance with the regional reliability standards imposed by PJM. The applicant states that both the PJM planning process and the State Planning process support the purpose of and need for the project.

In addition, the project has been designed to minimize impacts to natural resources to the maximum extent practicable. Impacts to natural resources have been minimized by extensive and proper design considerations, through the use of applicable best management practice (BMP) measures and adherence to the Soil Erosion and Sediment Control Standards. The applicant also notes that this electrical transmission system provides power to tens of thousands of customers across three counties in New Jersey, including serving hospitals, emergency service facilities and governmental agencies.

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