The construction of a new 62-mile, 230-kV transmission line in southern California by Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) required crossing the Angeles National Forest, which brought about a need for a visual mitigation plan. Entering the national forest triggered requirements from the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) to minimize visual contrast between the project and the surrounding landscape.
Following the mitigation measures identified during the environmental review process, our team worked with the USFS and LADWP to develop a compensatory mitigation plan based on the anticipated visual impacts of the proposed project.
Visual mitigation plan
Working with the stakeholders and using the information gathered during the visual analysis, our team performed an impact analysis, NEPA review and state environmental policy act review to develop a plan to satisfy both agency requirements and the needs of LADWP and its customers.
We also provided the USFS with alternative mitigation methods based on project visibility and consistent with the agency’s Scenic Integrity Objective impacts. We added 76 miles of 230-kV conductor replacement and other circuit additions, as well as a switching station expansion.
Our team also identified visual influence factors to calculate the net effect of acreage being impacted by the project. These impact acreages were used in negotiations with the USFS for determining visual resource compensatory mitigation.
