HomeMy WebLinkAboutC_Public_Comment_46_180327.email_attch2of2 12819 SE 38th Street #294 • Bellevue, WA 98006 • http://cense.org
Coalition of Eastside Neighborhoods
for Sensible Energy
March 27, 2018
Jill Ding, Senior Planner
Department of Community & Economic Development
1055 South Grady Way
Renton, WA 98057
Dear Ms. Ding,
The Coalition of Eastside Neighborhoods for Sensible Energy (CENSE) has several concerns about
for this
project that your city is now considering.
As you may know, CENSE is an all-volunteer, non-profit organization formed in May 2014. The
founding members of CENSE were neighborhood representatives who served on the Community
Advisory Group (CAG) organized by PSE. When PSE would not allow discussion of alternatives to the
proposed transmission line in CAG meetings, the neighborhood representatives created CENSE to
better represent community values in energy decisions that affect our future.
Regarding Energize Eastside, CENSE has questioned the accuracy of PSE
based primarily on may occur,
refusal to examine alternative solutions to an 18-mile 230 kV transmission line through four Eastside
cities, including Newcastle.
CENSE has represented the interests of residents in each Eastside city at council meetings, throughout
the lengthy two-phase EIS process, PSE resource planning meetings, and hearings held by the
Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission.
The City of Bellevue directed the EIS, acting as the lead agency for the purposes of SEPA. Bellevue
decided to conduct the EIS in two phases. Phase 1 evaluated the PSE project at a programmatic level.
Phase 2 evaluated the project at a project level.
When the first phase began in 2015, CENSE organized residents to comment on the initial scoping
notice. After Bellevue issued the Phase 1 DEIS on January 26, 2016, CENSE organized residents to
submit written comments and attend four public comment meetings in four cities.
Bellevue issued a second scoping notice in early 2017 for the Phase 2 DEIS. CENSE organized residents
to comment. Bellevue issued the Phase 2 DEIS on May 8, 2017. CENSE again organized residents to
submit written comments and attend four public comment meetings.
12819 SE 38th Street #294 • Bellevue, WA 98006 • http://cense.org
As a direct result of CENSE involvement in the EIS process, over 1,000 residents submitted comments
during the three-year period.
On March 1, 2018, Bellevue issued the Final EIS at a length of almost 5,000 pages. It cost $2.6 million to
prepare, over $500 per page. It is a daunting stack of paper, 8.5 inches tall and weighing 19 pounds.
Bellevue charges $832 for a paper copy.
Much of the content in the Final EIS responds to comments submitted by residents. Residents need
time to review these responses and determine if our questions have been adequately answered. City
staff members have spent months drafting and reviewing the EIS. CENSE and residents have only had
a few weekends to start reading this tome. We need more time to review information that will have a
direct impact on our lives and the character of our neighborhoods.
s in Renton, Newcastle, and
Bellevue are long and detailed documents. Residents must review both the EIS and the permit
application in their city, since the EIS informs the permit applications. Residents should not be
expected to review this extraordinary amount of material in only a few weeks.
Renton has chosen March 28, 2018 as the deadline for comments. CENSE requests a reasonable
extension of the deadline so we can review the Final EIS and permit application and provide
meaningful comments.
We respectfully request an extension of the deadline for comments from March 28 to April 30,
2018.
Sincerely,
Don Marsh, President
CENSE.org