Agenda - Council - 06/25/2013 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Enterprise Park to Crooked Lake 115 kV Transmission Line March 2012 Environmental Assessment 4.5. Damage Compensation Following construction of the Project, the ROW agent would contact private land owners to inquire whether any damage occurred to the property during construction and what repairs may be needed. The Applicant would be responsible for restoring all areas to their original condition to the maximum extent possible. If non -repairable damage occurs to a property, the Applicant would reimburse the landowner for such damages. 4.6. Maintenance The Applicant will periodically use the transmission line right-of-way to perform inspections, maintain equipment, and repair damage. Regular maintenance and inspections will be performed over the life of the facility to ensure a reliable system. Annual inspections will be done by foot, All -Terrain Vehicles, pickup truck, or by aerial means. These inspections will be limited to the acquired right-of-way and areas where obstructions or terrain require access off the easement. An aerial inspection of each transmission line is conducted every other month to ensure reliable operation. The Applicant will conduct vegetation surveys and remove undesired vegetation that will interfere with the operation of the transmission line. Frequency of vegetation maintenance is on a three- to seven-year cycle. Right-of-way clearing practices include a combination of mechanical and hand clearing, along with an application of herbicides where allowed. The Applicant will perform periodic inspections, maintain equipment, and make repairs over the life of the substations. Anoka Municipal Utility and Xcel Energy will also conduct routine maintenance as required to remove undesired vegetation that may interfere with the safe and reliable operation of the substations. 4.7. Undergrounding Transmission Line Facilities It is common to see lower voltage distribution lines that connect to homes and businesses buried directly in the ground using less invasive construction methods. In these cases, undergrounding offers aesthetic and environmental benefits while posing relatively few construction, maintenance, and operational challenges. Undergrounding of transmission lines at higher voltages, however, can become progressively more complex. A number of factors are involved in the consideration of undergrounding a HVTL, including: construction, cost, and maintenance. Because of these challenges, placing high -voltage transmission lines, like the line proposed for this Project, underground is a practice generally used as a mitigative measure only when there is no viable overhead corridor and for very limited distances to address specific constraints. Underground transmission lines would be placed in a concrete duct system. The underground line would require a concrete duct bank containing two 6-inch PVC conduits for transmission circuits and one 2-inch PVC conduits for ground continuity and communication needs. The trench design is dependent on physical limitations of the 20