1. Environmental and Cultural Data Use in Planning
Western Electricity Coordinating Council

2. Presentation Overview
WECC Overview
Environmental Resource Data
Cultural Resource Data
Western Electricity Coordinating Council

3. WECC is the Regional Entity responsible for coordinating and promoting Bulk Electric System reliability in the Western Interconnection (the western United States and Canada and part of Mexico). 
WECC is the largest geographic area of the eight Regional Entities Entire Western Interconnection (1.8 million square miles) - includes all or part of 14 U.S. states, two Canadian provinces, and a portion of Baja California Norte, Mexico
WECC Planning Functions
Loads and Resources Assessments
Reliability studies
Transmission Expansion Planning

4. Non-Planning Functions
WECC Functions
Non-Planning Functions
Planning Functions
Compliance Monitoring and Enforcement
Standards Development
Market-Operations Interface
Operator Training
WREGIS
System Adequacy
System Stability
Performance Analysis
Event Analysis

5. System Adequacy at WECC
Lead transmission expansion planning for the Western Interconnection
Annual study program
Congestion studies
Transmission Expansion Planning Policy Committee (TEPPC)
Technical analysis
Studies
Data
Scenarios
Subcommittees and Work Groups

6. Who Does TEPPC Serve? TEPPC State & Provincial Entities
Members
Transmission Stakeholders
State & Provincial Entities
Environmental Stakeholders
Tribes
Other Stakeholders

7. Transmission Expansion Planning
Key Question: How might the transmission grid in the Western Interconnection need to change in 10 or 20 years to meet load reliably with available resources?

8. Environmental Data Task Force
Environmental Data Task Force (EDTF)
Formed in June, 2010
Includes representation by broad stakeholders
Provides input to transmission expansion planning process
Western Electricity Coordinating Council

9. Risk Classification System Review of Study Case Results
Primary EDTF Products
Available
Reviewed for Quality
Relevant to Transmission Planning
Preferred Data Sets
Four Risk Levels
Low Risk (1) to Exclusion Area (4)
Risk Classification System
Compares relative risks of transmission alternatives
Alternatives identified in long-term study cases
Available for use outside of WECC
Comparison Methodology
Considers “environmental risk contours”
Also considers cultural risks
Considers capital costs of “bending lines”
Review of Study Case Results
Data is at the planning scale
“Preferred Data”—Data Quality Protocol
Technical quality assessment
Subject Matter Expert review
Relevance to transmission planning

10. Environmental/Cultural Data (Samples)
Preferred Data
Sensitive Species Areas
Tribal Lands
Conservation Areas
Wilderness Areas
Scenic Management Areas
Historic Trails

11. Risk Classification Category 4 Category 3 Category 2 Category 1
Exclusion Areas
Category 3
High Risk
Category 2
Low-to-moderate risk
Category 1
Lowest Risk
Category 1
Category 2
Category 3
Category 4

12. Benefits of Environmental Data
Decrease cost and conflict
Avoid delays
Use of Data at Planning Stage
Avoid or mitigate risks at planning level
Ensure Data Quality
Use by federal/state/provincial/ regional entities
Public Availability of Tools
The EDTF’s work provides multiple benefits to WECC and its stakeholders. The EDTF’s preferred environmental and cultural data sets provide access to environmental and cultural data for use in planning, and come with the assurance that the data meet standards for quality. The EDTF’s land classification system identifies areas at higher and lower risk areas, providing the opportunity to avoid or mitigate risks at the planning level. The transmission alternative comparison methodology provides a consistent method for evaluating environmental and cultural risks from transmission planning, and includes a process for engaging stakeholders at multiple levels. The WECC Data Viewer enables all stakeholders to access these data sets and risk classifications.
Many transmission planning stakeholders believe that if key environmental and cultural aspects were addressed upfront, many of the conflicts could be avoided thus saving companies, consumers, and stakeholders time and money. The use of spatially explicit (GIS) environmental and cultural data sets to identify, early on, areas with high likelihood for environmental or cultural challenges not only increases initial awareness of potential difficulties during subsequent siting, permitting, and construction; but may also be used to identify alternate route opportunities. Furthermore, state, regional, and federal agencies and planning efforts are now able to use the EDTF products to better understand the intersection between transmission and environmental and cultural resources at a planning scale.
Western Electricity Coordinating Council

13. Example of Use: WECC Long-Term Planning Tool
Creates transmission expansion options based on study case inputs
Loads, resource costs, fuel prices, carbon cost
Options are “point-to-point”
Need to “bend the lines”
Western Electricity Coordinating Council

14. Environmental Risk Classes 1-4
Blue line connects endpoints
Darker areas = higher risk category
Western Electricity Coordinating Council

15. LTPT With Environmental Overlay
Semi-transparent EDTF overlay on terrain map
Semi-transparent corridor over EDTF and terrain maps
Western Electricity Coordinating Council

16. Western Electricity Coordinating Council
How Can You See the Data?
Western Electricity Coordinating Council

17. WECC Environmental Data Viewer
Western Electricity Coordinating Council

18. Cultural Resource Data
Cultural resource data differs from environmental resource data
Location of cultural resources is highly sensitive
Using cultural resource data in transmission planning requires a different approach
Relative density of known cultural sites
Whether and when a location has been surveyed
Western Electricity Coordinating Council

19. Approach to Applying Cultural Data
Collect SHPO Data
Known Sites (can be points, lines, and/or polygons)
Surveyed (inventoried) Areas
Overlay the standard EDTF grid cell (0.5 km2)
Western Electricity Coordinating Council

20. Approach to Applying Cultural Data
Grid cells that contain any sites are marked as cultural resource grid cell
Identify the number of grid cells in the “neighborhood” (directly adjacent) to each cell
Range of 0 to 9
Western Electricity Coordinating Council

21. Cultural Resource Data Approach
Designation
Name
Description
Category A
Lowest Cultural Resource Risk or Uncertainty
“Low Density” of sites that have been surveyed in the last 10 years
Category B
Moderate Cultural Resource Risk or Uncertainty
Areas where a “Low Density” of sites has been identified, but where the survey information is older (>10 years)
Category C
High Cultural Resource Risk or Uncertainty
Areas with a “Moderate Site Density” (regardless of when or if a survey has been conducted in the area).
Category D
Highest Cultural Resource Risk or Uncertainty
Areas with a “High Site Density” regardless of when or if a survey has been conducted in the area.
Category E
Unknown Cultural Resource Risk or Uncertainty
Areas with a zero site density and where no surveys have been conducted.
Western Electricity Coordinating Council

22. Cultural Risk Assignments
Site Density++
Area Surveyed Within Last 10 Years
Area Surveyed Prior to Last 10 Years
Outside Surveyed Area A B E
Low (1-3) C
Moderate (4-6)
High (7-9) D
Any cell listed as TCP/sacred site
++Number of grid cells found within the neighborhood
Western Electricity Coordinating Council

23. Cultural Resource Risk Example
Western Electricity Coordinating Council

24. Western Electricity Coordinating Council24
Cultural Resources WA
Five states currently committed to sharing cultural resource data
Others in negotiations WY NV UT CO
Western Electricity Coordinating Council

25. Western Electricity Coordinating Council
Ocean and Coastal Data
Why is WECC concerned with ocean and coastal data?
Increasing off-shore energy development (wind off of Oregon)
Developmental projects (wave energy off of the Pacific Coast)
Increasing interest in offshore transmission—California project
Western Electricity Coordinating Council

26. Ocean and Coastal Data Examples
Category
Description
Examples 1
Lowest Risk 2
Low-to-Medium Risk
Marine protected areas managed for multiple use or with undetermined protection
High vessel density areas
Existing submarine cable and pipeline ROW 3
High Risk
Marine protected areas subject to “no take” restrictions
Hard benthic substrate/rock reef
Commercial benthic fishery
Habitat areas of particular concern 4
Exclusion Areas
Marine protected areas subject to “no impact” or “no access” restrictions
Areas restricted for military use
Western Electricity Coordinating Council

27. Western Electricity Coordinating Council
Contacts
Environmental Data Task Force Chair
Carl Zichella
Natural Resources Defense Council
(415)
WECC Staff Liaison
Byron Woertz
Senior Project Manager
(801)
Western Electricity Coordinating Council