Vesta Telecommunications

Proponents Environmental Assessment  |  Riverside County, California

Applied Planning, Inc. was retained by Vesta Telecommunications, Inc. to prepare a Proponent’s Environmental Assessment (PEA) consistent with content and format requirements established by the California Public Utilities Commission. The Project evaluated in the PEA consists of the installation, operation, and maintenance of a fiber-optic conduit and cable system and supporting Point of Presence (POP) facilities. The proposed fiber-optic route extends approximately eighty miles south from the City of Riverside in Riverside County to the Rainbow Canyon area, located just south of the City of Temecula in southern Riverside County.

The fiber-optic cable consists of bundled glass optical fibers wrapped in plastic sheathing. Fiber-optic cable is then inserted into flexible, high-density polyethylene conduit, which is then buried in minimally invasive trenches. Conduit installed by this Project will accommodate initial fiber-optic deployment with additional capacity available for future carriers.

In support of the fiber-optic route, new POP-site facilities will be constructed. The 15,000 to 25,000 square foot POP sites will house fiber-optic related electrical equipment, batteries, and a back-up generator.

Within the PEA, potential impacts to Biological Resources were given special consideration due to the presence of the federally endangered Stephen’s Kangaroo Rat along portions of the Project route. Mitigation was proposed consistent with the requirements of the governing Riverside County Habitat Conservation Plan, thereby reducing any impacts to the Stephen’s Kangaroo Rat. To further reduce potential impacts associated with construction and maintenance of the proposed facilities, Applied Planning coordinated accommodation of the fiber-optic route within available Metropolitan Water District service roads and easements. This project also required extensive coordination and liaison with the California Department of Fish and Game, U.S. Department of Fish and Wildlife, and the California Public Utilities Commission.