Energize Eastside environmental impact statement

OVERVIEW

Seva staff led public engagement for the Energize Eastside Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), which provided environmental review of Puget Sound Energy’s proposal to build a new electric substation and approximately 18 miles of high capacity electric transmission lines. This particularly complex project involved multiple jurisdictions (Bellevue, Kirkland, Newcastle, Redmond and Renton) and included both programmatic and project review.

Community awareness and engagement was high because the EIS followed on prior outreach work conducted by Puget Sound Energy, which led to the formation of a very active and informed community group that opposed the project. We worked with the City of Bellevue, the lead agency, and project partners to provide a clear and transparent process for public engagement and to comply with EIS requirements of all jurisdictions for public notification and hearings. We carefully planned for public meetings to ensure a respectful and orderly process for hearing a high volume of impassioned comments.

Our work included developing and implementing a public involvement plan, managing the project website, planning and facilitating public hearings, coordinating notification materials, and developing reader-friendly graphics and written products to communicate highly technical project information.