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Planning Commission opens public comment on New Irvington Tunnel draft EIR for SFPUC’s WSIP
Summary
Commission heard an overview of the draft EIR for the New Irvington Tunnel — a 3.5‑mile, seismically reliable tunnel intended to provide redundancy for an aging system — and opened the public comment record through July 16, 2009.
The Planning Commission opened the public comment period on the Draft Environmental Impact Report for the New Irvington Tunnel project (case 2005.0162E), part of the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission’s Water System Improvement Program. SFPUC staff described the proposal to construct a new 3.5‑mile tunnel (8.5–10.5 feet in diameter), at depths between roughly 100 and 700 feet, to provide redundancy and enable maintenance on a 1930s tunnel that cannot be taken out of service for repair.
The staff presentation explained how the new tunnel would improve hydraulic reliability and allow the agency to rehabilitate or take the older Irvington Tunnel out of service for maintenance. The draft EIR has been publicly available since June 1 and the local comment record remains open until 5 p.m. on July 16, 2009; a prior local hearing was held in Fremont on June 24 and the Historic Preservation Commission would also hear the draft EIR on July 15.
Commissioners thanked staff for the presentation and had no substantive additions; no public speakers addressed the commission in person during the session. Staff emphasized that written comments will be transcribed and responded to in a comments‑and‑responses document prepared for the final EIR.
