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State agencies train local governments on PEIS use for clean energy projects
Summary
Ecology and the Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council (FSEC) held a workshop to explain programmatic environmental impact statements (PEIS) for transmission, utility‑scale solar, onshore wind and green hydrogen projects, and to demonstrate maps, worksheets and templates local governments and developers can use during SEPA review.
State environmental staff and the Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council led a training workshop describing programmatic environmental impact statements for clean energy projects and the resources local governments can use in project-level SEPA reviews.
"We're going to talk about what we call our PEISs or the programmatic environmental impact statements for clean energy," said Diane Pieterak, section manager for Ecology's Clean Energy Coordination section, opening the session.
The workshop covered why the PEISs were prepared, how they fit into the SEPA process and what measures and tools are available to avoid, minimize and mitigate potential impacts. "PEIS is a type of non project environmental review," Andrew Hollenbaugh said, summarizing the documents' role under the State Environmental Policy Act.
Presenters said PEISs provide broad, program-level environmental analysis, identify alternatives (including a no-action alternative), and offer categories of measures and mitigation that project-level reviewers can apply or adapt. The Ecology PEISs for utility-scale solar, onshore wind and green hydrogen each include alternatives such as baseline facility builds, versions that add battery storage, and a no-action alternative; the transmission PEIS analyzed development of overhead and underground lines and considered upgrades, minor modifications and operation.
Sean Green of the Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council described sensitivity maps and an interactive e-programmatic interface developed for the transmission PEIS. The maps assign sensitivity levels to environmental resources and can be overlaid to show corridors with concentrated sensitive resources, which presenters said can guide early siting and routing decisions.
Presenters also walked through implementation resources: Ecology focus sheets for different audiences, project siting and consistency worksheets to document conformance with PEIS measures, online mapping resources, and SEPA adoption templates for lead agencies that may adopt a PEIS and issue a mitigated determination of nonsignificance or prepare a supplemental EIS.
Officials emphasized that a PEIS does not approve projects or remove state or local permitting authority. Workshop speakers recommended that lead agencies and applicants use the PEIS materials early in project planning to identify likely impacts and to document design decisions that avoid sensitive areas.
The presentation portion ended with a question-and-answer period and a reminder that attendees could follow up with Ecology staff or FSEC staff for further guidance.
