TUSTIN : Edison Drops Plan to Build Substation

After years of fighting Southern California Edison’s plans to build a substation on 17th Street, North Tustin residents recently won a victory when the utility dropped its proposal.

“Everyone is just delighted. The homeowners are delighted. The community is delighted,” said Pat Seman, a longtime North Tustin resident and member of a coalition of residents who opposed the company’s plans to replace a temporary substation with a permanent one on a 3.8-acre site in the unincorporated area.

The residents’ group, mostly people who live near the temporary substation, argued that they faced potential health problems from electromagnetic fields. While Edison officials maintained that the substation would not create a health hazard, residents pointed to some studies that have linked electromagnetic fields to cancer.

In a precedent-setting action, the county and Edison agreed in early 1991 to ask the state Public Utilities Commission to take the lead in reviewing the substation proposal.

Edison officials said then that since this was the first time the PUC would evaluate a substation, the findings in the case could set a statewide standard for other substation proposals.

However, Edison and county officials have disagreed about how extensive the environmental evaluation of the project should be. Now the issue is moot, and both Edison and the county have withdrawn requests for the PUC to consider the issue.

Supervisor Roger R. Stanton, whose district at that time included the site, agreed with area residents that a full environmental impact report was warranted, but Edison officials argued that a simple review was all that was necessary.

Although environmental issues made the project controversial, it was killed by economic factors.

Steve Sullivan, regional manager of public affairs for Edison, said that the company revises its projections of electrical load each year and that based on recent data the substation will not be needed for at least several years--rather than during the next year as was previously anticipated.

“Growth in the area has slowed so we don’t have the need to build the station as fast as we thought,” Sullivan said.

Sullivan said the company will begin plans to reroute circuitry and dismantle the temporary station, which has been in place since 1987 and cannot remain without a permanent permit. The station is expected to be dismantled by spring, 1993.