Agencies and Regulations
There are basically two federal agencies that have an affect on the LEAPS project and power line project in the Cleveland National Forest.

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, or FERC, is an independent agency that regulates the interstate transmission of electricity, natural gas, and oil. They also, oversee environmental matters related to natural gas and hydroelectricity projects and major electricity policy initiatives. It is the lead agency charged with reviewing the project and granting LEAPS a license to build and operate in California.

Elsinore Valley Metropolitan Water District. The EVMWD web site has links on the status of the LEAPS project and FERC documents.

FERC Notices:

•  10/03/06 - Notice of modified transmission alignment proposal

Motions to FERC to intervene:

•  03/29/06 - Friesian Focus, Llc, The Fernandez Trust, And Joseph And Joan Fernandez.
   
•  03/30/06  Stan Kensic
   
•  04/25/06 - Friends of the Forest and Santa Rosa Plateau.

Letters:

•  10/02/06 - Letter from FERC responding to Chris Hydland about pumped storage license applications over past 20 years.
   
•  09/31/2006 - Additional Comments Concerning LEAPS
   
•  08/22/2006 - Progress Report from Elsinore Valley Municipal Water District to FERC
   
•  07/06/06 - Comments from Fof&P to FERC
   
•  04/05/06 - FoF&P letter concerning FERC and how you can help
   
•  11/25/05 - Notice of intent by the Hydro Company, Inc. to FERC re: Powerline Corridors.

USDA Forest Service

The Forest Service is an agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. It manages public lands in national forests and grasslands. It's chartered to carry out the policies in the "National Forest Management Act of 1976" as amended several times since then.

August 2003 - Remarks by the President on the Healthy Forests Initiative Redmond, Oregon
"We ought to authorize the federal government to step in as last resort to put up new power lines where it best serves the national interest."

May 2005 - Natural Resources Defense Council
On the energy bill passed to the full Senate by the Energy and Natural Resources Committee:
"Vests the Secretary of Energy with unprecedented authority to permit electric power lines across federal public lands and override federal agency objections to siting decisions, allowing transmission lines to be sited through protected areas such as National Monuments and National Conservation Areas."

Fall of 2005 - New Bill Passed: An Energy Bill was passed that allows the use of National Forests and Public Lands for high-voltage transmission lines.

From "Defenders of Wildlife" website: http://www.defenders.org/publications/forestreport.html

Undercutting National Forest Protections:
How the Bush Administration Uses the Judicial System to Weaken Environmental Laws
The administration of George W. Bush is rewriting nearly all of the important regulations and policies dealing with wildlife management, environmental protections and public oversight on national forests. This empirical study details the Bush (II) administration’s treatment of the laws, regulations and policies that govern management of the 191-million-acre U.S. National Forest System.

The Bush administration’s legal arguments in the federal judicial system pertaining to national forest management are analyzed and compared to analyses of the administration’s modifications to national forest regulations and policies. This report reveals that the Bush administration’s national forest litigation strategy is part of a well-orchestrated effort to fundamentally rewrite federal forest policy to weaken environmental protections and public involvement opportunities across the board