Transcon Environmental, Inc. (Transcon) has over two decades of history serving utilities. Our services on these projects include feasibility studies, siting studies, environmental studies, permitting, construction inspection, post-construction monitoring, and reclamation. We partner with utilities and other stakeholders to solve problems the industry faces today and in the future, especially as climate and energy demands change. We share utilities’ values of sourcing energy renewably; staying compliant with all federal, state, and local regulations; and holding the highest safety standards for employees and contractors. Our motto, Understand and Serve, ensures utilities’ needs are known, and that Transcon’s work—from contract management to project staffing—is founded in helping utilities achieve their goals and missions. We are eager to provide our expertise and proven strategies and tools to serve your needs.

Work involved collaboration with agencies to address potential impacts to sensitive species. Activities included preparing a Management Indicator Species Report and Biological Evaluation to address Forest-sensitive species. During the construction phase, our team performed compliance inspection contractor (CIC) services on behalf of Dixie National Forest. Services included inspection to ensure that mitigation measures were carried out by contractors as well as environmental training to construction crews.

This project involved the construction of a new 1,000-mile electric transmission line through Wyoming and Idaho. Transcon assisted as a third-party CIC for the segments that crossed Bureau of Land Management (BLM) lands. The project corridor contains eligible cultural sites, habitat for a number of protected plant and animal species, and paleontologically sensitive areas.

The Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) Electric Transmission (ET) Vegetation Management Program ensures the safe and reliable operation of electric overhead facilities by pruning and/or removing thousands of trees annually along thousands of miles of distribution and transmission lines. Since 2009, Transcon’s responsibilities include conducting field visits; preparing biological constraints reviews, cultural resource constraints reviews, and mapsets; compliance monitoring; and screening work submitted into the riparian review and nesting bird environmental screening programs.

The Western Area Power Administration received an interconnection request for a transmission line to provide power to Beale Air Force Base. Transcon was retained to provide National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)/California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) compliance activities, including resource studies and the development of an Environmental Assessment. Our tasks included a full wetland delineation of 760 acres as well as biological and cultural surveys and associated reports.

Transcon provided CIC services, reporting directly to the BLM State Office. This project involved the construction of a new 38-mile-long, 500/230-kilobolt transmission line from the existing Sun Valley Substation to the existing Morgan Substation located in Peoria, Arizona. The project corridor contained approximately 3,000 protected cactus species that had to be salvaged and relocated throughout the course of the project. Transcon used drones and GPS technology to verify the relocation of all sensitive plants. The project corridor also contained numerous eligible cultural resources sites.

Agency coordination

Air quality modeling and mitigation

Avian, aquatic, wildlife, and botany surveys and monitoring

Biological reporting (risk assessments, constraints reports, Biological Assessments/Biological Evaluations)

Coastal Commission Acts

California Department of Fish and Wildlife 1600 Permits (Lake and Streambed Alternation Agreements)

Cultural resources pedestrian survey, testing, and data recovery

Cultural resources records search and inventory report

Clean Water Act 404/401 permits

Drone imagery

Endangered Species Act consultation

Expert witness

Facility siting and routing

Habitat assessments

Historic Building Inventory or Assessment and Historic American Buildings Survey/Historic American Engineering Record

Local/state encroachment permits

Mitigation planning

Monitoring and Discovery Plans

NEPA and state environmental quality acts

National Historic Preservation Act (Section 106 and Section 110)

NPDES permits and SWPPPs

Project Record or Administrative Record management

Public involvement

Rivers and Harbors Act (Section 10)

Species handling/collection permits

Tribal consultation/communication

Visual resources and simulations

Wetland delineation and Waters of the United States and Jurisdictional Determination reporting

Wildfire safety planning

Arizona Public Service

Dominion Energy

Garkane Energy

PacifiCorp

Pacific Gas and Electric Company

Western Area Power Administration