If ONLY federal land was involved, then only the EIS would be necessary; but this will not be the case for any transmission line or power plant project unless totally within federal land (highly unlikely; however, a Department of Defense installation may have its own power plant and transmission line).

Since transmission lines will impact private and state lands, as with almost all other cases, then the proscribed A.R.S. 40-360 process needs to be followed. The total environmental review of these impacts must be decided by the Arizona Power Plant and Transmission Line Siting Committee and, if approved, then granted in an Certification of Environmental Compatibility (CEC). The CEC is then reviewed by state-wide elected Arizona Corporation Commissioners and then implemented. This becomes the permit to construct the power plant or transmission line in our state. During the Committee process, counties, cities and towns are invited to participate along with other intervenors. The 180-day Committee process is rather rapid and comprehensive. The Committee meets its schedules and has the abilities to understand an EIS and RODs, evaluate the testimonies from the parties and make a decision that reflects the people of Arizona. The Committee always balances the project's value versus the project's impacts when it grants a CEC. Public inputs are usually received by this Committee and can be handled expeditiously, primarily due to the 180-day schedule. The Committee Chairman is a former Judge and well experienced in this process.

Some states, but not Arizona, incorporate the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and its associated environmental reviews, such as the EIS, into its state-wide siting process. For example, California has an Environmental Impact Review (EIR) process that coordinates city, county, state and federal environmental reviews into one report. A California EIR is a report for all decision makers, from these governmental entities and the public, that describes the project, its impacts, and the proscribed and an agreed mitigation plan (similar to terms and conditions) that will be implemented when the "permit" is granted.

In Arizona, we have two parallel processes, the NEPA-driven process for federal lands and the CEC process for state and private lands. In general, the EIS should be completed prior to starting the Line Siting Committee process because it will provide valuable environmental information that will be relevant to the drafting of the CEC. Depending upon the completion and any local governmental entity participation in the NEPA process (rarely done in Arizona), then the first real look, from Arizona state, county, city and citizens of the environmental impacts will commence with the Line Siting Committee's review. These Arizona inputs are vital for community acceptance of the project. In some states, such as New Mexico, different local processes are involved that are the rights for that state, as ours differ. Upon completion of the Line Siting Committee's work, the CEC will, unless denied, grant the applicant the permit to construct the project under certain terms and conditions. These conditions include impacts based on diverse Arizona state agencies, including Game and Fish, Arizona State Historical Project Office (SHPO), State Land Trust, ADWR, ADEQ, counties, cities and towns, and public inputs. The CEC will tie all the concerns by those impacted into a permit with specified terms and conditions to resolve known conflicts that arise during these hearings.