Cable Replacement S281201 FDR Project (Old Auburn Road)

SMUD is proposing to install approximately 500 feet of 12kV utility cable within conduit below a tributary of Cripple Creek (stream). The project would employ the use of Horizontal Directional Drilling (HDD), a method intended to reduce environmental impacts through the avoidance of surface disturbance in sensitive habitats. The launch and receiving bore pits for the HDD under the stream will be located within upland habitats that are categorized as residential or urban land use. The pits, located within the sidewalk along the north side of Old Auburn Road, are each more than 100’ from the water’s edge, and would each measure no more than 25 square feet in area. All HDD activities will occur at a minimum depth of approximately 60 inches below the ground surface level and at least 10 feet below the bed, bank, and channel of the stream. Project equipment and staging will be restricted to urban, upland habitats and will not encroach upon the banks of the stream. The HDD activity is anticipated to be completed by May 2026, after the California Department of Fish and Wildlife Streambed Alteration Agreement is obtained. The HDD activity is anticipated to take no longer than five days.