Guns - Not much, see below:
The XXXXX School District will request that the XXXXx Department of Education approve a variance from the mandatory 100-foot setback for the overhead transmission line easement that now bisects the school site. The only option that meets new XXX guidelines for EMF is undergrounding with shielding. The District will work with XXXX & Electric to underground the single circuit 66 kV transmission line that now runs the length of the site in a new 40’ easement running about 1200’ along the west side of the campus, immediately east of XXXXX Road. The 66 kV circuit will be buried in steel pipe for maximum EMF shielding. In accordance with XXX EMF Policy requirements, the EMF Management Plan has been adopted by the District.
All school buildings will all be at or under EMF target levels of 1.0 mG and under at 95% loading conditions (highest level of EMF that would be possible under maximum electrical load conditions). The younger children’s playground area with dodgeball and 4-square courts north of Building F will also be below 1 mG.
This EMF Management Plan has analyzed eleven options for transmission line EMF impact reduction. A relocation of the existing 66 kV transmission line is mandatory since XXXXX Public Code Title 24 would otherwise require a 100-foot setback on both sides of the utility easement. In its present location, the utility easement bisects the usable portion of the school site. A setback under Title 24 would render the site unusable as an elementary school.
Overhead relocation to another easement was analyzed, and EMF modeling proved that this option could not provide low EMF levels in accord with the XXX EMF Policy.
Underground relocation to a new easement fronting the school and the main arterial road to the school site was selected as the only option that could reasonably achieve XXX targets for EMF levels. This option was evaluated in detail, and it was found that undergrounding with steel pipe shielding could easily meet the EMF targets.
Normally, distancing from transmission lines will reduce the EMF impact zone for a school site. However, as more circuits may be added to the utility easement, the potential for higher EMF levels increases. This condition is not subject to mitigation by shielding, although some EMF reductions can be achieved by phasing, conductor geometry and other measures.
Undergrounding - with or without steel pipe shielding of the underground conductors - can greatly reduce the EMF impact zone. EMF levels may be higher directly over the top of an underground trench holding the conductors, but levels fall off quickly with distance. Shielding of the underground conductors can reduce the EMF impact zone to virtually negligible within a few feet of the trench.
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