PC-1 project US Landing Approval was granted by California Coastal Commission on June 13, 2000, pursuant to the application by PC Landing Corporation and PAC Landing Corporation, subsidiaries of Global Crossing Ltd..

PC Landing Corporation and PAC Landing Corporation (hereinafter “the applicants”), subsidiaries of Global Crossing Ltd., propose to construct and operate three oceanic telecommunications fiber optic cables to land at Pismo State Beach, City of Grover Beach, in the County of San Luis Obispo.
The three cables have the following name identifiers: PC-1 Segment E (PC-1E); PC-1 Segment S (PC-1S); and PAC Segment 1 (PAC-1).  PC-1E will connect Grover Beach to Harbour Point, Washington where it crosses the Pacific to Ajigaura, Japan.  PC-1S takes a direct trans-Pacific route to Shima, Japan.  The PAC-1 cable parallels the Pacific Coast south to link Grover Beach with Amador, Panama, with a branching unit in Tijuana, Mexico. The cables will be extended onshore approximately one mile to the applicants' existing fiber optic cable terminal building in Grover Beach and from there connect to the existing fiber optic cable network facilities near the City of San Luis Obispo.
The applicants propose to bury each cable to a target depth of 0.6 to 1 meter (2 to 3.3 feet) within State waters and out to the 1,000-fathom water depth in federal waters (a distance of about 70 nautical miles).  Seaward of the 1,000- fathom depth contour, the cables will be laid on the ocean floor.
The portion of the project that lies within the Coastal Commission’s retained coastal permit jurisdiction, and is the subject of coastal development permit application, is the burial of the three cables from the mean high tide line to the territorial extent of the waters of the State of California, the excavation and burial of the three cables onshore along Grand Avenue adjacent to the cable landing site, and the drilling of one onshore conduit under Meadow Creek to house the three cables.
The project also requires a federal permit from the United States Army Corps of Engineers (“ACOE”) and therefore requires a consistency certification pursuant to Section 307(c)(3)(A) of the Coastal Zone Management Act.  For the portion of the project that lies in State waters, the consistency certification is redundant; the coastal development permit serves as a consistency certification.  On April 21, 2000, and as amended on May 5, 2000, the applicants submitted a consistency certification to the Coastal Commission certifying that the proposed activity complies with California’s approved coastal management program (“CCMP”) and will be conducted in a manner consistent with the CCMP.
This staff report is a combined coastal development permit and consistency certification.
Major Coastal Act issues associated with this project include potential impacts to marine resources, environmentally sensitive habitat areas (“ESHA”) and commercial fishing.  Please see Table 1 for a summary of potential impacts and proposed mitigation measures.  The applicants have committed in their consistency certification to implement the proposed mitigation measures (conditions of permit approval) for the portion of the cable project constructed in federal waters.
The Commission staff recommends approval of the revised findings.
Commission Actions
On June 13, 2000, by a vote of 9-2, the Coastal Commission approved the proposed project as conditioned.
On June 13, 2000, by a vote of 9-2, the Coastal Commission concurred with the applicants’ federal consistency certification.