Environmental Assessment, Mainstem Martis Creek Restoration Project
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Environmental Assessment Mainstem Martis Creek Restoration Project 18-20-MP U.S. Department of the Interior Bureau of Reclamation, Mid-Pacific Region June 2019 Mission Statements The Department of the Interior protects and manages the Nation’s natural resources and cultural heritage; provides scientific and other information about those resources; and honors its trust responsibilities or special commitments to American Indians, Alaska Natives, and affiliated island communities. The mission of the Bureau of Reclamation is to manage, develop, and protect water and related resources in an environmentally and economically sound manner in the interest of the American public. Mainstem Martis Creek Restoration Project 2 June 2019 Contents List of Abbreviations and Acronyms .............................................................................................. 4 1 Introduction ............................................................................................................................. 5 1.1 Need for the Proposal ....................................................................................................... 5 1.2 Background ...................................................................................................................... 5 1.3 Previous Environmental Documents ................................................................................ 6 2 Alternatives Including the Proposed Action ........................................................................... 6 2.1 No Action Alternative ...................................................................................................... 6 2.2 Proposed Action ............................................................................................................... 6 2.2.1 Schedule .................................................................................................................. 10 2.2.2 Staging and Access Areas ....................................................................................... 10 2.2.3 Best Management Practices and Mitigation Measures ........................................... 10 3 Affected Environment and Environmental Consequences ................................................... 11 3.1 No Action Alternative .................................................................................................... 11 3.2 Proposed Action ............................................................................................................. 11 3.2.1 Required Resource Discussions .............................................................................. 11 3.2.2 Cultural Resources .................................................................................................. 12 3.2.3 Cumulative Effects.................................................................................................. 14 4 Consultation and Coordination ............................................................................................. 14 4.1 Agencies and Persons Consulted.................................................................................... 14 4.2 Endangered Species Act ................................................................................................. 14 5 References ............................................................................................................................. 16 Mainstem Martis Creek Restoration Project 3 June 2019 List of Abbreviations and Acronyms APE Area of potential effects EA Environmental Assessment ITA Indian Trust Asset NCSD Northstar Community Services District NEPA National Environmental Policy Act NHPA National Historic Preservation Act Reclamation Bureau of Reclamation TMT Tompkins Memorial Trail TRWC Truckee River Watershed Council USACE United States Army Corps of Engineers USFWS U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Mainstem Martis Creek Restoration Project 4 June 2019 1 Introduction In conformance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969, Council on Environmental Quality regulations (40 CFR 1500-1508), and Department of the Interior regulations (43 CFR Part 46), the Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) prepared this Environmental Assessment (EA) to analyze the potential environmental effects associated with providing $99,998 in grant funding (Proposed Action) to the Truckee River Watershed Council (TRWC) to partially fund the Mainstem Martis Creek Restoration Project (Project). Major project activities would include streambank channel enhancement, installation of check dams and wood jams, and incision treatments on an unnamed tributary. The Project would reduce creek erosion and sedimentation transportation, reconnect floodplain areas, enhance impaired meadow habitats and vegetation, and protect functioning habitats to improve ecological function and resiliency of the Martis Creek watershed. This EA examines the potential direct, indirect, and cumulative effects to the affected environment associated with awarding the grant, which would be provided under the WaterSMART Cooperative Watershed Management Program. 1.1 Need for the Proposal Martis Creek is a tributary to the Truckee River in Placer County, California that supports one of the largest Sierran meadows in the Middle Truckee River Basin. Historically, the creek meandered across the valley floor that was dominated by alluvial processes. Past and current land uses, including urbanization, agriculture, grazing, mining, and road-building, have modified channels and compacted soils. This resulted in increased incision, runoff and nutrient release to streams. In 2012, TRWC conducted the Martis Watershed Assessment (TRWC 2012), a multidisciplinary effort to consolidate the necessary science and policy information to direct restoration and conservation projects within the Martis Creek watershed. The document identified many stream reaches and sections of meadow in the Martis Creek watershed that are significantly degraded, including multiple reaches along Martis Creek and tributaries to Martis Creek that exhibit channel incision and active erosion. Since 2012, TRWC has led several river and habitat restoration projects to address restoration opportunities prioritized in the Martis Watershed Assessment. The Martis Wildlife Area Restoration Project1 includes many conservation priority actions identified in the Martis Watershed Assessment. 1.2 Background The Project would occur on parcels of land owned and managed by the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) approximately three miles south of the Town of Truckee. USACE plans to issue a Real Estate License to TRWC to complete project activities. In April 2018, Reclamation and USACE agreed to work collaboratively for the purposes of compliance with NEPA, the Endangered Species Act, and the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA), with USACE as the lead agency and Reclamation as a cooperating agency. Consultations under Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act and Section 106 of the NHPA were conducted jointly. USACE prepared a categorical exclusion under NEPA for their action of issuing a Real Estate 1 Truckee River Watershed Council documents designate the Project analyzed here as the “Martis Wildlife Area Restoration Project”. The difference is in title only; project activities are identical. Mainstem Martis Creek Restoration Project 5 June 2019 License. This EA is authored by Reclamation independently to analyze environmental effects associated with Reclamation’s issuance of a WaterSMART grant, as required under NEPA. 1.3 Previous Environmental Documents The Mainstem Martis Creek Restoration Project underwent environmental review and regulatory compliance under the California Environmental Quality Act. As the public agency with principal responsibility for approving the proposed project, Northstar Community Services District (NCSD) prepared and certified an Initial Study/Proposed Mitigated Negative Declaration2 (State Clearinghouse Number: 2018022005) in March 2018. The IS/MND evaluated environmental impacts to aesthetics, agriculture and forest resources, air quality, biological resources, cultural resources, geology and soils, greenhouse gas emissions, hazards and hazardous materials, hydrology and water quality, land use and planning, mineral resources, noise, population and housing, public services, recreation, transportation/ traffic, tribal cultural resources, and utilities and service systems (NCSD 2018). Project activities were found to have no effect, a less than significant effect, or a less than significant effect with mitigation on all resource categories; no significant or unavoidable impacts were determined. Mitigation would be required to ensure impacts to aesthetics, biological resources, cultural resources, geology and soils, hazards and hazardous materials, hydrology and water quality, recreation, transportation/traffic, and tribal cultural resources are less than significant. Reclamation performed an independent review of the IS/MND and found that the documents sufficiently analyzed effects of the Project with respect to resource categories examined. The IS/MND is hereby incorporated by reference. This EA provides an additional discussion of potential effects on Indian sacred sites, Indian trust assets, environmental justice, and cultural resources specific to the project areas, as well as compliance with the Endangered Species Act, as required by Department of the Interior Regulations, Executive Orders, and Reclamation guidelines for preparing environmental documentation. 2 Alternatives