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Table of Contents TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION..................................................................................................................................1 APPROACH ................................................................................................................................1 OPPORTUNITIES EVALUATED..............................................................................................2 METHODS ..................................................................................................................................2 EXISTING CONDITIONS ....................................................................................................................3 LOCATION .................................................................................................................................3 COVER TYPES...........................................................................................................................3 EXTANT HABITAT AND ASSOCIATED SPECIAL-STATUS SPECIES..............................3 CONCEPT RESTORATION ALTERNATIVES ..................................................................................5 ALTERNATIVES CONSIDERED .............................................................................................5 Alternative 1. Minimal Plan ..............................................................................................5 Alternative 2. Off-site Disposal Plan.................................................................................5 Alternative 3. Reconstructed Tidal Slough........................................................................5 DISCUSSION OF PROBLEM FEATURES...............................................................................6 “Duck's Neck” Peninsula...................................................................................................6 Created Freshwater Seasonal Wetland ..............................................................................6 Freshwater Pond ................................................................................................................7 Willow Riparian ................................................................................................................7 Parking Lot Placement.......................................................................................................7 COST ESTIMATES, SCREENING MATRIX, AND DISCUSSION...................................................8 COST ESTIMATES ....................................................................................................................8 SCREENING MATRIX ..............................................................................................................8 DISCUSSION..............................................................................................................................8 P:\EBR0901\Restoration Alternatives\Report.doc (02/17/10) i FIGURES AND TABLES FIGURES Figures are located at the end of the report. Figure 1.0 Project Boundaries Figure 2.0 Existing Conditions Figure 3.1 Alternative 1 – Minimal Plan Figure 3.2 Alternative 2 – Off-site Spoils Disposal Plan Figure 3.3 Alternative 3 - Reconstructed Tidal Slough Plan TABLES Tables are located at the end of the report. Table 1. Comparison of Features, Marsh Restoration Alternatives Table 2. Acres of Cover Types, Marsh Restoration Alternatives Table 3. Cost Estimates, Pre-implementation Phases Table 4. Cost Estimates, Pre-implementation and Implementation Phases Table 5. Screening Matrix, Marsh Restoration Alternatives P:\EBR0901\Restoration Alternatives\Report.doc (02/17/10) ii LSA ASSOCIATES, INC. CONCEPT RESTORATION ALTERNATIVES FEBRUARY 2010 BREUNER MARSH CONTRA COSTA COUNTY, RICHMOND, CALIFORNICALIFORNIAAAA INTRODUCTION This presentation of concept restoration alternative scenarios for the East Bay Regional Park District’s Breuner Marsh is an early phase in developing a more detailed implementation plan for the restoration of environmental values and for the creation and enhancement of recreational values on this site. This report is written to be compatible with the Baylands Ecosystem Habitat Goals (San Francisco Estuary Project 1999). The restoration plan is also be designed to be suitable for evaluation by the trustee agencies (i.e., National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, US Fish and Wildlife Service, and California Department of Fish and Game) for partial mitigation for environmental damage to Castro Cove (Castro Cove/Chevron Richmond Refinery, Draft, Damage Assessment and Restoration Plan/Environmental Assessment, 2008). This report was prepared by LSA Associates, Inc. (LSA). Roger D. Harris, Certified Wildlife Biologist, was the project manager. Malcolm J. Sproul was the principal-in-charge. Biologist Leslie Allen and GIS specialists Greg Gallaugher and Lori Welch made major contributions with assistance from other LSA staff. Civil engineer Glenn Dearth from LTD Engineering, Inc., assisted us with the construction cost estimates. LSA planner Dennis Brown provided input on the CEQA process and costing of permits. APPROACH The purpose of the restoration plan is to increase natural habitat values of the site for marine, inter- tidal, and upland habitats. A range of restoration alternatives are presented. The alternatives are designed to be compatible with constraints presented by adjacent properties (e.g., avoidance of flooding neighbors). Compatible recreational uses are incorporated into the plan alternatives, including provisions for closing the gap in the San Francisco Bay Trail, creating spur trails, public access to the shoreline, fishing access, and public parking. Some of the trails may be placed on boardwalks to minimize impacts to sensitive habitat. Three alternative scenarios are presented, based primarily on cost considerations and on balancing opportunities for creation of tidal habitat versus preservation of existing non-tidal habitat values. Costs of alternatives are roughly calculated at this stage in the planning process based on a per-unit cost for moving and disposing excavated material. Balancing cut and fill on-site would be desirable from a cost savings point of view, but could result in covering and thus impacting existing coastal prairie habitat. Our approach is to provide alternative scenarios of maximizing on-site cut and fill balance versus maximizing upland habitat values and off-site disposal of excess excavated materials. It may be possible to bury some if not all rubble from the model airplane port under excavated material, or some or all rubble may need to be exported. If present, hazardous materials may need to be disposed off the site. P:\EBR0901\Restoration Alternatives\Report.doc (02/24/10) 1 LSA ASSOCIATES, INC. CONCEPT RESTORATION ALTERNATIVES FEBRUARY 2010 BREUNER MARSH CONTRA COSTA COUNTY, RICHMOND, CALIFORNICALIFORNIAAAA This report is at a conceptual level. At a subsequent design-level, professional civil engineer and hydrologist expertise would be required. Subsequent investigations would be required to determine the potential presence of hazardous materials. OPPORTUNITIES EVALUATED Opportunities exist on the Breuner Marsh to create and/or enhance tidal wetlands, seasonal wetlands, and coastal prairie uplands. Opportunities that are presented for restoration at the Breuner Marsh include laying back the north bank of Rheem Creek to create more of a tidal slough and flood plain environment, excavation of channels delivering enhanced tidal flow into interior portions of the site, removal of fill, removal of the model airplane facility, control of invasive exotic plants, enhancement of salmon open water habitat, and native oyster restoration. METHODS Historic aerial photographs were examined to understand prior site conditions and to estimate the locations of fill, past industrial use, and past agricultural use. The aerial photographs indicated that the site is substantially altered from pristine conditions. Examination of the historic aerial photographs showed that the location of Rheem Creek had been altered at least twice and that the site did not support riparian (i.e., freshwater) vegetation. Originally Rheem Creek flowed through the center of the Breuner Marsh and was a tidal slough at the location of the present property. P:\EBR0901\Restoration Alternatives\Report.doc (02/24/10) 2 LSA ASSOCIATES, INC. CONCEPT RESTORATION ALTERNATIVES FEBRUARY 2010 BREUNER MARSH CONTRA COSTA COUNTY, RICHMOND, CALIFORNICALIFORNIAAAA EXISTING CONDITIONS LOCATION The Breuner property is located on San Pablo Bay, part of the San Francisco Bay estuary. The property is in the City of Richmond, western Contra Costa County. The Point Pinole Regional Shoreline is to the north. See Figure 1 for the project boundaries. Also illustrated on Figure 1 are topographic lines at 2-foot contour intervals derived from the Contra Costa County Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) database. COVER TYPES Figure 2 illustrates existing conditions in a broad-brush fashion. More precision and detail will be developed in later phases of this study. Cover types were delineated from interpretation of aerial photographs and previous jurisdictional determinations of wetlands along with input from LSA’s direct field experience with the property. The wetland cover types include the existing stream channel, seasonal wetland, tidal wetlands, and open water and mudflats. Seasonal and tidal wetlands are distinguished based on previous wetland delineations, although precise boundaries have been reinterpreted
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