Environmental Assessment for Applegate Wastewater Treatment Plant Closure and Pipeline Project

Applegate Regional Sewer Pipeline Project Environmental Information Document P REPARED BY: Placer County Department of Facility Services 11476 C Avenue Auburn, CA 95603 Contact: Christina Hanson 530.886.4900 W ITH T ECHNICAL A SSISTANCE FROM: ICF International 615 SW Alder Street, Suite 200 Portland, OR 97205 Contact: Kim Marcotte 503.525.6155 November 2011 Placer County Department of Facility Services. 2011. Environmental Impact Document for the Applegate Regional Sewer Pipeline Project. November. (ICF 00201.08.) Prepared with technical assistance from ICF International, Portland, OR. Executive Summary Introduction Applegate is a community in Placer County (County) located approximately 9 miles northeast of the city of Auburn along Interstate 80 (I-80) (Figure ES-1). The County provides public sewerage to the portion of Applegate that falls within the County Service Area. The existing sewer collection system currently provides service to approximately 54 equivalent dwelling units (EDUs) (37 active and 17 inactive). The active EDUs consist of 23 single-family homes, and five commercial connections, including a church, a firehouse/civic center, offices, one motel, and the library. Constructed in 1974, the Applegate Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) consists of three evaporation and percolation ponds, each approximately 1 acre in size and about 6 feet deep (Figure ES-2), designed to operate in series. A chlorination system was later added to disinfect partially treated effluent flowing from Pond 2 to Pond 3 in anticipation of annual discharges from Pond 3 to Clipper Creek. The pond treatment and disposal system design capacity is inadequate for the current hydraulic loading. To further compound the hydraulic capacity issue, there is groundwater inflow to Pond 3. As a result, sewage spills to surface water have violated the facility’s waste discharge requirements (Order No. 73-10). In November 2006, the County and the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board (CVRWQCB) executed a Settlement Agreement regarding Administrative Civil Liability Complaint R5-2006-0510. The Settlement Agreement required the County to pay fines, divert wastewater from the treatment ponds during wet months to avoid future spills, and design and begin construction of a new pipeline to transfer wastewater from the Applegate WWTP to the Sewer Maintenance District No. 1 (SMD 1) collection system. The SMD 1 collection system conveys wastewater to the SMD 1 WWTP on Joeger Road in North Auburn. To comply with the Settlement Agreement, the County is seeking funding from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for the Applegate Regional Sewer Pipeline Project (Proposed Project). The Proposed Project would retire the treatment ponds at Applegate WWTP and install pump stations and a force main to convey Applegate’s wastewater to the existing sewer collection system that flows to the SMD 1 WWTP. If determined necessary, a portion of the Environmental Information Document November 2011 Applegate Regional Sewer Pipeline Project ES-1 ICF 00201.08 Placer County Department of Facility Services Executive Summary existing SMD 1 collection system in the Winchester subdivision would also be upgraded (replaced with larger-diameter pipe) to accommodate the additional flows from Applegate. EPA funding is not being sought for potential upgrades to the existing collection system. The wastewater would be treated at the SMD 1 WWTP and discharged to Rock Creek. Objectives/Purpose and Need The intent of the Proposed Project is to meet the requirements of the Settlement Agreement reached by the County and the CVRWQCB in December 2006. Under the Proposed Project, the Applegate WWTP would be decommissioned and wastewater would be rerouted to the SMD 1 WWTP via the new pipeline. This would enable the County to meet the terms of the Settlement Agreement and would eliminate the need to temporarily store and haul wastewater (also a requirement of the Settlement Agreement until the new pipeline is operational). Project Alternatives Alternative 1 – Decommission Applegate WWTP and Construct Pipeline and Pump Station(s) Under Alternative 1, a 10-inch force main pipeline would be constructed to connect the Applegate collection system to the SMD 1 collection system. The force main would have a maximum buildout capacity of 0.01 million gallons per day, which is sufficient to accommodate the Applegate system’s existing connections (54 EDUs) plus approximately 438 additional EDUs. The new pipeline would follow the alignment shown in Figure ES-3 extending for approximately 4 miles. The alignment would start in the vicinity of Merry Lane and continue south along Applegate Road in the public right-of-way. The alignment would travel near the shoulder on the west side of the southbound lane. Approximately 1.7 miles from the starting point (to the south of Fairidge Drive on Applegate Road) the proposed pipeline would pass under I-80 near Clipper Gap Road. After passing under I-80 the pipeline would then turn north on Placer Hills Road and would continue within the pavement on the west side of the southbound lane to Sugar Pine Road. The alignment would continue west along Sugar Pine Road within the pavement on the north side of the westbound lane to Winchester Club Drive and then to the connection point with the existing sewer (SMD 1 Connection in Figure ES-2). The proposed pipeline would connect to the Winchester Country Club Septic Tank Effluent Pumping (STEP) system at Winchester Club Drive west of Sugar Pine Road. If determined necessary, up to approximately 7,750 feet of pipeline that is part of the existing SMD 1 collection system (Figure ES-3) in the Winchester subdivision would be upgraded; the upgrade would only include the pipeline Environmental Information Document November 2011 Applegate Regional Sewer Pipeline Project ES-2 ICF 00201.08 Yuba City Beale AFB East Nevada Coutny Nevada Project Yuba County Olivehurst Location 49 80 Project Location ver Applegate Ri ear 70 B Meadow Vista 65 North Auburn Auburn Placer Coutny Sutter County Lincoln 193 Newcastle S i e r r English Colony Way a C o l l e g e B l v d . d r R lo k 49 ay r T o F h o N 65 r e Rocklin iv R uth Fork So n er a v c i i R r e n a m ic er Placer County Roseville A m A Sacramento County 99 80 Citrus Heights Folsom Cameron Park North Highlands r S e a iv c r R El Dorado County a an m Americ 50 Sacramento County e n to River Rancho Cordova Sacramento West Sacramento Mather AFB er mnes Riv 5 nsu Co 16 06332.06 151 (08/10) Figure ES-1 Project Vicinity Map 80 Applegate Wastewater Treatment Plant 1,000 0 1,000 feet Base Map: National Geographic TOPO! ©2001 National Geographic Holdings 06332.06 (02/08) Figure ES-2 Location of the Applegate Wastewater Treatment Plant Bear River bie Lake Com Alternative 1 Decommision Applegate WWTP and Construct Pipeline1 Potential Upgrade of the Existing Collection System Pump Station Existing Applegate Collection System Existing SMD 1 Collection System Applegate Regional Pump Station 1Alternative 2 would also include the construction of the proposed pipeline. 0 1,000 2,000 4,000 Feet Clementine Existing Applegate WWTP Clu W er b inchest D Applegate Road r. Placer Hills Road Christian Valley Road I-80 Pump Station Dry Creek Clipper Creek Road Christian Valley Lake Arthur Road Dry Creek Road 80 K: PROJECTS_1 \ PCDFS \ 00201_08 \ \ MAPDOC \ \2011 EIR FIG_ES-3_PROPOSEDPROJECT_20110504.MXD \ SS (05-04-11) Figure ES-3 Proposed Project Bowman Road Placer County Department of Facility Services Executive Summary segments that need to be upgraded to provide additional capacity for the existing Applegate demand (54 EDUs); however, the new segments would also be sized to accommodate potential future flows (an additional 438 EDUs). Depending on the extent of the upgrade required, the upgrading would begin from the connection point to the SMD 1 collection system and continue along Winchester Club Drive up to approximately 150 feet from the intersection of Winchester Club Drive with Lodge View Drive. The existing collection system in Winchester was constructed in approximately 2000. As mentioned previously, these upgrades would not be funded by EPA. As part of Alternative 1, up to two new wastewater pump stations with storage facilities would be constructed. The first pump station (Applegate Regional Pump Station) would be located at the beginning of the pipeline alignment north of the Union Pacific Railroad crossing near Merry Lane (APN 073-141-016). If determined necessary, a second pump station (I-80 Pump Station) would be located north of the I-80 crossing (Figure ES-3) (APN 077-120-053-000). These pump stations would pump wastewater from the existing Applegate collection system to the SMD 1 connection point. The existing Applegate collection system, including a pump station and gravity pipeline, would be left in place. Once the new pump stations and conveyance pipeline become operational, the existing Applegate WWTP would be decommissioned. The existing evaporation and percolation ponds would be restored or abandoned. Restoration would include grading the site, restoring natural drainage, and returning the topography to natural conditions. Abandonment would include dredging and dewatering the ponds and could include some level of ongoing maintenance of the site. The chlorination facilities and temporary storage tanks would be removed. Alternative 2 – Decommission WWTP and Construct Smaller Pipeline and Pump Station(s) Under Alternative 2, the same pipeline alignment as under Alternative 1, including the upgrades, would be constructed and the construction methods would be the same. Under this alternative the new pipeline would be smaller, sized only to accommodate the existing Applegate wastewater connections (54 EDUs). Similarly, the pipe replacement (which includes only those pipeline segments that need to be upsized to accommodate existing Applegate flows), would also only be sized to accommodate the existing connections (54 EDUs).

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