Initial Study/Mitigated Negative Declaration Bacon Island Levee Rehabilitation Project State Clearinghouse No. 2017012062
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FINAL ◦ MAY 2017 Initial Study/Mitigated Negative Declaration Bacon Island Levee Rehabilitation Project State Clearinghouse No. 2017012062 PREPARED FOR PREPARED BY Reclamation District No. 2028 Stillwater Sciences (Bacon Island) 279 Cousteau Place, Suite 400 343 East Main Street, Suite 815 Davis, CA 95618 Stockton, CA 95202 Stillwater Sciences FINAL Initial Study/Mitigated Negative Declaration Bacon Island Levee Rehabilitation Project Suggested citation: Reclamation District No. 2028. 2016. Public Review Draft Initial Study/Mitigated Negative Declaration: Bacon Island Levee Rehabilitation Project. Prepared by Stillwater Sciences, Davis, California for Reclamation District No. 2028 (Bacon Island), Stockton, California. Cover photo: View of Bacon Island’s northwestern levee corner and surrounding interior lands. May 2017 Stillwater Sciences i FINAL Initial Study/Mitigated Negative Declaration Bacon Island Levee Rehabilitation Project PROJECT SUMMARY Project title Bacon Island Levee Rehabilitation Project Reclamation District No. 2028 CEQA lead agency name (Bacon Island) and address 343 East Main Street, Suite 815 Stockton, California 95202 Department of Water Resources (DWR) Andrea Lobato, Manager CEQA responsible agencies The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California (Metropolitan) Deirdre West, Environmental Planning Manager David A. Forkel Chairman, Board of Trustees Reclamation District No. 2028 343 East Main Street, Suite 815 Stockton, California 95202 Cell: (510) 693-9977 Nate Hershey, P.E. Contact person and phone District Engineer number and Brian Janowiak, P.E. Project Engineer MBK Engineers 455 University Avenue, Suite 100 Sacramento, CA 95825 Office: (916) 456-4400 Fax: (916) 456-0253 Project location Bacon Island, Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, San Joaquin County Department of Water Resources Division of Flood Management Project sponsor’s name and Delta Levees Office (Special Projects) address 3310 El Camino Avenue Sacramento, CA 95821 Zoning Agriculture Description of Project Rehabilitate the west side (4.7 miles) of Bacon Island’s levee system Surrounding land uses and Project is surrounded by Old River to the west and farmed lands to the east setting California Department of Water Resources, Special Flood Control Projects Program California Department of Fish and Wildlife (Fish and Game Code Section 1600 Streambed Alteration Agreement, California Endangered Species Act Other public agencies consultation regarding State-protected species) whose approval may be Contra Costa Water District required (e.g., permits, The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California financing approval, or Santa Clara Valley Water District participation agreement) San Francisco Public Utilities Commission Alameda County Water District Zone 7 Water Agency East Bay Municipal Utility District May 2017 Stillwater Sciences ii FINAL Initial Study/Mitigated Negative Declaration Bacon Island Levee Rehabilitation Project PROPOSED MITIGATED NEGATIVE DECLARATION Project: Bacon Island Levee Rehabilitation Project Lead Agency: Reclamation District No. 2028 Project Location: Bacon Island is located in the central Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, approximately halfway between the city of Antioch to the west and Stockton to the east, in San Joaquin County, California. It is situated south of Mandeville Island, west of Mildred Island and Lower Jones Tract, north of Woodward Island and east of Holland Tract. Project Description: 4.7 miles of levee along Bacon Island’s western side is currently at or below the Hazard Mitigation Plan (HMP) cross-section criteria, which requires levee crown elevations to be one foot above the 100-year flood elevation. Bacon Island’s levee is substandard due to settlement of the levee from consolidation of the underlying peat foundation. The levee lacks the required stability to support the minimum HMP standard and an all-weather access road required by the District, and continued settlement over time increases potential for overtopping and catastrophic levee failure. The Project includes landside and minor waterside work entirely above Mean High Water. Landside work involves raising the levee crown and stabilizing the slope by placing fill material on the levee toe, slope, and crown. Aggregate base will be placed on the levee crown to create an all-weather roadway. Waterside work involves armoring newly placed fill along the waterside of the levee. The Project will compensate for future settlement of the peat foundation as well as sea level rise and ensure a sustainable HMP cross-section standard by incorporating the recommended design cross section, which includes a toe berm and a wider levee crown. Findings: An Initial Study has been prepared to assess the Project’s potential effects on the environment and the significance of those effects. Based on the Initial Study, Reclamation District No. 2028 has determined that the Project will not have any significant effects on the environment once mitigation measures included in the Project design are implemented. This conclusion is supported by the following findings: The Project will result in no impacts on: land use and planning, mineral resources, population and housing, public services, recreation, transportation and traffic, and utilities/service systems. The Project will result in less-than-significant impacts on: aesthetics, agricultural and forest resources, air quality, geology and soils, greenhouse gas emissions, and noise. Mitigation is included in the Project design to reduce potentially significant impacts to less-than-significant levels for biological resources, cultural resources, hazards/hazardous materials, and hydrology/water quality. Mandatory Findings of Significance: The Project will not substantially degrade the quality of the environment, substantially reduce the habitat of a fish or wildlife species, cause a fish or wildlife population to drop below self-sustaining levels, threaten to eliminate a plant or animal community, reduce the number or restrict the range of a rare or endangered plant or animal, or eliminate important examples of the major periods of California history or prehistory. May 2017 Stillwater Sciences iii FINAL Initial Study/Mitigated Negative Declaration Bacon Island Levee Rehabilitation Project The Project will not have environmental effects that are individually limited, but cumulatively considerable. The Project will not have environmental effects which would cause substantial adverse effects on human beings, either directly or indirectly. The Project will not achieve short-term environmental goals to the disadvantage of long- term environmental goals. No substantial evidence exists that the Project will have a negative or adverse effect on the environment. Proposed Mitigation Measures: Mitigation measures included in the Project to avoid or minimize potential environmental impacts are included in the attached Initial Study, which is hereby incorporated and fully made part of this Mitigated Negative Declaration. Implementation of these mitigation measures will reduce the potential environmental impacts of the Project to a less-than-significant level. Reclamation District No. 2028 has agreed to implement each of the identified mitigation measures, which will be adopted as part of the Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Program. Determination In accordance with Section 21082.1 of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), Reclamation District No. 2028 has independently reviewed and analyzed the Initial Study and proposed Mitigated Negative Declaration for the Project and finds that the Initial Study and proposed Mitigated Negative Declaration reflects the independent judgment of Reclamation District No. 2028. The lead agency further finds that the Project mitigation measures will be implemented as stated in the Initial Study and Mitigated Negative Declaration. This Mitigated Negative Declaration is filed in accordance with CEQA and the State CEQA guidelines. I hereby approve this Project: _____________________________________ _______________________ Reclamation District No. 2028 Date May 2017 Stillwater Sciences iv FINAL Initial Study/Mitigated Negative Declaration Bacon Island Levee Rehabilitation Project TABLE OF CONTENTS 1 INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................................. 1 1.1 Project Location ........................................................................................................... 1 1.2 Project Area ................................................................................................................. 1 1.3 Project Purpose and Benefits ....................................................................................... 4 1.4 Project Description ...................................................................................................... 5 1.4.1 Levee configuration ............................................................................................... 5 1.4.2 Landside work ....................................................................................................... 6 1.4.3 Waterside work ..................................................................................................... 6 1.4.4 Borrow sites ........................................................................................................... 7 1.4.5 Imported materials ................................................................................................. 7 1.4.6 Site preparation