Appendix D Biological Resources Appendix D.1 2081-2017-011-03 L131 ITP California Department of Fish and Wildlife Bay Delta Region 2825 CORDELIA ROAD, SUITE 100 FAIRFIELD, CA 94534 California Endangered Species Act Incidental Take Permit No. 2081-2017-011-03 R649, R700, AND R707 NATURAL GAS TRANSMISSION PIPELINE 131 REPLACEMENT PROJECT Authority: This California Endangered Species Act (CESA) Incidental Take Permit (ITP) is issued by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) pursuant to Fish and Game Code section 2081, subdivisions (b) and (c), and California Code of Regulations, Title 14, section 783.0 et seq. CESA prohibits the take1 of any species of wildlife designated by the California Fish and Game Commission as an endangered, threatened, or candidate species.2 CDFW may authorize the take of any such species by permit if the conditions set forth in Fish and Game Code section 2081, subdivisions (b) and (c) are met. (See Cal. Code Regs., tit. 14, § 783.4). Permittee: Pacific Gas and Electric Company Principal Officer: Adam Cleary, Manager (925) 328-5028 Contact Person: Mallory Hughes, Senior Land Planner, (925) 328-5108 Mailing Address: 6111 Bollinger Canyon Road San Ramon, CA 94583 Effective Date and Expiration Date of this ITP: This ITP shall be executed in duplicate original form and shall become effective once a duplicate original is acknowledged by signature of the Permittee on the last page of this ITP and returned to CDFW’s Habitat Conservation Planning Branch at the address listed in the Notices section of this ITP. Unless renewed by CDFW, this ITP’s authorization to take the Covered Species shall expire on December 31, 2019. Notwithstanding the expiration date on the take authorization provided by this ITP, Permittee’s obligations pursuant to this ITP do not end until CDFW accepts as complete the Permittee’s Final Mitigation Report required by Condition of Approval 7.8 of this ITP. 1 Pursuant to Fish and Game Code section 86, “‘Take’ means hunt, pursue, catch, capture, or kill, or attempt to hunt, pursue, catch, capture, or kill.” See also Environmental Protection Information Center v. California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (2008) 44 Cal.4th 459, 507 (for purposes of incidental take permitting under Fish and Game Code section 2081, subdivision (b), “‘take’ … means to catch, capture or kill”). 2 The definition of an endangered, threatened, and candidate species for purposes of CESA are found in Fish and Game Code sections 2062, 2067, and 2068, respectively. Rev. 2015.3.17. Project Location: The Natural Gas Transmission Pipeline 131 (L131) Replacement Project for R649, R700, and R707 (Project) is located in eastern Alameda County, north of the City of Livermore, between Interstate 580 (I-580), immediately east of Isabel Avenue and extending northeast to Vasco Road. The Project includes portions of the Altamont, Byron Hot Springs, Livermore, and Mt. Diablo United States Geological Survey (USGS) 7.5-minute quadrangles. The majority of the project is located north of the City of Livermore in an unincorporated part of Alameda County. At the northern terminus, the Project extends from Vasco Valve Station (37.761230 N, -121.736744 W) west of Vasco Road (1.24 miles north of Rooney Ranch Road) for approximately 5 miles southwest to the Shea Homes housing development between I-580 and Portola Avenue (37.701488 N, -121.794396 W). The Project is composed of three separate pipeline segments, all of which are located in the same area and require replacement: R649Segments: Replace two short segments of L131, as follows: 1) approximately 300 feet between pipeline mile post (MP) 31.83 and MP 31.90, beginning at the south end of R700 and extending to immediately north of Portola Avenue; and 2) approximately 100 feet north of I-580 at MP 32.29 between a residential development and Arroyo Las Positas. R700Segment: Replace an approximately 4-mile segment of L131 between MPs 28.00 and 31.83, beginning at the south end of R707 and extending south to the north end of R649 north of Portola Avenue. R700 crosses Hartman Road, North Livermore Avenue, May School Road, and Dagnino Road as it continues northeast from Portola Avenue to R707. R707 Segment: Replace an approximately 1-mile segment of L131 between MPs 27.02 and 28.00, extending from the Vasco Crossover Station adjacent to Vasco Road in the north to a location just east of the end of Dagnino Road to the southwest, at the north end of R700. Project Description: The Project includes the replacement of approximately 5 miles of natural gas transmission pipeline L131. The Project is composed of three separate pipeline segments, all of which are located in the same area and require replacement. The existing natural gas transmission pipeline L131 is a 24-inch- diameter pipeline originally installed in 1944. Recent studies have determined that portions of the original asphalt pipe coating are in poor condition, and corrosion engineering assessments have concluded that a 5-mile section of L131 cannot be adequately protected by the existing cathodic protection (CP) system3. The Permittee will replace the 5-mile section of L131 with new 24-inch- diameter pipe. The Project is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2018, with any remaining portions to be completed in spring and summer 2019 as needed. The work corridor will be approximately 150 to 200 feet wide along the replacement pipeline alignment and typically will provide sufficient space for pipe installation (trenching/boring, pipe stringing, welding operations), a passing lane for construction vehicles, and activities for pipeline retirement and CP system replacement. The Project consists of the following activities: 3 Cathodic protection is a technique used to control pipeline corrosion by connecting the pipeline to a direct current power source (rectifier) with an insulated anode cable. Incidental Take Permit No. 2081-2017-011-03 Pacific Gas and Electric Company R649, R700, and R707 Natural Gas Transmission Pipeline 131 Replacement Project Page 2 Trenching The existing L131 pipeline will be located using potholing, which involves the use of high-pressure water from a truck to break apart the soil while a vacuum removes the water/soil mix to expose the top of the underground pipelines. After the pipeline has been located, excavators will be used to expose the pipe through trenching. Except where noted for mechanical boring, the entire pipeline replacement will be installed by trenching. Trenching will begin by removing approximately 6 to 12 inches of topsoil and segregating it on the edge of the construction area for replacement following construction. The excavated subsoil will be maintained in a separate windrow, or linear pile, to be used as trench backfill. Trenches excavated for installation of the new pipe will typically be 10 feet deep and extend to approximately 3 feet below the bottom of the pipe to allow for adequate construction access. Mechanical Boring Mechanical (trenchless) boring will be used for the installation of pipe beneath May School Road as part of R700 to avoid potential impacts to an ephemeral drainage (Drainage W-2). Mechanical boring may also be used at other road crossings including Hartman Road, North Livermore Avenue, and Dagnino Road, to avoid temporarily impacting roadways. Each bore will require excavation of entry and exit pits down to the new pipeline depth and installation of pipe following a horizontal auger bore. Bore pits will be excavated to approximately 3 feet below the bottom of the pipe to allow for adequate construction access. After installation of the pipeline, excavated subsoil will be placed into the bore pits followed by placement of segregated topsoil to restore the original grade to approximate pre- Project contours and grade. Welding and Coating Pipe-stringing trucks will be used to transport segments of pipeline from the shipment point or storage yards to the Project site. Side-boom tractors or vacuum lifts will unload the pipe from the stringing trucks and lay them end to end beside the trench line for line-up and welding. The pipe will be placed over a mandrel on the bending machine and bent a few degrees to fit the contours of the trench. The pipe segment is then removed from the bending machine by excavator and a welding crew will join weld pipeline segments in place. After the pipeline has been welded and inspected, state-of-the-industry pipe coating, such as epoxy, will be applied to protect the pipeline from corrosion. Polyken tape, wax tape, and tape primer; or other appropriate coating material may be used to coat the welds or fittings. Hydrostatic Testing The newly installed pipe segments will be hydrostatically pressure-tested (hydrotested) with water. The hydrostatic test process involves filling the pipe with water and slowly raising the pressure to the test pressure for a minimum of eight hours. At the end of the test, the piping will be emptied of water and the water will be collected in temporary storage tanks. The water will then be tested before being hauled off-site to an appropriate disposal site, discharged to a sewer drain connecting to a publicly- owned treatment network, or used on-site for dust control. If hydrostatic test water is used for on-site dust control, free standing water will be managed so as not to collect on-site or enter wetlands. Hydrostatic testing is anticipated to require approximately 670,000 gallons of water. Hydrostatic testing water will be obtained through a local water supply municipality/company and trucked to the work area. Incidental Take Permit No. 2081-2017-011-03 Pacific Gas and Electric Company R649, R700, and R707 Natural Gas Transmission Pipeline 131 Replacement Project Page 3 Backfilling After installing the pipeline, excavated subsoil will be placed into the trenches followed by placement of topsoil to restore approximate pre-Project contours, grade and local plant seed base.