Chinook Wind Mitigation Plan Set Attached to This Document (Attachment 1) and Included by Reference
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IN LIEU FEE MITIGATION PLAN CHINOOK WIND MITIGATION PROJECT Department of Natural Resources and Parks Water and Land Resources Division Capital Projects Section 201 South Jackson Street, Suite 5600 Seattle, Washington 98104-3855 This page intentionally left blank IN LIEU FEE MITIGATION PLAN CHINOOK WIND MITIGATION PROJECT Prepared for: US Army Corps of Engineers as Chair of the Interagency Review Team for a project to be implemented by: The King County Mitigation Reserves Program Prepared by: Mason Bowles, P.W.S., Senior Ecologist Anne-Gigi Chan, ILF Program Support Scott Muchard P.E., Senior Engineer Laird O’Rollins, Project Manager, Senior Ecologist Megan Webb, ILF Program Manager King County Department of Natural Resources and Parks February 18, 2021 This page intentionally left blank In Lieu Fee Mitigation Plan Chinook Wind Mitigation Project February 2021 - ii - Executive Summary The Chinook Wind Mitigation Project (CW Mitigation Project) is located on the right bank of the Duwamish River upstream of Tukwila International Boulevard in the City of Tukwila, within the King County In-Lieu Fee Program’s Central Puget Sound Service Area. The CW Mitigation Project will establish wetland and aquatic habitat to provide rearing and refuge habitat for juvenile salmonids, particularly Chinook salmon and steelhead; and restore floodplain functions along the Duwamish River The project will establish 5.88 acres of riparian, high marsh, low marsh, mudflat and aquatic habitat. 3.98 acres will be creditable, including 0.05 acre of riparian habitat, 1.12 acres of high marsh, 1.14 acres of low marsh, 0.57 acre of mudflat, and 1.10 acres of aquatic habitat. A buffer of at least 50 feet will be established between the site boundaries and credited wetland and aquatic habitat. Persistent tidally-inundated fish habitat, aquatic edge, and low and high marsh will be established without incorporating steep slopes (nothing greater than 6:1 slopes). The CW Mitigation Project is designed to provide increased ecological function within the landscape setting. The CW Mitigation Project is intended to re-establish wetland ecosystem processes, intertidal wetlands and aquatic habitat to provide forage and refuge habitat for Chinook salmon smolts. This in-lieu fee mitigation site will offset unavoidable impacts in the Central Puget Sound and Green River-Duwamish service areas. The CW Mitigation Project will be monitored for successful achievement of performance standards for 10 years after construction. After successful achievement of the performance standards, the CW Mitigation Project will earn up to 9.60 in-lieu fee credits using an area-based method, not the Credit/Debit Method. All credits will be released over time as performance standards are met. In Lieu Fee Mitigation Plan Chinook Wind Mitigation Project February 2021 - iii - Table of Contents Executive Summary ......................................................................................................... iii Introduction ........................................................................................................... 7 A. Overview .............................................................................................................. 7 B. Impacts Being Mitigated ...................................................................................... 7 C. Credit Generation ................................................................................................. 8 D. Transfer of Obligations ........................................................................................ 8 Goals and Objectives ............................................................................................ 8 Mitigation Project Overview ................................................................................ 9 A. Location ............................................................................................................... 9 B. Chinook Wind Habitat Types ............................................................................ 11 C. Duwamish River Basin ...................................................................................... 13 Site Selection ........................................................................................................ 14 A. Site Selection Process ........................................................................................ 15 B. Mitigation Site Options ...................................................................................... 15 C. Watershed Plans ................................................................................................. 17 D. Watershed Threats Addressed by the CW Mitigation Project ........................... 21 E. Likelihood of Success ........................................................................................ 22 F. Nearby Mitigation and Restoration Projects ...................................................... 24 G. Site Perimeter Protection ................................................................................... 24 Baseline Conditions ............................................................................................. 24 A. Historic Land Use .............................................................................................. 25 B. Duwamish River ................................................................................................ 26 C. Wetlands ............................................................................................................ 27 D. Uplands .............................................................................................................. 27 E. Fish ..................................................................................................................... 28 F. Wildlife .............................................................................................................. 28 G. Water Quality ..................................................................................................... 28 H. Soils.................................................................................................................... 28 Mitigation Work Plan ......................................................................................... 29 A. Contaminated Soils Clean-Up............................................................................ 29 B. Wetland Establishment ...................................................................................... 30 C. Backwater Channel ............................................................................................ 38 D. Large Wood ....................................................................................................... 38 E. Anticipated Effect of Sediments ........................................................................ 40 F. Perimeter Pedestrian Trail and Easement .......................................................... 40 G. Signage/Access .................................................................................................. 40 Determination of Mitigation Credit .................................................................. 41 H. Credit Methodology ........................................................................................... 42 A. Ratios ................................................................................................................. 42 B. Impacts ............................................................................................................... 42 In Lieu Fee Mitigation Plan Chinook Wind Mitigation Project February 2021 - iv - C. Resource Tradeoffs ............................................................................................ 44 D. Non Credit-Debit Impacts .................................................................................. 44 Performance Standards ...................................................................................... 47 Monitoring Methods ........................................................................................... 53 A. Reporting............................................................................................................ 56 Maintenance plan ................................................................................................ 57 Credit Release Schedule ..................................................................................... 59 Adaptive Management Plan ............................................................................... 60 Site Protection ..................................................................................................... 62 Long Term Management Plan ........................................................................... 62 Financial Assurances .......................................................................................... 64 Force Majeure ..................................................................................................... 64 Implementation ................................................................................................... 65 A. Responsible Parties ............................................................................................ 65 B. Reporting............................................................................................................ 65 C. Access ................................................................................................................ 66 References ...........................................................................................................