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Appendix C.11 Jurisdictional Determination

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Appendix C.11 Jurisdictional Determination Appendix C.11 Jurisdictional Determination 5020 Chesebro Road, Suite 200, Agoura Hills, CA 91301 January 24, 2012 Tel. 818-597-3407, Fax 818-597-8001, www.aspeneg.com Mr. Daniel Swenson United States Army Corps of Engineers Los Angeles District/Regulatory Division 915 Wilshire Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90017-3401 Subject: Request for jurisdictional determination, Desert Harvest Solar Project, Desert Center, Riverside County, California Dear Mr. Swenson, Aspen Environmental Group (Aspen) is contracted to the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and enXco to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for enXco’s proposed the Desert Harvest Solar Project (DHSP). The proposed project site is in Riverside County, California, in the upper Chuckwalla Valley. It is approximately 5 miles north of the rural community of Desert Center. Attachment 2 of this letter presents Draft EIS Figures 3.3-1 (project and vicinity map) and 3.3-3 (state jurisdictional streambeds). Project components would include a 150 megawatt photovoltaic solar generation facility, operations and maintenance facility, electrical collection system, overhead collection lines, meteorological station(s), an on-site substation and switchyard, and a 6 mile transmission line to interconnect to the regional grid. The total project area would be 1,208 acres. A similar, larger solar project (Desert Sunlight) has been approved by the BLM and now under construction immediately north of the proposed DHSP site (see Attachment 2). The Final EIS and Record of Decision for the Desert Sunlight project (BLM 2011a; 2011b) indicate that the US Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) determined that waters on the Desert Sunlight project site do not meet criteria as federally jurisdictional Waters of the U.S. That conclusion was based on an analysis by Ironwood Consulting and Huffmann Broadway Group (2010). The DHSP and Desert Sunlight sites are both within the closed basin that drains to Ford Dry Lake. Ephemeral channels flow generally from the west and northwest toward the east and southeast across both project areas, toward Pinto Wash. Channels on both project sites are usually dry, but channel morphology indicates that surface flow occurs during infrequent heavy rain storms. Most of the ephemeral desert dry washes on the DHSP site are common to both project sites (i.e., flow originates upstream from the Desert Sunlight site, crosses it, then crosses the DHSP site, and continues toward Pinto Wash). The remainder of the ephemeral washes on the DHSP site are also tributaries to the same system. There is no surface hydrologic connection between Pinto Wash and Ford Dry Lake due to intervening sand dunes, as shown on USGS 7.5-minute series topographic quadrangles for the area (i.e., East of Victory Pass [1987 Provisional Edition]; Palen Lake [1983 Provisional Edition]; Corn Springs [1986 Provisional Edition]; and Sidewinder Well [1983 Provisional Edition]). In addition, the USGS 1:25K high resolution National Hydrography Dataset (NHD) shows this lack of surface hydrologic connection. The Agoura Hills San Francisco Sacramento Davis Inland Empire Las Vegas Daniel Swenson, USACE Page 2 of 2 absence of surface hydrologic connection applies to all the ephemeral desert dry washes on both project sites. Aspen has reviewed the Desert Sunlight FEIS and has completed a field survey of waters on the DHSP site. Based on our review and field investigations, Aspen believes that the analysis of the Desert Sunlight site is wholly applicable to the DHSP site. The ephemeral desert dry washes mapped within the DHSP are non-jurisdictional under the Section 404 of the Clean Water Act (Figure 3.3-3, Attachment 2), and there are no wetlands meeting the criteria of the 1987 USACE Wetland Delineation Manual and the 2008 USACE Arid West Region Supplement (Version 2.0). We understand that the Corps' evaluation process for determining whether or not a Department of the Army permit is needed involves two tests. If both tests are met, then a permit is required. The first test determines whether or not the proposed project is located in a water of the United States (i.e., it is within the Corps' geographic jurisdiction). The second test determines whether or not the proposed project is a regulated activity under Section 10 of the River and Harbor Act or Section 404 of the Clean Water Act. As part of the evaluation process, pertaining to the first test only, we believe that there are no waters of the United States on the project site. All the desert washes we have identified on the site are intrastate isolated waters with no apparent interstate or foreign commerce connection. Aspen is requesting that the Corps review the information and attachments herein, and provide a written jurisdictional determination for the DHSP site. If you have any questions or concerns, please call me at (818) 338-6715. Sincerely, Jared Varonin Biologist/Ecologist Certified Fisheries Professional Aspen Environmental Group cc. Ian Black, enXco Lynnette Elser, Bureau of Land Management Ken Baez, Riverside County Transportation and Resource Management Agency Leslie McNair, California Department of Fish and Game Jay Mirpour, California Regional Water Quality Control Board Colorado River Basin Region - 7 enc. Attachment 1 – References Attachment 2 – Figures Attachment 3 – Preliminary Jurisdictional Determination Form Attachment 1 - References REFERENCES: Bureau of Land Management (BLM). 2011a. Desert Sunlight Solar Farm Project: California Desert Conservation Area plan amendment and final environmental impact statement. BLM Palm Springs South Coast Field Office, Palm Springs, California. Bureau of Land Management (BLM). 2011b. Record of Decision – Desert Sunlight Solar Farm Project and Amendment to the California Desert Conservation Area Land Use Management Plan, Riverside County, California. Palm Springs South Coast Field Office Palm Springs, California. (August). Environmental Laboratory. 1987. Corps of Engineers Wetland Delineation Manual. Technical Report Y 87-1. U.S. Army Engineer Waterways Experiment Station. Vicksburg, MS. Ironwood Consulting Inc. and Huffman-Broadway Group, Inc. 2010. Investigation of the Presence of Wetlands and Other Waters of the United States Desert Sunlight Solar Farm Project, Riverside County, California.. Prepared for Desert Sunlight Holdings, LLC Oakland, CA. June. 39 pp. Exhibits. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. 2008. Regional Supplement to the Corps of Engineers Wetland Delineation Manual: Arid West Region (Version 2.0), ed. J. S. Wakeley, R. W. Lichvar, and C. V. Noble. ERDC/EL TR-08-28. Vicksburg, MS: U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center. Attachment 2 – Figures Appendix A. Figures Desert Harvest Solar Project Joshua Tree National Park 1B 1A Joshua Tree National Park UV177 Lake Tamarisk Desert Center §¨¦10 Desert Harvest Solar Project DPV2 500 kV Line (Approved) Gen-Tie Alternatives B and C Red Bluff Substation (Approved) Gen-Tie Alternative D Desert Sunlight Solar Farm Project - Phase 1 Gen-Tie Alternative E Desert Sunlight Solar Farm Project - Phase 2 DPV1 500 kV Line (Existing) Joshua Tree National Park I Figure 3.3-1 0 2 4 Project and Vicinity Miles Administrative Draft EIS October 2011 Appendix A. Figures Desert Harvest Solar Project I Streambed Width Figure 3.3-3 1-5 feet 11-15 feet 21-29 feet 40-49 feet CDFG 0 0.125 0.25 0.5 Jurisdictional Streambeds Miles 6-10 feet 16-20 feet 30-39 feet 50-59 feet October 2011 Administrative Draft EIS October 2011 Attachment 3 - Preliminary Jurisdictional Determination Form PRELIMINARYJURISDICTIONAL DETERMINATION FORM This preliminary JD finds that there "may be" waters of the United States on the subject project site, and identifies all aquatic features on the site that could be affected by the proposed activity, based on the following information: District Oftice ILos Angeles District File/ORM # I PJD Date: I State ICA City/County IDesert Center/Riverside Jared Varonin Name/ Aspen Environmental Group Nearest Waterbody: IPalen Dry Lake Address of 5020 Chesebro Road, Suite 200 Person Agoura Hills, CA 91301 Location: TRS, I Requesting LatLong or UTM: PJD Consultant! Agent for Project Applicant Identify (Estimate) Amount of Waters in the Review Area: Name of Any Water Bodies Tidal: Inla .lS.Q.n-Wetland ~ Stream Flow: on the Site Identified as Section 10 Waters: Non-Tidal: In/a ro-- linear ft ro- width 10 acres IEphemeral r Office (Desk) Determination acre(s) Cowardin Class: IRiverine !7 Field Determination: Date of Field Trip: IAug/Sep 20 II SUPPORTING DATA: Data reviewed for preliminary JD (check all that apply - checkeilltems should be included in case file and, where checked and requested, appropriately reference sources below): !7 Maps, plans, plots or plat submitted by or on behalf ofthe applicant!consultant: /cDFG Jurisdictional Waters Map r Data sheets prepared/submitted by or on behalf of the applicant!consultant. r Oftice concurs with data sheets/delineation report. r Oftice does not concur with data sheets/delineation report. r Data sheets prepared by the COI'R;.::s'--_____________ r Corps navigable waters' study: I !7 U.S. Geological Survey Hydrologic Atlas: !7 USGS NHD data. r USGS 8 and 12 digit HUC maps. r U.S. Geological Survey map(s). Cite quad name: I r USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service Soil Survey. Citation: I r National wetlands inventory map(s). Cit,..e_n_a_m_e_:J.z.....___________ r State/Local wetland inventory map(s): I r FEMA/FIRM maps:!,r--~-~-~----------- r 100-year Floodplain Elevation is: I r Photographs: r Aerial (Name & Date):1 . r Other (Name & Date): '-1--------------­ !7 Previous determination(s). File no. and date ot response letter: Ir-IO-e-se-'r-t-R-u-nl-ig-h-t-S-o-la-r-P-r-oj-ec-.t.-(-di-f~-e-re-.n-t-a-pp-l-ic-a-nt-)- r Other information (please specifY): I " 'M'"""T '",." """".,'00 ~,'.... "" fu,. 'u."•__ ri" "'"."'.... .,"":;p:r"" .....:",.m"""""... ,."."....... Signature and Date of Regulatory Project Manager Siv'tIf and Date or~son Kequesting Preliminary JD (REQUIRED) ))ffiQll1RED, unless obtaining the signature is impracticable) EXPI.ANATION Of PRELIMINARV AND APPROVED .llJRISDICTIONAI.
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