Claribel Road Widening Project STANISLAUS COUNTY, CALIFORNIA 10-STA-MODESTO Federal Aid No: CML5938(184) Initial Study with Proposed Mitigated Negative Declaration/Environmental Assessment with Finding of No Significant Impact and Section 4(f) De Minimis Evaluation Prepared by the State of California Department of Transportation and Stanislaus County Department of Public Works The environmental review, consultation, and any other action required in accordance with applicable Federal laws for this project is being, or has been, carried out by Caltrans under its assumption of responsibility pursuant to 23 USC 327. April 2012 [THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY BLANK] General Information About This Document What’s in this document: The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans), as assigned by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), has prepared this Initial Study/Environmental Assessment (IS/EA), which examines the potential environmental impacts of the alternatives being considered for the proposed project located in Stanislaus County, California. Caltrans is the lead agency under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The Stanislaus County Department of Public Works is the lead agency under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). The document tells you why the project is being proposed, what alternatives we have considered for the project, how the existing environment could be affected by the project, the potential impacts of each of the alternatives, and the proposed avoidance, minimization, and/or mitigation measures. What you should do: Please read this Initial Study/Environmental Assessment. Additional copies of this document, as well as of the technical studies we relied on in preparing it, are available for review at the Stanislaus County Department of Public Works office located at 1716 Morgan Road, Modesto CA 95358, (209)-525-4130. Attend the public hearing. May 22, 2012. We’d like to hear what you think. If you have any comments regarding the proposed project, please attend the public hearing and/or send your written comments to the Department by the deadline. Submit comments via postal mail to: Aja Verburg, Associate Civil Engineer, Stanislaus County Department of Public Works, 1716 Morgan Road, Modesto CA 95358 Submit comments via email to: [email protected]. Be sure to submit comments by the deadline: May 10, 2012 What happens next: After comments are received from the public and reviewing agencies, Stanislaus County and Caltrans, as assigned by the Federal Highway Administration, may: (1) give environmental approval to the proposed project, (2) do additional environmental studies, or (3) abandon the project. If the project is given environmental approval and funding is appropriated, Stanislaus County could design and construct all or part of the project. For individuals with sensory disabilities, this document can be made available in Braille, in large print, on audiocassette, or on computer disk. To obtain a copy in one of these alternate formats, please call or write to Stanislaus County, Attn: Aja Verburg, Associate Civil Engineer, Stanislaus County Department of Public Works, 1716 Morgan Road, Modesto CA 95358, (209)-525-4130 Voice, or use the California Relay Service 1 (800) 735-2929 (TTY), 1 (800) 735-2929 (Voice) or 711. Claribel Road Widening Project Initial Study/Environmental Assessment [THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY BLANK] Claribel Road Widening Project Initial Study/Environmental Assessment [THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY BLANK] Claribel Road Widening Project Initial Study/Environmental Assessment SCH: PROPOSED MITIGATED NEGATIVE DECLARATION Pursuant to: Division 13, Public Resources Code Project Description Stanislaus County proposes to widen Claribel Road from Oakdale Road to McHenry Avenue (the Project) to improve safety and operational conditions. The Proposed Build Alternative considers widening the Claribel Road corridor from 2-lanes to 4-lanes with bike lanes and intersection improvements at the Claribel Road/Coffee Road and Claribel Road/Oakdale Road intersections. Major features of the Proposed Build Alternative include the following: Addition of one travel lane in each direction. Improvements to be skewed to the north to avoid impacts to the Modesto Irrigation District (MID), Claribel Station (electrical sub-station) and the Morningside Mobile Park. Construction of Class I bike lanes on both the north and south sides of Claribel Road. Construction of roadside swales along the north and south sides of Claribel Road. Replacement of the existing Claribel Road bridge over the Modesto Irrigation District (MID) lateral with a culvert/ siphon. Construction of an unpaved center median. Signalization of the Claribel Road/Coffee Road Intersection Construction of the proposed Project is planned to commence in the fall/ winter of 2012. Determination This proposed Mitigated Negative Declaration (MND) is included to give notice to interested agencies and the public that it is Stanislaus County’s intent to adopt an MND for this project. This does not mean that Stanislaus County’s decision regarding the project is final. This MND is subject to modification based on comments received by interested agencies and the public. Stanislaus County has prepared an Initial Study (CEQA Checklist is in Appendix A) for this project, and pending public review, expects to determine from this study that the proposed project would not have a significant effect on the environment for the reasons outlined at the beginning of Chapter 2 and in various sections of Chapter 2. The proposed project would have no impact on the following resources categories: geology and soils, hydrology and water quality, land use and planning, mineral resources, public services, recreation, transportation/traffic, and mandatory findings of significance. In addition, the proposed project would have no significant impact on following resources categories: aesthetics, agriculture and forest resources, air quality, biological resources, cultural resources, hazards and hazardous materials, noise, population and housing, and utilities and service systems. The following environmental protection measures have been incorporated into the project description: COMMUNITY-1: Implement the provisions of the federal Uniform Relocation Assistance and Real Property Acquisition Policies Act of 1970, as amended. TRAFFIC-1: Prepare and implement a Traffic Management Plan. VISUAL-1: To minimize potential visual impacts, residential owners will be compensated at the time of right of way purchase for removal of screening trees or shrubs. VISUAL-2: The sound wall in front of the Morningside mobile home park will be designed and constructed in accordance with applicable Caltrans and FHWA standards, including A Guide to Visual Quality in Noise Barrier Design (FHWA 1976). CULTURAL-1: Implement State Health and Safety Code Section 7050.5. If human remains are discovered, State Health and Safety Code Section 7050.5 states that further disturbances and activities shall cease in any area or nearby area suspected to overlie remains, and the County Coroner contacted. CULTURAL-2: Implement Public Resources Code Section 5097.98. Pursuant to Public Resources Code Section 5097.98, if the remains are thought to be Native American, the coroner will notify the Claribel Road Widening Project Initial Study/Environmental Assessment Native American Heritage Commission (NAHC) who will then notify the Most Likely Descendent (MLD). Further provisions of PRC 5097.98 are to be followed as applicable. CULTURAL-3: Implement Public Resources Code Section 5097.5 et seq. Pursuant to Public Resources Code Section 5097.5 no person shall knowingly and willfully excavate upon, or remove, destroy, injure, or deface, any historic or prehistoric ruins, burial grounds, archaeological or vertebrate paleontological site, including fossilized footprints, inscriptions made by human agency, rock art, or any other archaeological, paleontological or historical feature, situated on public lands, except with the express permission of the public agency having jurisdiction over the lands. WATER QUALITY-1: The Project will obtain a Statewide General Permit for Discharges of Storm Water Associated with Construction Activity (Construction General Permit, 2009-0009-DWQ)—a required permit for projects that result in more than 1 ac of ground disturbance. The Statewide General Permit requires the preparation and implementation of a Storm Water Pollution Prevention Plan (SWPPP). The SWPPP will list Best Management Practices (BMPs) the Project will use to protect storm water runoff and identify the placement of those BMPs. Implementation of the SWPPP BMPs will protect water quality in waters receiving surface runoff from the project area during the construction period. PALEONTOLOGY-1: If paleontological resources are discovered during earth-moving activities, the contractor will immediately cease work in the vicinity of the find, and the County Department of Public Works will be notified. A qualified paleontologist will evaluate the resource and prepare a mitigation plan in accordance with Society of Vertebrate Paleontology guidelines. The proposed mitigation plan may include a field survey of additional construction areas, sampling and data recovery procedures, museum storage coordination for any specimen recovered, and a report of findings. Recommendations determined by the lead agency to be necessary and feasible will be implemented before construction activities can resume at the site where