Oceanside Vista Interceptor Access Road Project Project-Level Environmental Checklist City of Vista, California August 2019 Prepared for: Prepared by: City of Vista HDR Engineering, Inc. This page is intentionally blank. Oceanside Vista Interceptor Access Road Project Project-Level Environmental Checklist Contents Section 1. Project Description ....................................................................................................................... 1 Background ......................................................................................................................................... 1 Project Goals and Objectives .............................................................................................................. 1 Proposed Project ................................................................................................................................. 2 Construction Details ............................................................................................................................ 7 Discretionary Actions and Approvals .................................................................................................. 9 Section 2. Project-Level Environmental Checklist ...................................................................................... 11 Comprehensive Sewer Master Plan Project Information .................................................................. 11 Supplemental Program Environmental Impact Report Tiering Evaluation........................................ 12 Environmental Factors Potentially Affected ...................................................................................... 13 Determination .................................................................................................................................... 13 Evaluation of Environmental Impacts ................................................................................................ 14 Aesthetics ................................................................................................................... 16 Agricultural Resources ............................................................................................... 18 Air Quality ................................................................................................................... 21 Biological Resources .................................................................................................. 25 Cultural Resources ..................................................................................................... 35 Geology and Soils ...................................................................................................... 37 Greenhouse Gas Emissions ...................................................................................... 42 Hazards and Hazardous Materials ............................................................................. 44 Hydrology and Water Quality ..................................................................................... 49 Land Use and Planning .............................................................................................. 55 Mineral Resources ..................................................................................................... 57 Noise .......................................................................................................................... 58 Population and Housing ............................................................................................. 61 Public Services ........................................................................................................... 63 Recreation .................................................................................................................. 65 Transportation/Traffic ................................................................................................. 66 Utilities and Service Systems ..................................................................................... 69 Energy ........................................................................................................................ 73 Tribal Cultural Resources ........................................................................................... 74 Wildfire ....................................................................................................................... 76 Mandatory Findings of Significance ........................................................................... 78 References ........................................................................................................................................ 82 Tables Table 1. Contributing Drainage Flows ........................................................................................................... 7 Table 2. Proposed Temporary Construction Easements .............................................................................. 8 Table 3. Proposed Permanent Easements ................................................................................................... 9 Table 4. Vegetation Impacts – Access Road Backbone and Options ........................................................ 29 Table 5. Vegetation Impacts – Staging Areas1 ........................................................................................... 31 Table 6. Jurisdictional Impacts - Access Road Backbone, Options, and Staging Areas1 .......................... 33 August 2019 | i Oceanside Vista Interceptor Access Road Project Project-Level Environmental Checklist Figures Figure 1. Regional Map ................................................................................................................................. 3 Figure 2. Project Area ................................................................................................................................... 4 Figure 3. SPEIR Study Area Map (Adapted from Figure 3-2 of the SPEIR) ................................................. 5 Figure 4. Proposed Access Road ................................................................................................................ 6 Figure 5. Contributing Drainages ................................................................................................................ 10 Appendix Appendix A. Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Program Appendix B. Biological Resources Letter Appendix C. Cultural Resources Letter ii | August 2019 Oceanside Vista Interceptor Access Road Project Project-Level Environmental Checklist Section 1. Project Description Background In November 2017, the City of Vista (City) certified the Supplemental Program Environmental Impact Report (SPEIR) for the 2017 Comprehensive Sewer Master Plan (2017 CSMP) (State Clearinghouse No. 2007091072). The 2017 CSMP identifies a set of recommended projects for inclusion in the City’s Capital Improvement Program (CIP) and an operations and maintenance (O&M) Program. The SPEIR included a programmatic evaluation of the potential environmental impacts of the projects and associated O&M Program, as contemplated in the CSMP. The O&M Program component of the 2017 CSMP provides a continuation of the City’s existing condition assessment program consistent with the City’s adopted Sanitary Sewer Management Plan (SSMP). The City maintains multiple easements to facilitate access to the conveyance and pumping facilities within and outside its service area. These easements range from 10 to 20 feet in width to accommodate maintenance equipment. The SPEIR for the 2017 CSMP included an environmental analysis for the O&M Program activities, which includes repair, upgrade, and/or rehabilitation of existing unpaved access roads that provide access to the City’s trunk sewers. The City’s existing Oceanside-Vista, Reach 1, (OV1) trunk sewer line was constructed in 1989 and is located in the central portion of the City’s service area in unincorporated San Diego County. OV1 consists of a 12-inch sewer line and is located within a narrow easement across multiple private properties with limited or no access. The City needs to develop improved sewer maintenance access to OV1 through the securing of multiple permanent easements and reconstruction of the existing access road. The activities required to repair, upgrade, and/or rehabilitate access roads, including OV1, are similar in nature to the description of O&M activities considered and analyzed in the City’s SPEIR. For this reason, the City is proposing to add OV1 to the list of improvements identified in the City’s O&M Program and CSMP. This document evaluates whether the improvements identified for OV1 are covered within the scope of the SPEIR analysis and supporting mitigation monitoring and reporting program (MMRP). Project Goals and Objectives The City’s goal for implementing the proposed project is to obtain the requirement easements to provide all weather access to the manholes for OV1, including during the 50-year storm event. The proposed project would improve sewer maintenance access by providing the City’s O&M staff with reliable and safe access to the OV1 trunk sewer line via a dedicated easement. Improved and reliable access during large rainfall events is required for the City to clean and maintain the trunk sewer line consistent with the SSMP to minimize the potential for sanitary sewer overflows (SSOs) . Implementation of the project would support compliance with the City’s SSMP in accordance with the State Water Resources Control Board’s (SWRCB)