Appendix G Paleontological Resources Assessment Paleontological Resource Assessment for the California Flats Solar Project, Monterey and San Luis Obispo Counties, California Jessica L. DeBusk Prepared By Applied EarthWorks, Inc. 743 Pacific Street, Suite A San Luis Obispo, CA 93401 Prepared For Element Power US, LLC 421 SW Sixth Avenue, Suite 1000 Portland, OR 97204 April 2013 draft SUMMARY OF FINDINGS At the request of Element Power US, LLC, parent company of California Flats Solar, LLC (the Applicant), Applied EarthWorks Inc. (Æ) performed a paleontological resource assessment for the California Flats Solar Project (Project) located southeast of Parkfield in Monterey and San Luis Obispo counties, California. The study consisted of a museum records search, a comprehensive literature and geologic map review, and a field survey. This report summarizes the methods and results of the paleontological resource assessment and provides Project-specific management recommendations. This assessment included a comprehensive review of published and unpublished literature and museum collections records maintained by the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County (LACM) and the University of California Museum of Paleontology (UCMP). The purpose of the literature review and museum records search was to identify the geologic units underlying the Project area and to determine whether or not previously recorded paleontological localities occur either within the Project boundaries or within the same geologic units elsewhere. The museum records search was followed by a field survey. The purpose of the field survey was to visually inspect the ground surface for exposed fossils and to evaluate geologic exposures for their potential to contain preserved fossil material at the subsurface. Using the results of museum records search and field survey, the paleontological resource potential of the Project area was determined in accordance with Society of Vertebrate Paleontology guidelines. Published mapping indicates that the Project area is underlain by eight individually mapped geologic units, spanning the Tertiary to the Quaternary periods. Museum records identified no previously recorded paleontological localities directly within Project boundaries; however, UCMP records indicate that at least 18 previously documented fossil localities have been reported from within the same geologic units underlying the Project area elsewhere in San Luis Obispo and Monterey counties. The LACM reported 15 nearby fossil localities from within the same geologic units underlying the Project area. No fossil localities were discovered during the course of the field survey. As a result of this study, the geologic units underlying the Project area are determined to have a paleontological resource potential (i.e., sensitivity) ranging from low to high. Units of high paleontological sensitivity include the Tertiary age Etchegoin, Monterey, and Temblor formations (and members thereof). Units of low paleontological sensitivity include Quaternary surficial alluvial deposits and landslide deposits. Quaternary age older surficial sediments may be sensitive for paleontological resources at depth or may overlie sensitive Tertiary age units. Therefore, this geologic unit is considered to have a paleontological sensitivity ranging from low to high (increasing with depth). Much of the Project area is underlain either at the surface or at depth by geologic units with a proven potential to yield significant paleontological resources, and the likelihood of impacting vertebrate fossils during construction is high. Therefore, paleontological resource monitoring during Project construction is recommended. In addition, prior to the start of construction all Paleontological Resource Assessment: California Flats Solar Project iii field personnel should receive a worker’s environmental training module on paleontological resources. By implementing these mitigation measures during Project development, adverse impacts to paleontological resources can be reduced to a less than significant level pursuant to the requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act. iv Paleontological Resource Assessment: California Flats Solar Project CONTENTS 1 INTRODUCTION..............................................................................................................1 1.1 PROJECT LOCATION AND DESCRIPTION.......................................................1 1.2 PURPOSE OF INVESTIGATION ..........................................................................1 1.3 REPORT ORGANIZATION ...................................................................................1 2 REGULATORY FRAMEWORK ....................................................................................5 2.1 FEDERAL................................................................................................................5 2.2 STATE .....................................................................................................................5 2.2.1 California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) ..........................................5 2.2.2 Public Resources Code ................................................................................5 2.3 LOCAL ....................................................................................................................5 2.3.1 Monterey County General Plan ...................................................................5 2.3.2 San Luis Obispo County General Plan ........................................................6 3 PALEONTOLOGICAL RESOURCE ASSESSMENT GUIDELINES .......................7 3.1 DEFINITION OF PALEONTOLOGICAL RESOURCES AND SIGNIFICANCE CRITERIA ..................................................................................7 3.2 PROFESSIONAL STANDARDS AND PALEONTOLOGICAL RESOURCE SENSITIVITY ...................................................................................7 4 METHODS .........................................................................................................................9 4.1 LITERATURE REVIEW AND RECORDS SEARCH ..........................................9 4.2 FIELDWORK ..........................................................................................................9 4.3 KEY PERSONNEL .................................................................................................9 5 GEOLOGY AND PALEONTOLOGY ..........................................................................11 5.1 REGIONAL GEOLOGY .......................................................................................11 5.2 GEOLOGY AND PALEONTOLOGY OF THE PROJECT AREA .....................11 5.2.1 Quaternary alluvial deposits ......................................................................12 5.2.2 Etchegoin Formation ..................................................................................12 5.2.3 Monterey Formation ..................................................................................16 5.2.4 Temblor Formation ....................................................................................16 6 ANALYSIS AND RESULTS ..........................................................................................17 6.1 MUSEUM RECORDS SEARCH RESULTS .......................................................17 6.2 FIELDWORK RESULTS ......................................................................................19 6.3 DETERMINATION OF PALEONTOLOGICAL RESOURCE POTENTIAL FOR GEOLOGIC UNITS WITHIN THE PROJECT AREA .....................................................................................................................23 7 CONCLUSIONS ..............................................................................................................27 Paleontological Resource Assessment: California Flats Solar Project v 8 MANAGEMENT RECOMMENDATIONS .................................................................29 8.1 WORKER’S ENVIRONMENTAL AWARENESS TRAINING .........................29 8.2 PALEONTOLOGICAL MONITORING ..............................................................29 8.3 FOSSIL PREPARATION, CURATION, AND REPORTING .............................30 9 REFERENCES CITED ...................................................................................................31 FIGURES 1-1 Project vicinity in Monterey and San Luis Obispo counties, California .............................2 1-2 Project location on the U.S. Geological Survey Paso Robles 30-minute quadrangle ..........3 1-3 Aerial view of the Project area .............................................................................................4 5-1 Geologic units in the Project area (Map 1 of 3) .................................................................13 5-2 Geologic units in the Project area (Map 2 of 3) .................................................................14 5-3 Geologic units in the Project area (Map 3 of 3) .................................................................15 6-1 An outcrop of the Etchegoin Formation, looking north-northwest in the northwestern portion of the Project area north of Turkey Flat ....................................20 6-2 Looking northeast at an outcropping of the McClure Shale Member of the Monterey Formation in the central portion of the Project area east of Turkey Flat and northwest of Cottonwood Creek ........................................................20 6-3 An outcropping of the McClure Shale Member of the Monterey Formation in the central portion of the Project area, looking