DRAFT Foothill Feeder Inspection and Maintenance Activities Low-Effect Habitat Conservation Plan August 2018 Prepared by The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California Foothill Feeder Inspection and Maintenance Activities Low-Effect Habitat Conservation Plan D R A F T AUGUST 2018 Prepared by The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California Table of Contents Table of Contents ......................................................................................................................................... i Abbreviations and Acronyms .................................................................................................................... 1 Executive Summary .................................................................................................................................... 1 Introduction and Background ................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Overview/Background ..................................................................................................... 1-1 1.2 Regulatory Compliance Framework ................................................................................ 1-2 1.2.1 Federal Endangered Species Act of 1973, as Amended ..................................... 1-2 1.2.2 National Environmental Policy Act .................................................................... 1-6 1.2.3 Federal Clean Water Act ..................................................................................... 1-6 1.2.4 National Historic Preservation Act ..................................................................... 1-7 1.3 HCP Boundaries (Covered Area) ..................................................................................... 1-7 Covered Activities ..................................................................................................................................... 2-1 2.1 Shutdowns ........................................................................................................................ 2-2 2.2 Emergency Dewatering Scenario ..................................................................................... 2-4 2.3 UTS Conservation Action Site......................................................................................... 2-5 2.4 Avoidance and Minimization Measures .......................................................................... 2-5 Environmental Setting / Biological Resources .............................................................................................. 3-1 3.1 Physical Environment....................................................................................................... 3-1 3.1.1 Climate ................................................................................................................ 3-1 3.1.2 Air Quality .......................................................................................................... 3-1 3.1.3 Topography ......................................................................................................... 3-2 3.1.4 Geology and Soils ............................................................................................... 3-2 3.1.5 Surface and Groundwater ................................................................................... 3-2 3.2 Biological Environment ................................................................................................... 3-3 3.2.1 Vegetation Communities and Other Land Cover ................................................ 3-3 3.2.2 Common Wildlife ............................................................................................... 3-4 3.2.3 Aquatic Biota ...................................................................................................... 3-6 3.2.4 Project Sites ........................................................................................................ 3-6 3.3 Species Considered for Coverage .................................................................................... 3-7 3.4 Proposed Covered Species ............................................................................................... 3-7 August 2018 Table of Contents i METROPOLITAN’S FOOTHILL FEEDER TABLE OF CONTENTS LOW-EFFECT HCP 3.4.1 Unarmored Threespine Stickleback .................................................................... 3-8 3.4.2 Arroyo Toad ...................................................................................................... 3-11 3.4.3 California Red Legged Frog ............................................................................. 3-13 3.4.4 Santa Ana Sucker .............................................................................................. 3-15 3.4.5 Western Spadefoot ............................................................................................ 3-16 3.4.6 Two-Striped Garter Snake ................................................................................ 3-17 3.4.7 Western Pond Turtle ......................................................................................... 3-18 Potential Biological Effects / Take Assessment ..................................................................................... 4-1 4.1 Type of Potential Effects ................................................................................................. 4-1 4.2 General Description of Potential Effects ......................................................................... 4-1 4.3 Potential Effects on Covered Species ............................................................................... 4-2 4.3.1 Unarmored Threespine Stickleback .................................................................... 4-2 4.3.2 Arroyo Toad ........................................................................................................ 4-4 4.3.3 California Red-legged Frog ................................................................................ 4-5 4.3.4 Santa Ana Sucker ................................................................................................ 4-5 4.3.5 Western Spadefoot .............................................................................................. 4-5 4.3.6 Two-striped Garter Snake ................................................................................... 4-6 4.3.7 Western Pond Turtle ........................................................................................... 4-6 4.3.8 Summary of Potential Covered Species Effects ................................................. 4-6 4.4 Potential Effects on Critical Habitat ................................................................................ 4-7 4.5 Potential Cumulative Effects ............................................................................................ 4-8 4.6 Take Estimate ................................................................................................................... 4-9 Conservation Program ............................................................................................................................ 5-1 5.1 Biological Goals and Objectives ...................................................................................... 5-1 5.2 Avoidance and Minimization Measures ........................................................................... 5-1 5.2.1 Shutdowns ........................................................................................................... 5-2 5.2.2 Emergency Dewatering Scenario ........................................................................ 5-5 5.2.3 UTS Conservation Action Site ........................................................................... 5-5 5.3 Mitigation Measures ....................................................................................................... 5-10 5.4 Monitoring, Adaptive Management, and Reporting ....................................................... 5-10 Plan Implementation ................................................................................................................................ 6-1 6.1 HCP Administration and Funding .................................................................................... 6-1 6.2 Changed and Unforeseen Circumstances ......................................................................... 6-1 6.2.1 Changed Circumstances ...................................................................................... 6-1 6.2.2 Unforeseen Circumstances .................................................................................. 6-2 6.3 Revisions and Amendments ............................................................................................. 6-3 Table of Contents ii August 2018 METROPOLITAN’S FOOTHILL FEEDER TABLE OF CONTENTS LOW-EFFECT HCP 6.3.1 Revisions ............................................................................................................. 6-3 6.3.2 Amendments to the Section 10(a)(1)(B) Permits ................................................ 6-4 Alternatives Analyzed ............................................................................................................................... 7-1 Citations .................................................................................................................................................... 8-1 List of Preparers ....................................................................................................................................... 9-1 Appendices