PRADO BASIN SEDIMENT MANAGEMENT DEMONSTRATION PROJECT BIOLOGICAL CONDITIONS TECHNICAL REPORT Prepared By Orange County Water District 18700 Ward Street Fountain Valley, CA 92708 Contact: Richard Zembal Daniel Bott July 2013 Table of Contents Section Page 1.0 INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................1-1 2.0 REGULATORY FRAMEWORK ................................................................ 2-1 3.0 ENVIRONMENTAL SETTING .................................................................. 3-1 3.1 Regional Setting ................................................................................... 3-1 3.2 Local Setting ......................................................................................... 3-3 3.3 Relevant Biological Resource Management Programs ......................... 3-8 4.0 BIOLOGICAL RESOURCES ....................................................................4-1 4.1 Methodology ......................................................................................... 4-1 4.2 Vegetation Communities ....................................................................... 4-3 4.3 Sensitive Communities/Special Status Plants ..................................... 4-11 4.4 Wildlife ................................................................................................4-19 4.5 Wildlife Movement Corridors ............................................................... 4-51 5.0 SUMMARY OF BIOLOGICAL RESOURCES .......................................... 5-1 6.0 REFERENCES ........................................................................................ 6-1 List of Figures Figure 1: Regional Vicinity Map ........................................................................ 3-2 Figure 2: Alternative Project Areas ................................................................... 3-4 Figure 3: Alternative Project Areas USGS Location .......................................... 3-5 Figure 4: Least Bell Vireo Critical Habitat ....................................................... 3-10 Figure 4a: Southwestern Willow Flycatcher Critical Habitat……………………3-11 Figure 5: California Gnatcatcher Critical Habitat Boundary .............................. 3-13 Figure 6: Santa Ana Sucker Critical Habitat .................................................... 3-14 Figure 7: Santa Ana River Alignment .................................................................4-5 Figure 8: Chino Creek Alignment .......................................................................4-6 Figure 9: Temescal Creek and SAR Alignment ................................................. 4-7 Figure 10: Sediment Management Storage Site B ............................................. 4-8 Figure 11: Sediment Management Storage A, C, D, Green Waste Sites ........... 4-9 Figure 12: 2012 Least Bell’s Vireo ................................................................... 4-34 List of Tables Table 1: Sediment Removal Channel Alignment Alternatives Vegetation/Land Cover (Acres) ...................................................................................................... 4-3 Table 2: Candidate Sediment Storage Sites and Green Waste Site Vegetation/Land Cover (Acres) ........................................................................................... 4-4 Table 3: Sensitive Plant List .................................................................................. 4-12 Table 4: List of Special Status Wildlife Species .................................................... 4-23 Table 5: Sediment Removal Channel U.S./State Jurisdictional Area .................... 4-53 Table 7: Sediment Removal Channel Alignments Summary of Vegetation Communities ............................................................................................. 5-1 Table 8: Sediment Management Storage Sites Summary of Vegetation Community Impacts ..................................................................................................... 5-3 Prado Basin SMDP Orange County Water District i Section 1 Introduction 1.0 INTRODUCTION The Orange County Water District is proposing a sediment management demonstration project in the Prado Basin that would involve removing sediment from the basin and re-entraining it back into the Santa Ana River below Prado Dam. The project consists of three major components, a sediment removal channel, a sediment storage site and a sediment re-entrainment area. The initial planning for the project identified three alterative alignments for the sediment removal channel, five alternative locations for the sediment storage site, one site for a green waste area and one site where sediment re-entrainment activities would occur. The Prado Basin Sediment Management Demonstration Project Biological Conditions Technical Report documents biological resources and the potential for sensitive plant, wildlife and aquatic species to occur within the alternative sediment removal channel alignments, the alternative sediment storage sites, at the green waste site and at the sediment re-entrainment area. The biological conditions report also identifies applicable laws and regulations that apply to the project area. The biological conditions report will be used to help narrow the number of sediment removal channel alignments and sediment management storage site locations that would be evaluated in the Environmental Impact Report/Environmental Assessment that would be prepared Prado Basin Sediment Management Demonstration Project. Several historical and recent biological assessments studies have been conducted within the Prado Basin vicinity by the US Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) as part of the improvements to Prado Dam and the Santa Ana River (SAR). Additionally, ongoing annual surveys in the Prado Basin are conducted by the Orange County Water District (OCWD), Santa Ana Watershed Association (SAWA) and Western Riverside County Multiple Species Habitat Conservation Plan Monitoring Program (MSHCP). The Prado Basin Sediment Management Demonstration Project Biological Conditions Report incorporates by reference information from previously prepared assessments and annual surveys. Additionally, a combination of literature searches and field work was conducted by OCWD to describe the current conditions within the project area. The biological conditions report would serve as the existing conditions setting for Prado Basin Sediment Management Demonstration Project Environmental Impact Report/Environmental Assessment. Prado Basin SMDP Orange County Water District 1-1 Section 2 Regulatory Framework 2.0 REGULATORY FRAMEWORK The following federal, state and regional regulatory programs are applicable to the Prado Basin Sediment Management Demonstration Project Area. Federal Regulations Federal Clean Water Act The Clean Water Act is intended to restore and maintain the quality and biological integrity of Waters of the United Stares (U.S.) According to Section 404 of the Clean Water Act, any activity that involves the discharge of dredged or fill material into Waters of the United States is subject to approval of a 404 Permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps). Pending on the level of impacts occurring, an activity affecting waters of the U.S. could qualify for one of fifty separate Nationwide Permits or requires approval of an individual permit. Section 401 of the Clean Water Act requires that an applicant for a federal license or permit to discharge into navigable waters must provide the federal agency with a water quality certification, declaring that the discharge would comply with water quality standards requirements of the Clean Water Act. The issuance of a 404 permit triggers the requirement that a section 401 certification must also be obtained from the Regional Water Quality Control Board (RWQCB). Federal Endangered Species Act The Federal Endangered Species Act (FESA) designates threatened and endangered animals and plants and provides measures for their protection and recovery. The Take of listed animal and plant species in areas under the federal jurisdiction is prohibited without obtaining a federal permit. A Take is defined as to harass, harm, pursue, hunt, shot, wound, kill, trap, capture or collect or attempt to engage in any such conduct. Harm includes any act which kills or injures fish or wildlife, including significant habitat modification or degradation that significantly impairs essential behavioral patterns of fish or wildlife. Activities that damage the habitat of listed species require approval from U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) for terrestrial species or from National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) for marine species. FESA also requires determination of critical habitat for listed species and impacts to the critical habitat is prohibited. ESA contains two pathways for obtaining permission to take listed species. Under Section 7 of FESA, a federal agency that authorizes, funds or carries out a project that may affect a listed species or its critical habitat must consult with USFWS or NMFS, to ensure that their actions do not jeopardize the continued existence of endangered or threatened species or result in the destruction or modification of the critical habitat of these species. A Biological Opinion (BO) Prado Basin SMDP Orange County Water District 2-1 Section 2 Regulatory Framework would be prepared by USFWS or NMFS to determine if the activity would jeopardize the continued existence of the listed species. If the BO determines that the activity would