Final INITIAL STUDY/ MITIGATED NEGATIVE DECLARATION for the A1/A2 RESERVOIRS & B/C ZONES BOOSTER PUMP STATION PROJECT SCH #2021010030 Prepared for: Prepared by: Marina Coast Water District Denise Duffy & Associates, Inc. 11 Reservation Road 947 Cass Street, Suite 5 Marina, CA 93933-2099 Monterey, CA 93940 February 2021 This Page Intentionally Left Blank Table of Contents Chapter 1. Introduction ....................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Background ............................................................................................................................... 1 1.2 Public Participation ................................................................................................................... 1 Chapter 2. Response to Comments ..................................................................................................... 3 2.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 3 2.2 List of Comment Letters ........................................................................................................... 3 2.3 Response to Comments ............................................................................................................. 3 Chapter 3 Revisions to the Draft IS/MND .......................................................................................... 51 A1/A2 Reservoirs & i Final IS/MND B/C Zones Booster Pump Station Project February 2021 This Page Intentionally Left Blank A1/A2 Reservoirs & ii Final IS/MND B/C Zones Booster Pump Station Project February 2021 Chapter 1. Introduction 1.1 BACKGROUND This document, together with the Draft Initial Study/Mitigated Negative Declaration (Draft IS/MND), constitutes the Final Initial Study/Mitigated Negative Declaration (Final IS/MND) for the A1/A2 Reservoirs & B/C Zones Booster Pump Station Project (proposed project). The Marina Coast Water District (MCWD) is the lead agency for the proposed project. The Final IS/MND consists of an introduction, comment letters received during the 30-day public review period, responses to comments, and revisions to the Draft IS/MND, if deemed applicable. The Draft IS/MND was prepared to inform the public of the potential environmental effects of the proposed project and identify possible ways to minimize potential project-related impacts. 1.2 PUBLIC PARTICIPATION Pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines Section 15073(a), the Draft IS/MND was circulated for a 30-day review period during which comments could be submitted. On January 5, 2021, the Draft IS/MND was distributed for the public review period to responsible and trustee agencies, interested groups, and individuals. The review period ended on February 4, 2021. A public hearing was conducted at the MCWD Board of Directors meeting on January 20, 2021, to receive public comments on the Draft IS/MND. No public comments on the Draft IS/MND were provided during the public hearing. A MCWD Board of Directors meeting is scheduled for March 15, 2021, to consider the adoption of the Final IS/MND and Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Program (MMRP) and approval of the proposed project. A1/A2 Reservoirs & 1 Final IS/MND B/C Zones Booster Pump Station Project February 2021 This Page Intentionally Left Blank A1/A2 Reservoirs & 2 Final IS/MND B/C Zones Booster Pump Station Project February 2021 Chapter 2. Response to Comments 2.1 INTRODUCTION This chapter includes comments received from the public and public agencies during the circulation of the Draft IS/MND. No comments were received after the public review period. This section contains all information available in the public record related to the Draft IS/MND as of February 22, 2021. Section 2.3 below responds to comments received during the review period. 2.2 LIST OF COMMENT LETTERS The following is a list of comment letters/email comments received on the Draft IS/MND and the dates these letters were received: Comment Letters A. California Department of Fish and Wildlife February 4, 2021 B. California State University, Monterey Bay February 4, 2021 2.3 RESPONSE TO COMMENTS Each letter received on the Draft IS/MND is presented in this chapter, as identified in Section 2.2 above. Individual comments in each letter are numbered. Correspondingly numbered responses to each comment are provided in the discussion following the comment letter. When a comment states a position or opinion and does not comment on issues relevant to the environmental analysis presented in the Draft IS/MND, the response reads: “Comment is acknowledged. No response is required.” If comments raised environmental issues that required additions or deletions to the text, tables, or figures in the Draft IS/MND, a brief description of the change is provided, and the reader is directed to Chapter 3, Revisions to the Draft IS/MND. The comments received on the Draft IS/MND did not result in a "substantial revision" of the negative declaration, as defined by CEQA Guidelines §15073.5, and the new information added to the mitigated negative declaration merely clarifies, amplifies, or makes insignificant modifications to the IS/MND. No new significant effects were identified since the commencement of the public review period that would require mitigation measures or project revisions to be added in order to reduce the effects to less than significant. A1/A2 Reservoirs & 3 Final IS/MND B/C Zones Booster Pump Station Project February 2021 DocuSign Envelope ID: 8E308463-54C7-45B6-B0CA-494B952C226B State of California – The Natural Resources Agency GAVIN NEWSOM, Governor DEPARTMENT OF FISH AND WILDLIFE CHARLTON H. BONHAM, Director Central Region 1234 East Shaw Avenue Fresno, California 93710 (559) 243-4005 www.wildlife.ca.gov February 4, 2021 Michael Wegley Marina Coast Water District 11 Reservation Road Marina, California 93933 [email protected] Subject: A1/A2 Reservoirs and B/C Zones Booster Pump Station Project (Project) Mitigated Negative Declaration (MND) State Clearinghouse No. 202101003 Dear Mr. Wegley: The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) received a Notice of Intent to Adopt a MND from the Marina Coast Water District for the above-referenced Project pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and CEQA Guidelines.1 Thank you for the opportunity to provide comments and recommendations regarding those activities involved in the Project that may affect California fish and wildlife. Likewise, we appreciate the opportunity to provide comments regarding those aspects of the Project that CDFW, by law, may be required to carry out or approve through exercise of our own regulatory authority under the Fish and Game Code. CDFW ROLE CDFW is California’s Trustee Agency for fish and wildlife resources and holds those resources in trust by statute for all the people of the State (Fish & G. Code, §§ 711.7, subd. (a) & 1802; Pub. Resources Code, § 21070; CEQA Guidelines § 15386, subd. (a)). CDFW, in the trustee capacity, has jurisdiction over the conservation, protection, and management of fish, wildlife, native plants, and habitat necessary for biologically sustainable populations of those species (Id., § 1802). Similarly, for purposes of CEQA, CDFW is charged by law to provide, as available, biological expertise during public agency environmental review efforts, focusing specifically on projects and related activities that have the potential to adversely affect fish and wildlife resources. 1 CEQA is codified in the California Public Resources Code in section 21000 et seq. The “CEQA Guidelines” are found in Title 14 of the California Code of Regulations, commencing with section 15000. Conserving California’s Wildlife Since 1870 DocuSign Envelope ID: 8E308463-54C7-45B6-B0CA-494B952C226B Michael Wegley February 4, 2021 Page 2 CDFW is also submitting comments as a Responsible Agency under CEQA (Pub. Resources Code, § 21069; CEQA Guidelines, § 15381). CDFW expects that it may need to exercise regulatory authority as provided by the Fish and Game Code. For example, to the extent implementation of the Project as proposed may result in “take” as defined by State law of any species protected under the California Endangered Species Act (CESA) (Fish & G. Code, § 2050 et seq.), related authorization as provided by the Fish and Game Code will be required. Fully Protected Species: CDFW has jurisdiction over fully protected species of birds, mammals, amphibians and reptiles, and fish, pursuant to Fish and Game Code sections 3511, 4700, 5050, and 5515. Take of any fully protected species is prohibited and CDFW cannot authorize their incidental take. Nesting Birds: CDFW has jurisdiction over actions with potential to result in the disturbance or destruction of active nest sites or the unauthorized take of birds. Fish and Game Code sections that protect birds, eggs and nests include, sections 3503 (regarding unlawful take, possession or needless destruction of the nest or eggs of any bird), 3503.5 (regarding the take, possession or destruction of any birds-of-prey or their nests or eggs), and 3513 (regarding unlawful take of any migratory nongame bird). Water Pollution: Pursuant to Fish and Game Code section 5650, it is unlawful to deposit in, permit to pass into, or place where it can pass into “Waters of the State” any substance or material deleterious to fish, plant life, or bird life, including non-native species. It is possible that