Initial Study/ Mitigated Negative Declaration: Altamont Solar Energy Center Project Prepared for: Alameda County Planning Department 224 West Winton Avenue, Suite 111 Hayward, CA 94544 Contact: J. Weldon 510/670-5400 Prepared by: ICF International 75 East Santa Clara Street, Suite 300 San Jose, CA 95113 Contact: C. Fukasawa 408/216-2811 August 2011 ICF International. August 2011. Altamont Solar Energy Center Project Mitigated Negative Declaration/Initial Study. Prepared for Alameda County, CA (Project #: 0090.10). Contents List of Tables ......................................................................................................................................... iii List of Figures ....................................................................................................................................... iii List of Acronyms and Abbreviations .................................................................................................... iv Page A. PROJECT DESCRIPTION ............................................................................................. 1 B. ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS POTENTIALLY AFFECTED.............................. 13 C. LEAD AGENCY DETERMINATION ......................................................................... 13 D. EVALUATION OF ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS ................................................. 14 1. AESTHETICS .................................................................................................................. 17 2. AGRICULTURE AND FOREST RESOURCES ............................................................. 22 3. AIR QUALITY ................................................................................................................. 25 4. BIOLOGICAL RESOURCES .......................................................................................... 36 5. CLIMATE CHANGE AND GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS ................................... 68 6. CULTURAL RESOURCES ............................................................................................. 73 7. GEOLOGY AND SOILS ................................................................................................. 80 8. HAZARDS AND HAZARDOUS MATERIALS............................................................. 84 9. HYDROLOGY AND WATER QUALITY ...................................................................... 90 10. LAND USE AND PLANNING ........................................................................................ 97 11. MINERAL RESOURCES .............................................................................................. 105 12. NOISE ............................................................................................................................. 106 13. POPULATION AND HOUSING ................................................................................... 111 14. PUBLIC SERVICES ...................................................................................................... 113 15. RECREATION ............................................................................................................... 115 16. TRANSPORTATION ..................................................................................................... 116 17. UTILITIES AND SERVICE SYSTEMS ....................................................................... 120 18. MANDATORY FINDINGS OF SIGNIFICANCE ........................................................ 123 SOURCES...................................................................................................................... 135 E. MITIGATION MEASURES TO BE INCLUDED IN THE PROJECT AND AGREED TO BY THE PROJECT SPONSOR AND ALL SUBSEQUENT PROPERTY OWNERS AND PERMITTEES ............................... 137 F. AGREEMENT BY PROJECT SPONSOR ................................................................ 143 Appendix A EDR REPORT ii Tables Page Table 3-1. Annual Ambient Air Quality Data at Tracy Airport Monitoring Station ................................................... 26 Table 3-2. Air Quality Standards Applicable in California ......................................................................................... 30 Table 3-3. Phase 1 Total Operational and Area Source Emissions from the Project ................................................... 33 Table 3-4. Phase 2 Total Operational and Area Source Emissions from the Project ................................................... 33 Table 4-1. Special-Status Wildlife Species with Potential to Occur in the Project Region ......................................... 38 Table 4-2. Special-Status Plants Known to Occur or that May Occur in the Project Area .......................................... 46 Table 5-1. CO2 Reduction Calculations Due to Increase in Solar Energy with Project .............................................. 71 Table 5-2. Operational GHG Emissions, Phase 1 and 2 (MTCO2/year) ..................................................................... 71 Table 8-1. Contaminated and Potentially Contaminated Properties within 0.5 miles of the Project Site .................... 85 Table 10-1. Land Use and Zoning Designation Definitions ...................................................................................... 101 Table 12-1. Alameda County Code Exterior Noise Level Standards ........................................................................ 107 Table 12-2. Alameda County Code Exterior Noise Level Standards for Commercial Properties ............................. 107 Table 12-3. Construction Equipment Noise Emission Levels ................................................................................... 108 Table 12-4. Estimated Construction Noise in the Vicinity of an Active Construction Site (Maximum One-Hour Leq) ...................................................................................... 109 Table 16-1. V/C Ratio, Delay, and Traffic Flow Conditions for LOS Designations ................................................. 117 Table 18-1. Cumulative Project List (Past, Current, and Probable Future Projects) ................................................. 125 Figures Page Figure 1. Project Location and Vicinity ......................................................................................................................... 9 Figure 2a. Project Site Plans ........................................................................................................................................ 10 Figure 2b. Project Site Plans (cont.) ............................................................................................................................ 11 Figure 3. Example Solar Modules ............................................................................................................................... 12 Figure 4a. Views of the Site ........................................................................................................................................ 18 Figure 4b. Views of the Site (cont.) ............................................................................................................................. 19 Figure 5a. CNDDB Wildlife Occurrences ................................................................................................................... 57 Figure 5b. CNDDB Plant Occurrences ........................................................................................................................ 58 Figure 6. Cumulative Projects Map ........................................................................................................................... 124 iii Acronyms and Abbreviations AB 32 Assembly Bill 32 ABAG Association of Bay Area Governments ACDEH Alameda County Department of Environmental Health ADA American with Disabilities Act A-District Agricultural District af acre-feet ARB California Air Resources Board asl above sea level ASTM American Society for Testing and Materials BAAQMD Bay Area Air Quality Management District Bay San Francisco Bay Bay region San Francisco Bay region Bay-Delta Plan Water Quality Control Plan for the San Francisco Bay/Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Estuary BBID Byron Bethany Irrigation District BMPs best management practices BO biological opinion CAAQS California Ambient Air Quality Standards CAISO California Independent System Operator CARROT California Climate Action Registry’s Online Reporting Tool CCAs Community Choice Aggregations CCR California Code of Regulations CDFG California Department of Fish and Game CEC California Energy Commission CEQ Council on Environmental Quality CEQA California Environmental Quality Act CESA California Endangered Species Act CH4 methane CHSC California Health and Safety Code CMA Alameda County Congestion Management Agency CMP Congestion Management Program CNPS California Native Plant Society CO carbon monoxide CO2 carbon dioxide CO2e CO2 equivalents Corps Army Corps of Engineers CPV Concentrating PhotoVoltaic CRHR California Register of Historic Resources CRLF California red-legged frog CRSB Coast Ranges-Sierran Block iv CUP conditional use permit CVP Central Valley Project CWA Clean Water Act dB Decibel dBA A-Weighted Decibel DBP disinfection byproducts Delta San Joaquin-Sacramento Delta DPM diesel particulate matter DTSC California Department of Toxic Substances Control DWR California Department of Water Resources EBRPD East Bay Regional Parks District ECAP East County Area Plan EDR Environmental Data Resources, Inc. EIR Environmental Impact Report EPA Environmental Protection Agency ESA