May 29, 2008 Notice of Preparation ‐ 2008 Butte County RTP Prepared for: Butte County Association of Governments 2580 Sierra Sunrise Terrace, Suite 100 Chico, Ca 95928 (530)879‐2468 Prepared by: Pacific Land Advisors 3587 Falkirk Way El Dorado Hills, Ca 95762 (916) 580‐9818 NOTICE OF PREPARATION FOR THE 2008 BUTTE COUNTY RTP MAY 29, 2008 Prepared for: Butte County Association of Governments 2580 Sierra Sunrise Terrace, Suite 100 Chico, Ca 95928 (530)879‐2468 Prepared by: Pacific Land Advisors 3587 Falkirk Way El Dorado Hills, Ca 95762 (916) 580‐9818 NOTICE OF PREPARATION – 2008 BUTTE COUNTY RTP MAY 29, 2008 NOTICE OF PREPARATION TO: State Clearinghouse FROM: Jon Clark, Executive Director State Responsible Agencies Butte County Association of Governments State Trustee Agencies 2580 Sierra Sunrise Terrace, Suite 100 Other Public Agencies Chico, Ca 95928 Interested Organizations (530)879‐2468 SUBJECT: Notice of Preparation –2008 Butte County Regional Transportation Plan Program‐level Draft Environmental Impact Report, EIR CONSULTANT Steve McMurtry Pacific Land Advisors 3587 Falkirk Way El Dorado Hills, Ca 95762 Phone: (916) 580‐9818 An Initial Study has been prepared for the project and is attached to this Notice of Preparation (NOP). The Initial Study lists those issues that will require detailed analysis and technical studies that will need to be evaluated and/or prepared as part of the EIR. The EIR will consider all potential environmental effects of the proposed project to determine the level of significance of the environmental effect, and will analyze these potential effects to the detail necessary to make a determination on the level of significance. Those environmental issues that have been determined to be less than significant will have a discussion that is limited to a brief explanation of why those effects are not considered potentially significant. In addition, the EIR may also consider those environmental issues which are raised by responsible agencies, trustee agencies, and members of the public or related agencies during the NOP process. We need to know the views of your agency or organization as to the scope and content of the environmental information germane to your agency’s statutory responsibilities or of interest to your organization in connection with the proposed project. Specifically, we are requesting the following: 1. If you are a public agency, state if your agency will be a responsible or trustee agency for the project and list the permits or approvals from your agency that will be required for the project and its future actions; 2. Identify significant environmental effects and mitigation measures that you believe need to be explored in the EIR with supporting discussion of why you believe these effects may be significant; NOP ‐ PAGE 1 INITIAL STUDY FOR THE 2008 BUTTE COUNTY RTP MAY 29, 2008 Prepared for: Butte County Association of Governments 2580 Sierra Sunrise Terrace, Suite 100 Chico, Ca 95928 (530)879‐2468 Prepared by: Pacific Land Advisors 3587 Falkirk Way El Dorado Hills, Ca 95762 (916) 580‐9818 INITIAL STUDY ‐‐ 2008 BUTTE COUNTY RTP MAY 29, 2008 TABLE OF CONTENTS INITIAL STUDY CHECKLIST ........................................................................................................................................ 1 Project Location and Setting .................................................................................................................................. 1 Project Description .................................................................................................................................................... 7 Environmental Factors Potentially Affected: .................................................................................................. 9 Determination: ............................................................................................................................................................. 9 Environmental Checklist ............................................................................................................................................ 12 I. AESTHETICS ....................................................................................................................................................... 12 II. AGRICULTURE RESOURCES ....................................................................................................................... 13 III. AIR QUALITY ................................................................................................................................................... 14 IV. BIOLOGICAL RESOURCES .......................................................................................................................... 16 V. CULTURAL RESOURCES ............................................................................................................................... 18 VI. GEOLOGY AND SOILS ................................................................................................................................... 19 VII. HAZARDS AND HAZARDOUS MATERIALS ........................................................................................ 24 VIII. HYDROLOGY AND WATER QUALITY ................................................................................................. 29 IX. LAND USE AND PLANNING ....................................................................................................................... 35 X. MINERAL RESOURCES .................................................................................................................................. 36 XI. NOISE .................................................................................................................................................................. 39 XII. POPULATION AND HOUSING .................................................................................................................. 41 XIII. PUBLIC SERVICES ....................................................................................................................................... 42 XIV. RECREATION ................................................................................................................................................ 46 XV. TRANSPORTATION/TRAFFIC ................................................................................................................. 48 XVI. UTILITIES AND SERVICE SYSTEMS .................................................................................................... 49 XVII. MANDATORY FINDINGS OF SIGNIFICANCE .................................................................................. 52 TOC – PAGE 1 May 29, 2008 INITIAL STUDY ‐‐ 2008 BUTTE COUNTY RTP This page left intentionally blank. TOC ‐ PAGE 2 INITIAL STUDY ‐‐ 2008 BUTTE COUNTY RTP MAY 29, 2008 INITIAL STUDY CHECKLIST PROJECT TITLE 2008 Butte County Regional Transportation Plan LEAD AGENCY NAME AND ADDRESS Butte County Association of Governments 2580 Sierra Sunrise Terrace, Suite 100 Chico, Ca 95928 CONTACT PERSON AND PHONE NUMBER Jon Clark, Executive Director Chris Devine, Planning Manager Butte County Association of Governments (530)879‐2468 PROJECT SPONSOR’S NAME AND ADDRESS Butte County Association of Governments 2580 Sierra Sunrise Terrace, Suite 100 Chico, Ca 95928 PROJECT LOCATION AND SETTING Butte County is located in north central California at the northern end of the Sacramento Valley, approximately 150 miles northeast of San Francisco and 70 miles north of Sacramento. State Route 70 and 99 are the principal transportation corridors, extending in a north‐south direction through the County. State Routes 32 and 162 provide sub‐regional connections to areas to the west of the County and to Interstate 5. Figure 1 depicts the regional location of Butte County. Butte County covers approximately 1,670 square miles equaling 1,068,000 acres. Approximately 45 percent of the county is valley floor, 25 percent is foothills, and 30 percent is the mountainous region. The County has three primary watersheds, the Feather River, Butte Creek and Chico Creek watersheds, which can be delineated into additional sub‐watersheds. A portion of the County's western border is formed by the Sacramento River. Figure 2 provides the regional vicinity. Butte County has rich fertile valley soil providing for a strong agricultural economy. The valley also remains a vital wintering ground for an estimated 60 percent of the waterfowl that migrate through the Pacific Flyway. Ducks, geese, swans and many other migratory birds migrate to or through the region from November through March. The foothill and mountainous regions have varying topographic features. From rolling hills, volcanic peaks and mesas, the County’s topography arguably provides some of the most dramatic and unaltered landscapes in California. Much of the foothill and mountainous region is controlled by the federal government, through two agencies. PAGE 1 May 29, 2008 INITIAL STUDY ‐‐ 2008 BUTTE COUNTY RTP The USDA Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management are major landowners in Butte County, controlling approximately 12 percent of the land. The Forest Service has land holdings in Plumas National Forest totaling 81,972 acres and in Lassen National Forest totaling 49,240 acres. The Bureau of Land Management has land holdings scattered throughout the foothills totaling 18,960 acres. There are five incorporated cities within the county: Chico, Oroville, Gridley, Biggs, and the Town of Paradise. Additionally, there are several