3 Department of Development Services Tim Snellings, Director Pete Calarco, Assistant Director 7 County Center Drive T: 530.552.3700 buttecounty.net/dds Oroville, California 95965 F: 530.538.7785 BUTTE COUNTY ZONING ADMINISTRATOR NOTICE OF INTENT TO ADOPT A MITIGATED NEGATIVE DECLARATION AND NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING BUTTE CREEK DIVERSION 55 FISH SCREEN PROJECT CEQA17-0006 NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that Butte County Zoning Administrator will conduct a public hearing to consider the Mitigated Negative Declaration for the Butte Creek Diversion 55 Fish Screen Project CEQA17-0006. The hearing will be held on August 15, 2018 at 10:00 am, or shortly thereafter, in the Butte County Development Services Conference Room, 7 County Center Drive, Oroville, California. The Butte Creek Diversion 55 Fish Screen Project includes the proposed installation of a retractable and self-cleaning fish screen system at the Butte Creek Diversion 55 (BC 55) site. The existing agricultural diversion is unscreened, and installation of the fish screen system would prevent the entrainment of special-status fish and would help meet the objectives of the Anadromous Fish Screen Program (AFSP). The AFSP is a program designed to protect juvenile anadromous fish from entrainment by encouraging water diversion screening and is administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) with oversight from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW). The site is located northeast of State Route (SR) 99, just southeast of the city of Chico, on Butte County, Assessor’s Parcel Number 040-400-004. The project is located in Township 21 North, Range 2 East, Mount Diablo Baseline and Meridian within the Chico U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) 7.5-minute topographic quadrangle. Butte County has prepared an Initial Study and is considering adoption of a Mitigated Negative Declaration pursuant to CEQA. The Initial Study/Mitigated Negative Declaration (IS/MND) and reference documents for the project are on file for public review and comment starting Thursday, July 5, 2018 through Friday, August 3, 2018, at the Butte County Planning Division, 7 County Center Drive, Oroville, CA. The IS/MND is also available for review on the County website at www.buttecounty.net/dds/Planning/CEQA.aspx. All persons are invited to review the documents. Comments regarding the project may be submitted in writing at any time prior to the hearing or orally at the scheduled hearing listed above or as may be continued to a later date. If you challenge the above project in court, you may be limited to raising only those issues you or someone else raised at the public hearing described in this notice or in written correspondence delivered to the Zoning Administrator at, or prior to the public hearing. For information, please contact Senior Planner Rowland Hickel, Butte County Development Services Department, Planning Division at (530) 552-3684 or [email protected]. In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, if you need special assistance to participate in the hearing, please contact us at (530) 552-3663. Notification at least 72 hours prior to the hearing will enable staff to make reasonable arrangements. BUTTE COUNTY ZONING ADMINISTRATOR TIM SNELLINGS, DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT SERVICES DRAFT BUTTE CREEK DIVERSION 55 FISH SCREEN PROJECT INITIAL STUDY P REPARED FOR: Butte County Department of Development Services 7 County Center Drive Oroville, CA 95965 Contact: Charles Thistlethwaite 530.538.6572 P REPARED BY: ICF 630 K Street, Suite 400 Sacramento, CA 95814 Contact: Ellen Unsworth 916.737.3000 June 2018 Butte County Department of Development Services. 2018. Butte Creek Diversion 55 Fish Screen Project Initial Study. Draft. June. Prepared by Butte County Department of Development Services with technical assistance from ICF. Oroville, CA. Contents List of Tables and Figures ...................................................................................................................... iv List of Acronyms and Abbreviations ...................................................................................................... vi Page Chapter 1 Introduction ...................................................................................................................... 1‐1 1.1 Project Purpose ................................................................................................................ 1‐1 1.2 Document Purpose and Use ............................................................................................ 1‐1 1.3 Project Area and Setting .................................................................................................. 1‐1 1.4 Project Background .......................................................................................................... 1‐2 1.5 Regulatory Compliance .................................................................................................... 1‐2 1.6 Document Organization ................................................................................................... 1‐2 Chapter 2 Project Description ........................................................................................................... 2‐1 2.1 Introduction ..................................................................................................................... 2‐1 2.2 Description of Proposed Project ...................................................................................... 2‐1 2.2.1 Project Features ............................................................................................................... 2‐1 2.2.2 Construction Methods and Activities .............................................................................. 2‐1 2.2.3 Site Access and Staging .................................................................................................... 2‐3 2.2.4 Construction Equipment and Personnel .......................................................................... 2‐3 2.2.5 Construction Schedule ..................................................................................................... 2‐4 2.2.6 Operation and Maintenance Activities ............................................................................ 2‐4 Chapter 3 Environmental Setting and Impacts ................................................................................ 1.6‐1 3.1 Introduction .................................................................................................................. 3.1‐1 3.2 Resources Not Likely to Be Affected ............................................................................. 3.2‐1 3.2.1 Aesthetics ...................................................................................................................... 3.2‐1 3.2.2 Agriculture and Forestry Resources .............................................................................. 3.2‐1 3.2.3 Geology and Soils .......................................................................................................... 3.2‐1 3.2.4 Land Use and Planning .................................................................................................. 3.2‐2 3.2.5 Mineral Resources ........................................................................................................ 3.2‐2 3.2.6 Population and Housing ................................................................................................ 3.2‐2 3.2.7 Public Services ............................................................................................................... 3.2‐2 3.2.8 Recreation ..................................................................................................................... 3.2‐2 3.2.9 Transportation and Traffic ............................................................................................ 3.2‐3 3.2.10 Utilities and Service Systems ........................................................................................ 3.2‐3 3.2.11 Growth Inducement ...................................................................................................... 3.2‐3 Butte Creek Diversion 55 Fish Screen Project Initial Study June 2018 i Draft ICF 00504.13 Butte County Department of Development Services Introduction 3.3 Hydrology and Water Quality ....................................................................................... 3.3‐1 Existing Conditions ........................................................................................................ 3.3‐1 Regulatory Setting ........................................................................................................ 3.3‐3 Environmental Effects ................................................................................................... 3.3‐9 3.4 Biological Resources ..................................................................................................... 3.4‐1 3.4.1 Methods ........................................................................................................................ 3.4‐1 3.4.2 Existing Conditions ........................................................................................................ 3.4‐1 3.4.3 Regulatory Setting ........................................................................................................ 3.4‐2 3.4.4 Sensitive Biological Resources ...................................................................................... 3.4‐9 3.4.5 Environmental Effects ................................................................................................