OCEAN OUTFALL SYSTEM REHABILITATION/OUTFALL LOW FLOW PUMP STATION (PROJECT NO. J-117B) Initial Study/Mitigated Negative Declaration Prepared for July 2017 Orange County Sanitation District OCEAN OUTFALL SYSTEM REHABILITATION/OUTFALL LOW FLOW PUMP STATION (PROJECT NO. J-117B) Initial Study/Mitigated Negative Declaration Prepared for July 2017 Orange County Sanitation District 626 Wilshire Boulevard Suite 1100 Los Angeles, CA 90017 213.599.4300 www.esassoc.com Camarillo Portland Irvine Sacramento Los Angeles San Diego Oakland San Francisco Orlando Santa Monica Pasadena Seattle Petaluma Tampa 161009 OUR COMMITMENT TO SUSTAINABILITY | ESA helps a variety of public and private sector clients plan and prepare for climate change and emerging regulations that limit GHG emissions. ESA is a registered assessor with the California Climate Action Registry, a Climate Leader, and founding reporter for the Climate Registry. 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TABLE OF CONTENTS Ocean Outfall System Rehabilitation/Outfall Low Flow Pump Station (Project No. J-117B) Initial Study/Mitigated Negative Declaration Page Section 1: Introduction ............................................................................................................ 1 1.1 Statutory Authority and Requirements .................................................................... 1 1.2 Purpose ................................................................................................................... 1 1.3 Incorporation by Reference ..................................................................................... 2 Section 2: Project Description ............................................................................................... 2 2.1 Project Location and Setting ................................................................................... 2 2.2 Description of Project Elements .............................................................................. 5 2.3 Project Construction ................................................................................................ 9 2.4 Project Operation and Maintenance ..................................................................... 10 2.5 Project Approvals .................................................................................................. 10 Section 3: Initial Study Checklist ......................................................................................... 11 3.1 Background ........................................................................................................... 11 3.2 Environmental Factors Potentially Affected .......................................................... 12 Section 4: Environmental Analysis...................................................................................... 13 4.1 Aesthetics .............................................................................................................. 14 4.2 Agricultural and Forest Resources ........................................................................ 17 4.3 Air Quality .............................................................................................................. 19 4.4 Biological Resources ............................................................................................. 38 4.5 Cultural Resources ................................................................................................ 43 4.6 Geology, Soils, and Seismicity .............................................................................. 52 4.8 Hazards and Hazardous Materials ........................................................................ 64 4.9 Hydrology and Water Quality ................................................................................ 68 4.10 Land Use and Land Use Planning ...................................................................... 73 4.11 Mineral Resources .............................................................................................. 75 4.12 Noise ................................................................................................................... 76 4.13 Population and Housing ...................................................................................... 84 4.14 Public Services .................................................................................................... 86 4.15 Recreation ........................................................................................................... 88 4.16 Transportation and Traffic ................................................................................... 89 4.17 Tribal Cultural Resources.................................................................................... 92 4.18 Utilities and Service Systems .............................................................................. 94 4.19 Energy ................................................................................................................. 97 4.20 Mandatory Findings of Significance .................................................................... 99 Ocean Outfall System Rehabilitation/ i ESA / 161009 Outfall Low Flow Pump Station (Project No. J-117B) July 2017 Page Appendices A. Air Quality Modeling Data ............................................................................................. A-1 B. Biological Data Search Results .................................................................................... B-1 C. Greenhouse Gas Modeling Data .................................................................................. C-1 List of Figures Figure 1 Regional Location ...................................................................................................... 3 Figure 2 Site Location ............................................................................................................... 4 Figure 3 Joint LOFLO PS/PWPS Facility Layout ..................................................................... 6 List of Tables Table 1 Ambient Air Quality Standards for Criteria Pollutants .............................................. 21 Table 2 Air Quality Data Summary (2012 – 2014) for Project Area ..................................... 23 Table 3 South Coast Air Basin Attainment Status ................................................................ 24 Table 4 SCAQMD Air Quality Significance Thresholds ........................................................ 28 Table 5 Proposed Project: Regional Construction Emissions .............................................. 31 Table 6 Proposed Regional Operational Emissions ............................................................. 32 Table 7 Proposed Project Unmitigated Localized Daily Construction Emissions ................. 34 Table 8 Proposed Project Unmitigated Localized Daily Operational Emissions .................. 35 Table 9 Previous Cultural Resources Investigations including the Project Area .................. 44 Table 10 Previously Recorded Cultural Resources within 0.5 Mile of the Project Area ......... 44 Table 11 Estimated Construction- and Operations-Related GHG Emissions ........................ 62 Table 12 Huntington Beach Exterior Noise Standards ........................................................... 77 Table 13 Construction Equipment Noise Emission Levels ..................................................... 79 Table 14 Huntington Beach Exterior Noise Standards ........................................................... 80 Table 15 Vibration Source Levels for Construction Equipment .............................................. 81 Ocean Outfall System Rehabilitation/ ii ESA / 161009 Outfall Low Flow Pump Station (Project No. J-117B) July 2017 Section 1: Introduction The Orange County Sanitation District (OCSD) proposes to implement Ocean Outfall System Rehabilitation/Outfall Low Flow Pump Station (Project No. J-117B; referred to herein as the “proposed project”) at their Plant 2 wastewater treatment facility located in Huntington Beach, California. The existing Ocean Outfall System (OOS) at Plant 2 consists of various facilities including the Ocean Outfall Booster Station (OOBS). After over 25 years of operation, much of the OOBS and the Effluent Pump Station Annex (EPSA) equipment at Plant 2 are at the end of their useful life. In addition, the OOBS is currently oversized for dry weather flows due to advances in water reclamation, necessitating construction of the Low Flow Pump Station as well as a new Plant Water Pump Station. 1.1 Statutory Authority and Requirements In accordance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) (Public Resources Code Sections 21000–21177) and pursuant to Section 15063 of Title 14 of the California Code of Regulations (CCR), OCSD, acting in the capacity of Lead Agency, is required to undertake the preparation of an Initial Study (IS) to determine if the proposed project would have a significant environmental impact. If a Lead Agency finds that there is no evidence that a project, either as proposed or as modified to include the mitigation measures identified in the IS, may cause a significant effect on the environment, the Lead Agency must find that the project would not have a significant effect on the environment and must prepare a Negative Declaration or Mitigated Negative