Draft Initial Study/Proposed Mitigated Negative Declaration for the Rolls-Royce Engine Services-Oakland Inc. Test Cell Upgrade Project OAKLAND, ALAMEDA COUNTY, CALIFORNIA Prepared for: Port of Oakland 530 Water Street Oakland, California 94607 Contact: Colleen Liang Port Environmental Scientist [email protected] Date: April 2013 TABLE OF CONTENTS 1.0 INTRODUCTION AND PURPOSE ......................................................................................... 1 2.0 PROJECT INFORMATION ..................................................................................................... 1 2.1 PROJECT TITLE ..................................................................................................................... 1 2.2 LEAD AGENCY NAME AND ADDRESS ....................................................................................... 1 2.3 CONTACT PERSON AND PHONE NUMBER ............................................................................... 1 2.4 PROJECT LOCATION .............................................................................................................. 2 2.5 GENERAL PLAN DESIGNATION AND ZONING DISTRICT ............................................................. 2 2.6 SURROUNDING LAND USES AND SETTING ............................................................................... 2 3.0 PROJECT DESCRIPTION ..................................................................................................... 5 3.1 PROJECT CONTEXT ............................................................................................................... 5 3.2 PROJECT DESCRIPTION ......................................................................................................... 5 3.3 PROJECT–RELATED APPROVALS, AGREEMENTS, AND PERMITS .............................................. 6 3.4 PROJECT SCHEDULE ............................................................................................................. 6 4.0 ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS POTENTIALLY AFFECTED .............................................. 15 4.1 AESTHETICS ........................................................................................................................ 17 4.2 AGRICULTURE AND FORESTRY RESOURCES ......................................................................... 18 4.3 AIR QUALITY ....................................................................................................................... 19 4.4 BIOLOGICAL RESOURCES .................................................................................................... 25 4.5 CULTURAL RESOURCES ....................................................................................................... 40 4.6 GEOLOGY AND SOILS .......................................................................................................... 44 4.7 GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS ............................................................................................ 47 4.8 HAZARDS AND HAZARDOUS MATERIALS ............................................................................... 49 4.9 HYDROLOGY AND WATER QUALITY ...................................................................................... 54 4.10 LAND USE AND PLANNING .................................................................................................. 57 4.11 MINERAL RESOURCES ....................................................................................................... 62 4.12 NOISE ............................................................................................................................... 63 4.13 POPULATION AND HOUSING ............................................................................................... 75 4.14 PUBLIC SERVICES ............................................................................................................. 76 4.15 RECREATION ..................................................................................................................... 77 4.16 TRANSPORTATION/TRAFFIC ............................................................................................... 78 4.17 UTILITIES AND SERVICE SYSTEMS ...................................................................................... 81 4.18 MANDATORY FINDINGS OF SIGNIFICANCE ........................................................................... 84 5.0 REFERENCES ..................................................................................................................... 86 CHECKLIST INFORMATION SOURCES .......................................................................................... 86 SETTING REFERENCES .............................................................................................................. 87 6.0 LIST OF ACRONYMS .......................................................................................................... 89 LIST OF FIGURES FIGURE 1. PROJECT AREA LOCATION MAP ...................................................................................... 3 FIGURE 2. AERIAL OF THE PROJECT AREA ...................................................................................... 4 FIGURE 3A. TEST CELL WALL ELEVATIONS ..................................................................................... 7 FIGURE 3B. TEST CELL GROUND FLOOR PLAN ................................................................................ 8 FIGURE 4A. TEST CELL GROUND FLOOR SECTIONS (INDOOR/OUTDOOR) ......................................... 9 FIGURE 4B. OUTDOOR AREA PLAN ................................................................................................ 10 i FIGURE 4C. OUTDOOR TEST CELL SECTIONS AND DETAILS ........................................................... 11 FIGURE 4D. OUTDOOR OIL/WATER SEPARATOR ............................................................................ 12 FIGURE 4E. OUTDOOR HOLDING TANK .......................................................................................... 13 FIGURE 5. BIOLOGICAL COMMUNITIES IN THE STUDY AREA ............................................................ 30 FIGURE 6. CNDDB PLANT OCCURRENCES WITHIN 2 MILES OF PROJECT AREA .............................. 32 FIGURE 7. CNDDB WILDLIFE OCCURRENCES WITHIN 2 MILES OF PROJECT AREA ......................... 33 FIGURE 8. AMBIENT NOISE MEASUREMENT ................................................................................... 70 FIGURE 9. LONG-TERM NOISE MEASUREMENT, LOCATION 1 .......................................................... 71 FIGURE 10. LONG-TERM NOISE MEASUREMENT, LOCATION 2 ........................................................ 71 LIST OF TABLES TABLE 1. TEST CELL PROJECT CONSTRUCTION EMISSIONS ESTIMATE ........................................... 22 TABLE 2. TEST CELL PROJECT – CHANGES IN OPERATING EMISSIONS ........................................... 23 TABLE 3. WILDLIFE AND PLANT SPECIES OBSERVED IN THE STUDY AREA ...................................... 27 TABLE 4. SUMMARY OF BIOLOGICAL COMMUNITIES WITHIN THE STUDY AREA. ................................ 29 TABLE 5. MAXIMUM ALLOWABLE RECEIVING NOISE LEVEL STANDARDS (DBA) ............................... 65 TABLE 6. MAXIMUM ALLOWABLE RECEIVING NOISE LEVEL STANDARDS FROM TEMPORARY CONSTRUCTION OR DEMOLITION (DBA) ......................................................................................... 66 TABLE 7. ALAMEDA COUNTY ALUC NOISE COMPATIBILITY CRITERIA ............................................. 68 TABLE 8. OAKLAND GENERAL PLAN NOISE LAND USE COMPATIBILITY MATRIX ............................... 69 TABLE 9. SHORT-TERM AMBIENT NOISE MEASUREMENTS, 8 JANUARY 2013 .................................. 72 TABLE 10. CONSTRUCTION EQUIPMENT NOISE GENERATION ......................................................... 74 LIST OF APPENDICES APPENDIX A. BIOLOGICAL RESOURCES APPENDIX B. MITIGATION MONITORING AND REPORTING PROGRAM ii 1.0 INTRODUCTION AND PURPOSE This Initial Study/Proposed Mitigated Negative Declaration of environmental impacts is being prepared to conform to the requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Statute and Guidelines (California Code of Regulations 15000 et. seq.). This Initial Study/Proposed Mitigated Negative Declaration evaluates the potential environmental impacts which might reasonably be anticipated to result from implementation of the Rolls-Royce Engine Services – Oakland Inc. (RRESO) Test Cell Upgrade Project (Proposed Project). The Port of Oakland (Port) is the Lead Agency as defined under CEQA Guidelines Section 15050. Per CEQA Guidelines 15300.2(e), a categorical exemption shall not be used for a project located on a site which is included on any list compiled pursuant to Section 65962.5 of the Government Code. The provisions in Government Code Section 65962.5 are commonly referred to as the "Cortese List" (after the Legislator who authored the legislation that enacted it) and relate to hazardous material sites. The list, or a site's presence on the list, has bearing on the local permitting process as well as on compliance with the CEQA. The Proposed Project cannot qualify for a categorical exemption because the site is listed on the Cortese list. The purpose of an Initial Study is to provide the Lead Agency with information to use as the basis for deciding whether to prepare and Environmental Impact Report or a Negative Declaration for the Proposed Project. A Negative Declaration briefly describes the reason that a Proposed Project would result in a significant effect on the environment, and