Preliminary Mitigated Negative Declaration Date: July 29, 2020 Case No.: 2016-011136ENV Project Address: Southeast Bay Outfall Islais Creek Crossing Replacement Project Zoning: M-2 Heavy Industrial and PDR-2 Production, Distri- bution, and Repair Use Districts Block/Lot Not Applicable Lot Size Not Applicable Project Sponsor Sue Chau, San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (415) 554-3238 Lead Agency San Francisco Planning Department Staff Contact: Julie Moore - (415) 575-8733 [email protected] Project Description: The San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC) is proposing the Southeast Bay Outfall Islais Creek Crossing Replacement Project (proposed project) to improve the reliability of the Southeast Bay Outfall system, which transports treated effluent from the Southeast Water Pollution Control Plant to the San Francisco Bay. The proposed project would replace a segment of the system, comprised of two parallel pipelines that cross Islais Creek, just west of Third Street in the Bayview-Hunter’s Point neighborhood. The existing pipelines beneath Islais Creek are deteriorating and have reached the end of their useful life. In June 2019, as part of an emergency project, SFPUC decommissioned one of the pipes and installed a temporary high-density polyethylene bypass pipeline across Islais Creek. The proposed project consists of installing of two new permanent high-density polyethylene and steel pipelines beneath and immediately adjacent to Islais Creek. As part of the proposed project, the remaining in-service ductile iron pipeline beneath Islais Creek would be abandoned in place and the temporary bypass pipeline would be removed. Construction of the proposed project would require an approximately 3.5-year period, expected to begin in 2021, and would take approximately 27 months of active construction. Construction would require temporary closure of Islais Creek Park and Tulare Park. Finding: This project could not have a significant effect on the environment. This finding is based upon the criteria of the Guidelines of the State Secretary for Resources, Sections 15064 (Determining Significant Effect), 15065 (Man- datory Findings of Significance), and 15070 (Decision to prepare a Negative Declaration), and the following reasons as documented in the Initial Evaluation (Initial Study) for the project, which is attached. Mitigation measures are in- cluded in this project to avoid potentially significant effects. See pages 203 through 206. This page intentionally left blank. Initial Study INITIAL STUDY Southeast Bay Outfall Islais Creek Crossing Replacement Project Planning Department Case No. 2016-011136ENV Table of Contents GLOSSARY ....................................................................................................................................... v A. PROJECT DESCRIPTION ...................................................................................................... 1 Overview .................................................................................................................. 1 Project Site and Location ........................................................................................ 1 Background .............................................................................................................. 3 Project Purpose and Need...................................................................................... 4 Project Components ................................................................................................ 6 Project Construction ............................................................................................. 13 Operations and Maintenance .............................................................................. 32 Regulatory Actions and Approvals .................................................................... 32 B. PROJECT SETTING .............................................................................................................. 35 Islais Creek and Vicinity ...................................................................................... 35 C. COMPATIBILITY WITH EXISTING ZONING AND PLANS ....................................... 42 City and County of San Francisco Plans and Policies ...................................... 42 SFPUC Plans and Policies .................................................................................... 45 Other Plans ............................................................................................................. 46 Regional Plans and Policies ................................................................................. 48 Approvals and Permits ........................................................................................ 49 D. SUMMARY OF ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS AND APPROACH TO ANALYSIS ............................................................................................................................. 50 Summary of Environmental Effects ................................................................... 50 Approach to Analysis ........................................................................................... 50 E. EVALUATION OF ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS ........................................................ 51 Land Use and Planning ........................................................................................ 51 Aesthetics ............................................................................................................... 54 Population and Housing ...................................................................................... 62 Cultural Resources ................................................................................................ 65 Case No. 2016-011136ENV i Southeast Bay Outfall Islais Creek Crossing Replacement Project Initial Study Tribal Cultural Resources .................................................................................... 70 Transportation and Circulation .......................................................................... 72 Noise ....................................................................................................................... 85 Air Quality ............................................................................................................. 98 Greenhouse Gas Emissions ................................................................................ 115 Wind ...................................................................................................................... 119 Shadow ................................................................................................................. 120 Recreation ............................................................................................................. 121 Utilities and Service Systems ............................................................................. 126 Public Services ..................................................................................................... 133 Biological Resources ........................................................................................... 136 Geology and Soils ................................................................................................ 165 Hydrology and Water Quality .......................................................................... 176 Hazards and Hazardous Materials ................................................................... 188 Mineral Resources ............................................................................................... 194 Energy ................................................................................................................... 195 Agriculture and Forest Resources .................................................................... 197 Wildfire ................................................................................................................. 199 Mandatory Findings of Significance ................................................................ 200 F. MITIGATION MEASURES ............................................................................................... 203 G. PUBLIC NOTICE AND COMMENT ............................................................................... 207 H. DETERMINATION ............................................................................................................ 208 I. INITIAL STUDY PREPARERS.......................................................................................... 209 Appendices A SFPUC Standard Construction Measures B Special-Status Wildlife Species Table C Special-Status Plant Species Table Case No. 2016-011136ENV ii Southeast Bay Outfall Islais Creek Crossing Replacement Project Initial Study List of Figures Figure 1. Proposed Project Location and Vicinity ....................................................................... 2 Figure 2. Southeast Bay Outfall System ........................................................................................ 5 Figure 3. Proposed Project Components ...................................................................................... 7 Figure 4. Proposed Pipeline Profile View ..................................................................................... 8 Figure 5. Staging Areas and Construction Truck Routes ......................................................... 22 Figure 6. Cumulative Projects ..................................................................................................... 37 Figure 7.