ENVIRONMENTAL INITIAL STUDY INITIAL STUDY CHECKLIST PROPOSED MITIGATED NEGATIVE DECLARATION Caccavo Cannabis Cultivation Conditional Use Permit and Variance Cannabis Cultivation Use Permit No.: CCUPT3-2018-001 Prepared by: Trinity County Department of Planning 61 Airport Road Weaverville, California 96093 (530) 623-1351 October 2020 Revised March 2021 Table of Contents Trinity County Environmental Checklist Form ........................................................................................................................... ii Section 1 Introduction and Purpose .................................................................................................................................. 1 1.1 Introduction 1.2 Lead Agency 1.3 Purpose of the Initial Study 1.4 Regulatory Background 1.5 Incorporation by Reference 1.6 Project Environmental Studies 1.7 Environmental Review Process Section 2 Project Description ............................................................................................................................................. 6 2.1 Project Location and Setting 2.2 Proposed Uses Section 3 Environmental Impacts and Mitigation Measures ...................................................................................... 1618 I. Aesthetics II. Agricultural Resources III. Air Quality IV. Biological Resources V. Cultural Resources VI. Energy VII. Geology and Soils VIII. Greenhouse Gas Emissions IX. Hazards and Hazardous Materials X. Hydrology and Water Quality XI. Land Use and Planning XII. Mineral Resources XIII. Noise XIV. Population and Housing XV. Public Services XVI. Recreation XVII. Transportation and Traffic XVIII. Tribal Cultural Resources XIX. Utilities and Service Systems XX. Wildfire XXI. Mandatory Findings of Significance Section 4 CEQA Determination .................................................................................................................................... 7177 Section 5 Technical Appendix ...................................................................................................................................... 7278 List of Figures Figure 1 – Project Location Figure 2 – Project Plans (Figures 2a through 2d) List of Tables Table 1 – Proposed Project Estimated Water Use Table 21 – Criteria Air Pollutants - Summary of Common Sources and Effects Table 32 – Maximum Allowable Noise Exposure-Stationary Noise Sources CCUPT3-2018-001 i October 2020Revised March 2021 Trinity County Environmental Checklist Form 1. Project Title: Caccavo Cannabis Cultivation Conditional Use Permit and Variance (CCUPT3-2018-001) 2. Lead Agency Name and Address: Trinity County Department of Planning 61 Airport Road Weaverville, CA 96093 3. Contact Person and Phone Number: Kim Hunter, Director of Building and Planning (530) 623-1351 Ext. 2 4. Project Location: The proposed project is located at in an unincorporated part of Trinity County, approximately 6 miles northeast of the unincorporated community of Hayfork, California. The project is located at 3800 Barker Creek Road, Hayfork, California on Trinity County Assessor Parcel Number (APN) 015-030-01, approximately 640 acres in size. Refer to Figure 1 (Project Location) and Figure 2 (Project Plans) for specific information on the project location and activities. 5. Applicant’s Name and Address: Olivia Caccavo PO Box 1420 Hayfork, CA 96041 6. General Plan Designation: Resource (RE) 7. Zoning: Unclassified (U) 8. Description of Project: The purpose of this project is to expand cannabis cultivation operations on the project site as a permitted use under the County’s cannabis ordinances. The applicant is currently licensed to cultivate up to 10,000 square feet (sq ft) of cannabis canopy area (Type 2, Mixed-Light – Small) on the project site and the applicant is applying for an expansion to allow up to one-acre (43,560 sq ft) of outdoor and/or mixed-light cannabis canopy area. To allow the expansion of up to one-acre of outdoor and/or mixed-light canopy, the applicant is applying for a Type 3 (Outdoor - Medium) license or multiple Type 2 (Mixed-Light - Small) licenses. The mixed-light cultivation activity would not require artificial lighting or additional electricity use. It is proposed to occur with the use of blackout tarps (light deprivation) to allow the applicant to have multiple harvests during the growing season. 9. Surrounding Land Uses and Setting: The parcels immediately surrounding the project are designated by the County’s General Plan as a part of the Resource (RE) land designation, and are zoned as Unclassified (U). Each of the surrounding parcels is 640 acres and is vacant public land managed by the US Forest Service (USFS). Access to the site is provided via a USFS road. Vegetation in the area consists primarily of mixed conifer forest, with an even distribution between evergreen forest, oak woodland, and grassland. 10. Other public agencies whose approval is required (e.g., permits, financing approval, or participation agreement): Trinity County as Lead Agency for the proposed project has discretionary authority over the primary project proposal. To implement this project, the applicant may need to obtain, at a minimum, the following discretionary permits/approvals from other agencies: - California Department of Fish & Wildlife (Region 1) – Lake and Streambed Alteration Agreement - California Department of Food and Agriculture – Cannabis Cultivation License(s) - CALFIRE – Less Than 3 Acre Conversion Exemption - North Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board – 401 Water Quality Certification - State Division of Water Rights CCUPT3-2018-001 ii October 2020Revised March 2021 - State Water Resources Control Board - Cannabis General Order Waste Discharge Requirements (WDRs) or Waiver of WDRs - Trinity County Department of Environmental Health – Onsite Sewage Disposal System Permit - Trinity County Solid Waste - U.S. Army Corps of Engineers – 404 Permit 11. Tribal Consultation: Tribal consultation pursuant to AB 52 was initiated on July 9, 2019 with the Nor-Rel-Muk Nation, Wintu Tribe of Northern California, Wintu Educational and Cultural Council and the Redding Rancheria. No responses were received from these entities requesting initiation of consultation under the provisions of AB 52. 12. Purpose of this Document: This document analyzes the environmental impacts of the development of the proposed use of Cannabis Cultivation of up to one-acre and makes appropriate findings in accordance with Section 15070 of the State CEQA Guidelines. In addition, this document has been prepared to the degree of specificity appropriate to the current proposed action, as required by Section 15146 of the State CEQA Guidelines. The analysis considers the actions associated with the proposed project to determine the short-term and long-term effects associated with their implementation. CCUPT3-2018-001 iii October 2020Revised March 2021 Trinity County Environmental Initial Study Department of Planning Proposed Mitigated Negative Declaration Section 1 – Introduction and Purpose 1.1 Introduction This document is an Initial Study that summarizes the technical studies prepared for the proposed Caccavo Cannabis Cultivation Conditional Use Permit (CUP) and Variance and provides justification for a Mitigated Negative Declaration (MND). This document has been prepared in accordance with the current California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), Public Resources Code Section 21000 et seq., and the State CEQA Guidelines. The purpose of this document is to evaluate the potential environmental impacts of the proposed Caccavo Cannabis Cultivation Conditional Use Permit project. Mitigation measures have been proposed to avoid or minimize any significant impacts that were identified. 1.2 Lead Agency The Lead Agency is the public agency with primary responsibility for implementing a proposed project. Accordingly, Trinity County (County) is the CEQA Lead Agency. 1.3 Purpose of the Initial Study CEQA requires that public agencies document and consider the potential environmental effects of the agency’s actions that meet CEQA’s definition of a “project.” Briefly summarized, a “project” is an action that has the potential to result in direct or indirect physical changes in the environment. A project includes the agency’s direct activities as well as activities that involve public agency approvals or funding. Guidelines for an agency’s implementation of CEQA are found in the “CEQA Guidelines” (Title 14, Chapter 3 of the California Code of Regulations). Provided that a project is not exempt from CEQA, the first step in the agency’s consideration of its potential environmental effects is the preparation of an Initial Study. The purpose of an Initial Study is to determine whether the project would involve “significant” environmental effects, as defined by CEQA, and to describe feasible mitigation measures that would avoid significant effects or reduce them to a level that is less than significant. If the Initial Study does not identify significant effects, then the agency prepares a Negative Declaration. If the Initial Study notes significant effects but also identifies mitigation measures that would reduce these significant effects to a level that is less than significant, then the agency prepares a Mitigated Negative Declaration. If a project would involve significant effects that cannot be readily mitigated, then the agency must prepare an Environmental Impact Report. The agency may also decide to proceed directly with the preparation of an Environmental Impact