Source: https://www.spn.usace.army.mil/Missions/Regulatory/Public-Notices/Article/1189074/spn-2002-267760-peyton-slough-remediation-project-shoreline-protection/
Timestamp: 2018-06-20 07:41:52
Document Index: 442903668

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 1344', '§ 403', '§ 1456', '§ 1531', '§ 1801', '§ 1344']

SPN-2002-267760 Peyton Slough Remediation Project Shoreline Protection > San Francisco District > Public Notices
SPN-2002-267760 Peyton Slough Remediation Project Shoreline Protection
Eco Services Operations Corporation, through its agent, AECOM (POC: Jan Novak, 510-874-1733), 300 Lakeside Drive, Suite 400, Oakland, California 94612, has applied to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), San Francisco District, for a Department of the Army Permit to discharge fill material into jurisdictional waters of the United States associated with the construction of shoreline protection where ongoing wave erosion threatens to expose contaminated sediments that were buried as part of the Peyton Slough Remediation Project and to erode tidal salt marsh habitat, located on the southern shore of Carquinez Strait, in the City of Martinez, Contra Costa County, California. This Department of the Army permit application is being processed pursuant to the provisions of Section 404 of the Clean Water Act of 1972, as amended (33 U.S.C. § 1344 et seq.) and Section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899, as amended (33 U.S.C. § 403 et seq.).
Project Site Location: 100 Mococo Road, City of Martinez, Contra Costa County, California; APN 159-320-008, 159-320-009, 159-320-003, 159-310-039, 159-320-004, 159-330-002, and 159-310-038; Vine Hill USGS Quadrangle Map, lat. 38.031936N, -122.110793W (Figure 1).
Project Site Description: The project site is a brackish tidal marsh, bordered on the north by the Carquinez Strait, where past land uses included a copper processing facility that left legacy contamination some of which was remediated per Regional Water Quality Control Board order (RWQCB Order No. 01-094). The remediation project dredged contaminated sediments from the old Peyton Slough, filled and capped the slough and dredged a new slough parallel to, and approximately 400 feet east of, the original slough. An armored bulkhead was placed to protect the remediation cap, but over the last ten years ongoing erosion has threatened the bulkhead and the cap. The project area contains 87.27 acres of jurisdictional waters of the U.S. pursuant to Section 404 of the Clean Water Act that is comprised of 66.18 acres of tidal wetlands and 11.03 acres of other waters. In addition, the project area contains 10.06 acres of waters of the U.S jurisdictional pursuant to Section 10 of the Rivers and Harbor Act.
Project Description: As shown in Figures 2 through 4, the applicant proposes to install shoreline protection along the northern edge of the project area, which would protect the previously placed remediation cap and bulkhead located at the original Peyton Slough and would additionally protect the tidal wetlands along 800 linear feet of shoreline from erosion along this section of the Carquinez Strait. Approximately 3,300 cubic yards of rock fill would be placed within an area of 0.56 acres of jurisdictional waters of the U.S. Periodic maintenance of this protection may be required over time, of up to 0.23 acres over ten years, which would be included under a separate permit authorization.
Basic Project Purpose: The basic project purpose comprises the fundamental, essential, or irreducible purpose of the project, and is used by USACE to determine whether the project is water dependent. The basic project purpose is to provide shoreline protection from erosion at a site within Carquinez Strait and therefore the project is water dependent.
Overall Project Purpose: The overall project purpose serves as the basis for the Section 404(b)(1) alternatives analysis, and is determined by further defining the basic project purpose in a manner that more specifically describes the applicant's goals for the project, while allowing a reasonable range of alternatives to be analyzed. The overall project purpose is to prevent erosion along the shoreline at Peyton Slough Marsh, in Martinez, California, from exposing contaminated sediments that have been capped within the former Peyton slough, while also protecting the tidal wetlands that occur within the project area.
Project Impacts: Work within Waters of the U.S. would include placing approximately 1,380 cubic yards of rock slope protection (RSP), permanently impacting approximately 0.14 acre of tidal wetland, and placing approximately 1,920 cubic yards of RSP that would permanently impact up to 0.33 acre of non-wetland other waters. The project would also temporarily impact up to 0.62 acres of tidal wetlands.
Proposed Mitigation: The applicant is preparing a mitigation plan that it will provide to the U.S. Army Corps. The plan would compensate for the unavoidable impacts to wetlands and otherwaters of the U.S.
Project Alternatives: The Corps has not endorsed the submitted alternatives analysis at this time. The Corps will conduct an indpendent review of the project alternatives prior to reaching a final permit decision.
Coastal Zone Management: Section 307(c) of the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972, as amended (16 U.S.C. § 1456(c) et seq.), requires a non-Federal applicant seeking a federal license or permit to conduct any activity occurring in or affecting the coastal zone to obtain a Consistency Certification that indicates the activity conforms with the State’s coastal zone management program. Generally, no federal license or permit will be granted until the appropriate State agency has issued a Consistency Certification or has waived its right to do so. Since the project occurs in the coastal zone or may affect coastal zone resources, the applicant has applied for a Consistency Certification from the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission to comply with this requirement.
Other Local Approvals: The applicant will be applying for the following additional governmental authorizations for the project: a California Department of Fish and Wildlife Section 2081 Incidental Take Authorization.
Endangered Species Act (ESA): Section 7(a)(2) of the ESA of 1973, as amended (16 U.S.C. § 1531 et seq.), requires Federal agencies to consult with either the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) or the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) to ensure actions authorized, funded, or undertaken by the agency are not likely to jeopardize the continued existence of any Federally-listed species or result in the adverse modification of designated critical habitat. As the Federal lead agency for this project, USACE has conducted a review of the California Natural Diversity Data Base, digital maps prepared by USFWS and NMFS depicting critical habitat, and other information provided by the applicant, to determine the presence or absence of such species and critical habitat in the project area. Based on this review, USACE has made a preliminary determination that the following Federally-listed species and designated critical habitat are present at the project location or in its vicinity, and may be affected by project implementation. The project area contains Federally-listed threatened California Central Coast Steelhead (Oncorhynchus mykiss), threatened California Central Valley Steelhead (Oncorhynchus mykiss) and its critical habitat, the endangered Sacramento River Winter-Run Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tsawytscha) and its critical habitat, the threatened Central Valley Spring Run Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tsawytscha) and its critical habitat, the threatened North American Green Sturgeon (Acipenser medirostris) and its critical habitat, the threatened Delta smelt (Hypomesus transpacificus) and its critical habitat, the endangered Ridgway’s rail (Rallus longirostris obsoletus) and the endangered Salt-marsh harvest mouse (Reithrodontomys raviventris). The overall project would permanently impact species habitat (approximately 0.34 acres of aquatic habitat and 0.14 acres of marsh habitat) through the placement of RSP, and would temporarily impact 0.62 acres of tidal marsh habitat during the construction of the project. Project activities have the potential to harm or crush individual species, and to harass species through noise and visual impacts. Conservation measures would be employed to avoid and minimize impacts to species. To address project related impacts to these species and designated critical habitat, USACE will initiate formal consultation with USFWS and NMFS, pursuant to Section 7(a) of the Act. Any required consultation must be concluded prior to the issuance of a Department of the Army Permit for the project.
Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (MSFCMA): Section 305(b)(2) of the MSFCMA of 1966, as amended (16 U.S.C. § 1801 et seq.), requires Federal agencies to consult with the NMFS on all proposed actions authorized, funded, or undertaken by the agency that may adversely affect essential fish habitat (EFH). EFH is defined as those waters and substrate necessary for fish for spawning, breeding, feeding, or growth to maturity. EFH is designated only for those species managed under a Federal Fisheries Management Plan (FMP), such as the Pacific Groundfish FMP, the Coastal Pelagics FMP, and the Pacific Coast Salmon FMP. As the Federal lead agency for this project, USACE has conducted a review of digital maps prepared by NMFS depicting EFH to determine the presence or absence of EFH in the project area. Based on this review, USACE has made a preliminary determination that EFH is present at the project location or in its vicinity, and that the critical elements of EFH may be adversely affected by project implementation. The project would have an adverse effect on EFH for species managed under the Pacific Groundfish Fishery Management Plan, Coastal Pelagics Fishery Management Plan, and Pacific Coast Salmon Fishery Management Plan through the temporary disturbance of benthic habitat during the placement of rock protection and would permanently impact the shoreline along Carquinez Strait. To address project related impacts to EFH, USACE will initiate consultation with NMFS, pursuant to Section 305(5(b)(2) of the Act. Any required consultation must be concluded prior to the issuance of a Department of the Army Permit for the project.
Projects resulting in discharges of dredged or fill material into waters of the United States must comply with the Guidelines promulgated by the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency under Section 404(b) of the Clean Water Act (33 U.S.C. § 1344(b)). An evaluation pursuant to the Guidelines indicates the project is dependent on location in or proximity to waters of the United States to achieve the basic project purpose. This conclusion raises the (rebuttable) presumption of the availability of a practicable alternative to the project that would result in less adverse impact to the aquatic ecosystem, while not causing other major adverse environmental consequences. The applicant has been informed to submit an analysis of project alternatives to be reviewed for compliance with the Guidelines.
During the specified comment period, interested parties may submit written comments to Frances Malamud-Roam, San Francisco District, Regulatory Division, 1455 Market Street, 16th Floor, San Francisco, California 94103-1398; comment letters should cite the project name, applicant name, and public notice number to facilitate review by the Regulatory Permit Manager. Comments may include a request for a public hearing on the project prior to a determination on the Department of the Army permit application; such requests shall state, with particularity, the reasons for holding a public hearing. All substantive comments will be forwarded to the applicant for resolution or rebuttal. Additional project information or details on any subsequent project modifications of a minor nature may be obtained from the applicant and/or agent, or by contacting the Regulatory Permit Manager by telephone or e-mail cited in the public notice letterhead. An electronic version of this public notice may be viewed under the Public Notices tab on the USACE website: http://www.spn.usace.army.mil/Missions/Regulatory