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HomeMy WebLinkAbout6 District Pipeline Replacement CEQA Agenda Item # PublicDONNER Memorandum To: Board of Directors From: Neil Kaufman Date: December 13, 2007 Subject: CEQA Review of the District Pipeline Replacement- 2008 Project 1. WHY THIS MATTER IS BEFORE THE BOARD The Board previously scheduled a public hearing regarding the CEQA review of the District Pipeline Replacement- 2008 project for December 19, 2007. 2. HISTORY In 2005 and 2006, the Water Department made some presentations regarding the condition of existing water pipelines and the need to pursue a pipeline replacement program. This pipeline replacement program is part of the District's Objective No. 1 — Provide an adequate, reliable, and high quality water supply and distribution system to meet current and future needs and Objective No. 5 — Manage the District in an environmentally sound manner. Specific goals under these objectives are Goal No. 1.4 — Provide effective and efficient maintenance and replacement programs; Goal No. 5.4 — The District will conduct its business in an environmentally lawful manner and Goal No. 5.6 — The District will seek to minimize any negative impact of its operations on the environment. The District subsequently issued a COP in 2006 and dedicated a portion of those funds for the pipeline replacement program. Pipeline construction projects have been undertaken during 2006 and 2007 as part of this program. At the September 19, 2007 Board Meeting, Ed Taylor made a presentation regarding planned Water Department Capital Expenditures for 2008. This presentation included a discussion of the planned pipeline replacement projects. The planned 2008 pipeline construction covers about 16,500 feet of pipeline. These pipeline alignments are shown on Figure 1. A number of these pipeline alignments involve replacement of the existing pipe with a new pipe of the same size. These pipelines are Categorically Exempt from review under CEQA. However, some of the existing pipelines are too small and need to be upsized. These pipelines require a CEQA review. On October 3, 2007, the Board approved a contract with Inland Ecosystems to perform this CEQA work. On December 5, 2007, the CEQA Initial Study was presented to the Board and approved. The Board scheduled a public hearing for the CEQA review to be held on December 19, 2007. 3. NEW INFORMATION The project is currently in the 30 day public review period. The District has not received any comments regarding the project and there is no new information at this time. The Water Department staff is finalizing the Bid Documents and will respond to any comments that occur through the CEQA process. 4. SOURCE OF FUNDING Funding of the CEQA preparation was addressed when the contract with Inland Ecosystems was approved. Additional funding is not needed. 5. RECOMMENDATION There is n ommendatio this time. _ ;/ Ed ta lor, Water Utility Manager o n Ulrich, Interim GM