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HomeMy WebLinkAbout7 CEQA mitigated Negative Declaration Agenda Item # 7 Public Utility District ACTION To: Board of Directors From: Joe Horvath Date: August 05, 2009 Subject: Approval of the CEQA Mitigated Negative Declaration for the Electric System Master Plan and Adoption of the Electric System Master Plan 1. WHY THIS MATTER IS BEFORE THE BOARD Board action is required to adopt a final Mitigated Negative Declaration and file a Notice of Determination under CEQA. Board action is also required to formally adopt the Electric System Master Plan. 2. HISTORY The Electric System Master Plan is a comprehensive planning report providing information on existing District electric system facilities and the current level of service provided to District customers. On May 29, 2008, the Board approved the selection of Electrical Consultants Inc. (ECI) to prepare the Electric System Master Plan report for the District. Major milestones in the history of this project to date include: February 18, 2009 - Workshop to discuss the completed Master Plan report May, 2009 - CEQA Initial Study prepared by Inland Ecosystems June 17, 2009 - Board approval of the CEQA Initial Study July 1, 2009 - Public Hearing on CEQA Initial Study August 5, 2009 - Adoption of the Final CEQA Document and Master Plan (this action) 3. NEW INFORMATION The 30-day review period was complete on July 21, 2009. The District did not receive any comments at the public hearing or written comments from the public during the review period. The District did receive a written comment from the Lahontan Regional Water Quality Control Board. However, the Regional Board's letter was dated and received after the close of the comment period, therefore it was not timely. In addition, their comments were already considered as part of the CEQA Initial Study. 4. FISCAL IMPACT The Direct's cost associated with approval of the Initial Study and Master Plan is limited to a one-time CEQA filing fee of$2,025 to be paid to the County of Nevada. 5. RECOMMENDATION The Board take the following actions regarding the Initial Study and the Electric System Master Plan Project: 1. Adopt the Final Mitigated Negative Declaration 2. Approve the project for purposes of CEQA 3. Authorize the filing of the Notice of Determination and payment of $2,025 for the CEQA fee with the Office of the Nevada County Clerk 4. Adopt a finding that the draft documents as circulated and the mitigated negative declaration reflect the District's independent judgment 5. Adopt the Electric System Master Plan Stephen Hollabaugh Michael D. Holley Assistant General Manager General Manager California Regional Water Quality Control .Board Lahontan Region Linda S,Adams 2501 lake Tahoe Boulevard,South I.-ake Tahoe.,California 96 150 Arnold Schwarzenegger secrewryfbr (530)i42-5400,Fax(530)_%-2271 Governir Enwronmental prowet4on ww-w waterboards.ca-go0showan July 23, 2009 Michael D, Holley, General Manager Received after End of Review date: July 21, 2009 Truckee Donner Public Utility District P.O. Box 309 Truckee, CA 96160-0309 COMMENTS ON THE NEGATIVE IJECLARATION FOR THE 2009 ELECTRIC SYSTEM MASTER PLAN, NEVADA COUNTY, SCH NO. 2009062076 The California Regional Water Quality Control Board, Lahontan Region (Water Board) received the above-cited document, an Initial Study and Proposed Mitigated Negative Declaration, prepared by the Truckee Donner Public Utility District pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). The Water Board is a responsible agency pursuant to the CEQA for this project, and has been requested to provide comments to the District by July 25, 2009. We have reviewed information submitted with regards to water quality and have the following comments. PROJECT DESCRIPTION The proposed Project is a master plan for providing ongoing and new electric service in the District Service areas in Placer and Nevada County. The Project site appears to be mainly within the Truckee River Hydrologic Unit. COMMENTS A. Water quality control standards for the Truckee River Hydrologic Unit contained in the Water Quality Control Plan for the Lahontan Region (Basin Plan) are applicable to this project. The final environmental document will be used by this agency to issue any necessary discretionary permits and/or Basin Plan prohibition exemption. B. A number of activities associated with the project will require permits issued by the State Water Resources Control Board (State Water Board), or the Lahontan Water Board. The required entitlements appear to include: 1. Discharge of dredged or fill material - Clean Water Act (CWA) §401 water quality certification for federal waters or Waste Discharge Requirements for non-federal (State) waters, and exemption from discharge prohibitions applicable to 1 00-year floodplain areas associated with Gregory Creek 2. Land disturbance - CWA §402(p) storm water permit Calffiornia Environmental Protection Agency 0* Recycled Paper Michael D. Holley - 2 - 3. Timber Harvesting/Conversion - Conditional Waiver of Waste Discharge Requirements C. With regard to B.1., above, the Basin Plan contains prohibition 4(c) regarding the discharge of waste to surface waters of the Truckee River Hydrologic Unit, and the discharge and threatened discharge of wastes to 100-year floodplains of the Truckee River and its tributaries. Wastes include soil and other earthen materials. The Basin Plan also contains exemption criteria for the prohibition that must be met to allow waste discharges to 100-year floodplains of the Truckee River and its tributaries. (See the enclosed excerpt from the Basin Plan regarding 100-year floodplain prohibition and applicable exemption criteria.) D. Ephemeral and perennial streams and associated channels are considered waters of the State and are not exempt from the 100-year floodplain prohibition in the Basin Plan. Any project element that would violate a Basin Plan prohibition should be considered a significant impact or, at least, a potentially significant impact, with regard to CEQA. Significant and potentially significant impacts may require preparation of an Environmental Impact Report. E. We note that the documents do not analyze effects on Hydrology /Water Quality or Geology and Soils (no. 13, p. 4). We therefore assume that there will be no discharges of ANY wastes, including soil and other erosion products, within the prohibition areas cited above, or that subsequent CEQA analyses will be required at a Project-element level as the implementation proceeds beyond the level of analysis provided in the proposed Negative Declaration. In addition, the response to 14.4.b. (p. 10), the Biological Resources section, discloses no potential effects and no impacts to riparian communities or sensitive natural communities (e.g., wetlands and natural drainage channels). Based on no disclosure of any potential effects on surface waters of the state, including wetlands and 100-year floodplain areas, we therefore assume that no such impacts are proposed under the District's general plan. If the situation turns out differently, the current CEQA document will not be useful to the Water Board for discretionary permitting purposes. F. Please be aware that the Lahontan Water Board regulates timber harvest and vegetation management projects through our"Timber Waiver," and is involved with the approval of Timber Harvest Plans through the CALFIRE Review Team process. The project must comply with waiver conditions and proposed mitigation measures for proposed timber removal activity if timber removal activity will occur. The "Timber Waiver" can be found at the following web link: http://www.waterboards.ca.gov/lahontan/water issues/programs/waste discharge requi rements/timber harvest/timberwaiver.shtml California Environmental Protection Agency ?.c# Reeveled Paper Michael D. Holley - 3 - Thank you for the opportunity to comment on the Project. If you have any questions or comment regarding this matter, please contact me at (530) 542-5430. Z,MA Alan Miller, PE Chief, North Basin Regulatory Unit Enclosure: Waste Discharge Prohibitions and Exception Criteria for Projects within the Truckee River Hydrologic Unit cc: State Clearinghouse AEM/clhT:TDPUD Electric Master Plan CEQA comments 7-23-09-AEM File:Town of Truckee General File California E varonment l.Profection Agency Recydea.A�Per CALIFORNIA REGIONAL WATER QUALITY CONTROL BOARD LAHONTAN REGION WASTE DISCHARGE PROHIBITIONS AND EXCEPTION CRITERIA FOR PROJECTS WITHIN THE TRUCKEE RIVER HYDROLOGIC UNIT The Water Quality Control Plan for the Lahontan Region (Basin Plan) prohibits the discharge or threatened discharge, attributable to human activities, of solid or liquid waste' materials (including, but not limited to, soil, silt, clay, sand and other organic and earthen materials) to lands within the 100-year floodplain of the Truckee River or within the 100-year floodplain of any tributary'to the Truckee River. The Regional Board may grant exceptions to the prohibition for repair or replacement of existing structures provided that a loss of additional floodplain area or volume does not occur, and Best Management Practices and mitigation measures are used to minimize any potential soil erosion and/or surface runoff problems. The Regional Board may also grant exceptions to the prohibition for the following types of new projects: (1) Projects solely intended to reduce or mitigate existing sources of erosion or water pollution, or to restore the functional value to previously disturbed floodplain areas. (2) Bridge abutments, approaches, or other essential transportation facilities identified in an approved county general plan. (3) Projects necessary to protect public health or safety, or to provide essential public services. (4) Projects necessary for public recreation. (5) Projects that will provide outdoor public recreation within portions of the 100-year flood plain that have been substantially altered by grading and/or filling activities which occurred prior to June 26, 1975. 1 Waste includes earthen material placed in a water body or carried to waters by erosive forces. Construction activity involving ground disturbance within 100-year floodplain areas is generally considered to constitute a threat of discharge. 2Tributaries include:perennial surface waters(rivers.streams,lakes,wetlands)and ephemeral(seasonal)watercourses exhibiting evidence of the occurrence of flowing water,and having the potential to transport water and/or sediment to another water body,including,but not limited to,named and unnamed streams,wetlands,and lakes. Discharge Prohibitions -2- Exemption Criteria The Basin Plan allows an exception to the prohibitions for new projects only when the Regional Board makes all of the following findings: • The project is included in one or more of the five categories listed above. • There is no reasonable alternative to locating the project or portions of the project within the 100-year flood plain. • The project, by its very nature, must be located within the 100-year flood plain. (The determination of whether a project, by its very nature, must be located in a 100-year flood plain shall not apply to projects in category (5), above, and shall be based on the type of project proposed, not the particular site proposed.) • The project incorporates measures which will ensure that any erosion and surface runoff problems caused by the project are mitigated to levels of insignificance. • The project will not individually or cumulatively with other projects, directly or indirectly, degrade water quality or impair beneficial uses of water. • The project will not reduce the flood flow attenuation capacity, the surface flow treatment capacity, or the ground water flow treatment capacity from existing conditions. All 100-year flood plain areas and volumes lost as a result of the project must be completely mitigated by restoration of previously-disturbed floodplain within or as close as practical to the project site.3 The restored, new, or enlarged floodplain shall be of sufficient area and volume to more than compensate for the flood flow attenuation capacity, surface flow treatment capacity and ground water flow treatment capacity which are lost as a result of the project. File:prohib.doc 3This finding will not be required for new projects necessary to protect public health and safety. For new projects necessary to provide essential public services,this finding will not be required when the Regional Board finds mitigation measures to be infeasible because the financial resources of the project proponent are severely limited.