Otay River Estuary Restoration Project, South San Diego Bay Unit of the San Diego Bay National Wildlife Refuge, California; Final Environmental Impact Statement, 23289-23291 [2018-10630]
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Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 97 / Friday, May 18, 2018 / Notices
with the cumulative effects of other
permitted take and additional factors
affecting eagle populations, are
compatible with the preservation of bald
eagles and golden eagles.
Proposed Action
The permit applicant, Northern States
Power Company—Minnesota, doing
business as Xcel Energy, is operating an
approximately 200.5-megatwatt
commercial wind energy facility in
Stutsman County, North Dakota. The
100-turbine project, sited entirely on
private land, became operational on
December 1, 2016.
The applicant developed an ECP
based on our guidance contained in the
Eagle Conservation Plan Guidance
Module 1: Land-Based Wind Energy
Version 2 (Service 2013) (ECP Guidance)
(https://www.fws.gov/migratorybirds/
pdf/management/eagleconservation
planguidance.pdf).
As recommended in the Service’s ECP
Guidance, the applicant’s plan outlines
avoidance and minimization measures,
contains a risk assessment, and includes
advanced conservation practices and
adaptive management. The applicant
submitted the ECP as part of the permit
application, and if we issue the permit,
then the conservation commitments
would become conditions of the permit.
The Service independently evaluated
the risk of bald eagle fatalities from
project operations and compared that
risk to the conservation measures to
which the applicant committed. We
used our Collision Risk Model to
estimate the number of annual bald
eagle fatalities resulting from operation
and maintenance of the project. This is
an essential step in the Service’s
evaluation of an application for a permit
for take of eagles because issuing criteria
require permitted take to comply with
the Eagle Act’s preservation standard. In
the DEA, we evaluate the risk and
offsetting conservation measures, and
the implications for direct, indirect, and
cumulative effects of issuing a permit
and a No Action alternative.
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National Environmental Policy Act
Compliance
Our consideration of whether or not
to issue a 5-year ETP is an action subject
to the National Environmental Policy
Act (NEPA). Our DEA analyzes the risk
of bald eagle take associated with
operation and maintenance of the
project, and assesses the potential
effects of permit issuance and a No
Action alternative (i.e., do not issue an
ETP) on the human and natural
environment.
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23289
Public Comments
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
We invite public comment on the
proposed DEA. If you wish, you may
submit comments by any one of the
methods discussed in ADDRESSES. We
will consider public comments on the
DEA when making the final
determination on NEPA compliance and
permit issuance.
Fish and Wildlife Service
Public Availability of Comments
All comments and materials we
receive become part of the public record
associated with this action. Before
including your address, phone number,
email address, or other personal
identifying information in your
comment, you should be aware that
your entire comment—including your
personal identifying information—may
be made publicly available at any time.
While you can ask us in your comment
to withhold your personal identifying
information from public review, we
cannot guarantee that we will be able to
do so. All submissions from
organizations or businesses, and from
individuals identifying themselves as
representatives or officials of
organizations or businesses, and from
individuals identifying themselves as
representatives or officials of
organizations or businesses, will be
made available for public disclosure in
their entirety.
Next Steps
The public process for the proposed
Federal permit action will be completed
after the public comment period, at
which time we will evaluate the permit
application and comments submitted
thereupon to determine whether the
application meets the permitting
requirements under the Eagle Act,
applicable regulations, and NEPA
requirements. Upon completion of that
evaluation, we will select our course of
action.
Authority
We provide this notice under section
668a of the Eagle Act (16 U.S.C. 668–
668d) and the National Environmental
Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et
seq.) and its implementing regulations
(40 CFR 1506.6 and 43 CFR 46.300).
Matt Hogan,
Deputy Regional Director, USFWS MountainPrairie Region, Lakewood, Colorado.
[FR Doc. 2018–10629 Filed 5–17–18; 8:45 am]
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[FWS–R8–R–2018–N008; FF08RSDC00–
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Otay River Estuary Restoration
Project, South San Diego Bay Unit of
the San Diego Bay National Wildlife
Refuge, California; Final
Environmental Impact Statement
Fish and Wildlife Service,
Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability; final
environmental impact statement.
AGENCY:
We, the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service, announce the
availability of a final environmental
impact statement (EIS) for a proposed
project to restore coastal wetlands at the
south end of San Diego Bay. The Otay
River Estuary Restoration Project is
located within the South San Diego Bay
Unit of the San Diego Bay National
Wildlife Refuge (NWR) in San Diego
County, California. This notice advises
the public that the final EIS is now
available to the public. The final EIS
describes the alternatives identified to
restore two portions of the South San
Diego Bay Unit of the San Diego Bay
NWR to coastal wetlands to benefit
native fish, wildlife, and plant species.
ADDRESSES: Document Availability: You
may obtain copies of the EIS and related
documents in the following places:
• Internet: https://www.fws.gov/
refuge/San_Diego_Bay/what_we_do/
Resource_Management/Otay_
Restoration.html.
• In Person:
Æ San Diego National Wildlife Refuge
Complex Headquarters, 1080
Gunpowder Point Drive, Chula Vista,
CA 91910; telephone: 619–476–9150,
extension 103.
Æ Chula Vista Public Library, Civic
Center Branch, 365 F Street, Chula
Vista, CA 91910; telephone: 619–691–
5069.
Æ San Diego County Library, Imperial
Beach Branch Library, 810 Imperial
Beach Blvd. Imperial Beach, CA 91932;
telephone: 619–424–6981.
Æ Chula Vista Public Library, South
Chula Vista Branch, 389 Orange
Avenue, Chula Vista, CA 91911;
telephone: 619–585–5755.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Brian Collins, Refuge Manager, San
Diego Bay National Wildlife Refuge at
619–575–2704, extension 302
(telephone) or brian_collins@fws.gov
(email); or Andy Yuen, Project Leader,
619–476–9150, extension 100
(telephone), or andy_yuen@fws.gov
(email).
SUMMARY:
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Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 97 / Friday, May 18, 2018 / Notices
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
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National Environmental Policy Act
Compliance
We are conducting environmental
review for the proposed Otay River
Estuary Restoration Project in
accordance with the requirements of the
National Environmental Policy Act, as
amended (NEPA; 42 U.S.C. 4321 et
seq.), its implementing regulations in 40
CFR 1500–1508), other applicable
regulations, and our procedures for
compliance with those regulations. The
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is
participating as a cooperating agency in
preparation of the EIS. On November 14,
2011, we published in the Federal
Register a notice of intent to prepare an
environmental impact statement (EIS)
for the Otay project (76 FR 70480).
Based on information developed after
the scoping period, the proposed area of
the project was expanded, so on January
8, 2013, we published a notice to
reinitiate the scoping process (78 FR
1246). We announced the availability of
the draft EIS for public comment on
October 21, 2016 (81 FR 72817), and
reopened the comment period on
December 27, 2016 (81 FR 95176). In
accordance with 40 CFR 1506.6, we now
announce the availability of the final
EIS.
In addition to our publication of this
notice, the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) is publishing a
notice announcing the final EIS, as
required under section 309 of the Clean
Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.). The
publication date of EPA’s notice of
availability in the Federal Register is
the start of the 30-day wait period
required for the final EIS. (See EPA’s
Role in the EIS Process, below, for
further information.)
We will make a decision on the
alternatives presented in the EIS no
sooner than 30 days after the
publication of the final EIS. We
anticipate issuing a Record of Decision
(ROD) in 2018.
Background
In 2006, we completed a
comprehensive conservation plan (CCP)
and EIS/ROD to guide the management
of the San Diego Bay NWR over a 15year period (71 FR 64552, November 2,
2006). The wildlife and habitat
management goal of the selected
management alternative in the CCP for
the South San Diego Bay Unit is to
‘‘Protect, manage, enhance, and restore
. . . coastal wetlands . . . to benefit the
native fish, wildlife, and plant species
supported within the South San Diego
Bay Unit.’’ One of the strategies
identified to meet this goal is to restore
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native habitats in the Otay River
floodplain and the salt ponds.
On November 15, 2007, the California
Coastal Commission (Commission)
approved a coastal development permit
(CDP No. E–06–013) for a proposal by
Poseidon Resources (Channelside) LP
(Poseidon) to construct and operate a
desalination facility in Carlsbad,
California. As part of that approval, the
Commission required Poseidon, through
special condition 8, to submit for
additional Commission review and
approval a marine life mitigation plan
(MLMP) to address the impacts to be
caused by the facility’s use of estuarine
water and its entrainment of marine
organisms. The MLMP was
conditionally approved by the
Commission on August 6, 2008 (CCC
2008). With the incorporation of the
Commission’s revisions, the MLMP was
finalized on November 21, 2008. The
MLMP requires that Poseidon submit a
proposed mitigation site and
preliminary restoration plan that
achieves the following mitigation
requirements:
• Create or substantially restore tidal
wetland habitat, preferably in the San
Diego Region;
• Restore at least 66.4 acres of coastal
wetland habitat as mitigation at a
maximum of two sites;
• The chosen site must be available
and protected against future
degradation; and
• Fish productivity must be at least
1,717.5 kg/year.
Project
On September 29, 2010, the San Diego
NWR Complex and Poseidon entered
into a memorandum of understanding to
establish a partnership to facilitate the
restoration of property within the San
Diego Bay NWR, consistent with the
CCP and the Commission’s permit
requirements for Poseidon. The
proposed restoration project represents
step-down restoration planning for the
western portion of the Otay River
floodplain and one of the salt ponds
within the Refuge’s solar salt pond
complex. Funding for the proposed
restoration is being provided by the
Poseidon Resources Carlsbad
Desalination Project to fulfill part of the
mitigation requirements imposed by the
Commission and the Regional Water
Quality Control Board for the
construction of a desalination plant in
Carlsbad.
The proposed action site is located at
the south end of San Diego Bay, San
Diego County, California, within the
South San Diego Bay Unit of the San
Diego Bay NWR. Restoration activities
will occur at two separate locations
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within the Refuge: The Otay River
Floodplain Site and the Pond 15 Site.
Specifically, the approximately 34-acre
Otay River Floodplain Site is located
west of Interstate 5 (I–5) between Main
Street to the north and Palm Avenue to
the south in San Diego. The Pond 15
Site consists of an approximately 91acre active solar salt pond located in the
northeast portion of the Refuge, to the
northwest of the intersection of Bay
Boulevard and Palomar Street in Chula
Vista.
Alternatives
The site-specific EIS for the Otay
project tiers from the 2006
programmatic EIS and ROD prepared for
the Refuge CCP. We analyzed three
alternatives in this final EIS:
Alternative A: No Action Alternative
Under the No Action Alternative, the
disturbed areas within the Otay River
Floodplain Site would not be restored or
enhanced to coastal wetlands to benefit
native species, and the Pond 15 Site
would not be restored to tidally
influenced subtidal and intertidal
habitat. Under this alternative, Pond 15
would remain part of an existing
commercial solar salt operation, and
periodic maintenance to control nonnative plants would continue to occur
on the Otay River Floodplain Site in
conjunction with ongoing management
of the Refuge.
Alternative B: Intertidal Alternative
(Proposed Action)
The Intertidal Alternative, Alternative
B, is the proposed action. The proposed
action would involve lowering the
elevation and contouring the Otay River
Floodplain Site to create approximately
29.8 acres of tidally influenced habitat,
consisting of approximately 5.1 acres of
intertidal mudflat and 24.7 acres of
intertidal salt marsh habitat through
altering elevations on the site. In
addition, the restored area would
include approximately 3.7 acres of
upland habitat. The proposed action
would also involve raising the elevation
and contouring the Pond 15 Site to
create approximately 10.4 acres of
subtidal habitat, 18.4 acres of intertidal
mudflat, 57.3 acres of intertidal salt
marsh habitat, about 1 acre of high-tide
refugia, and 3.9 acres of upland habitat.
Both sites would be planted with a mix
of native wetland vegetation that would
mature into low-marsh, mid-marsh, and
high-marsh vegetative communities.
The intertidal areas and the unvegetated
mudflat would provide foraging habitat
for adult and juvenile fish, which then
form the foraging base of the food chain
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that would benefit larger fish, birds, and
other species on and off the site.
Implementation of the proposed
action would involve the excavation of
approximately 320,000 cubic yards of
material from the Otay River Site and
the transport of 260,000 cubic yards of
this material to the Pond 15 Site for use
in creating tidal elevations that would
support the desired intertidal habitats
and improving levees to separate Pond
15 from the remaining active solar salt
operation.
The combination of the wetlands
created at the Otay River Floodplain
Site and Pond 15 Site under the
proposed action would provide
sufficient mitigation credit to meet the
MLMP requirements.
Alternative C: Subtidal Alternative
Alternative C, the Subtidal
Alternative, would involve lowering the
Otay River Floodplain Site to an
elevation lower than that proposed
under Alternative B (proposed action) to
create a subtidal channel within the
Otay River Floodplain Site. Under the
Subtidal Alternative, the subtidal zone
would be surrounded by mudflats and
increasing elevation of salt marsh.
Specifically, the Subtidal Alternative
would involve lowering the elevation
and contouring the Otay River
Floodplain Site to create approximately
4.5 acres of subtidal habitat,
approximately 6.5 acres of intertidal
mudflat, 18.7 acres of intertidal salt
marsh habitat, and approximately 3.7
acres of upland habitat. The Subtidal
Alternative would also involve raising
the elevation and contouring the Pond
15 Site to create tidally influenced
habitat that would be similar to that
proposed under Alternative B, with
approximately 9.8 acres of subtidal
habitat, 16.3 acres of intertidal mudflat,
58.7 acres of intertidal salt marsh,
approximately 2.2 acres of high-tide
refugia, and 4.0 acres of upland habitat.
Both sites would be planted with a mix
of native wetland vegetation that would
mature into low-marsh, mid-marsh, and
high-marsh vegetative communities.
The subtidal areas would provide fish
spawning and foraging habitat, and the
unvegetated mudflat would provide
foraging habitat for adult and juvenile
fish during high tides. Combined, the
subtidal and mudflat areas would
provide habitat for the basis of the food
chain that would benefit larger fish,
birds, and other species on and off the
site.
Implementation of the Subtidal
Alternative would involve the
excavation of approximately 370,000
cubic yards of material from the Otay
River Site and the transport of 312,000
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cubic yards of this material to the Pond
15 Site for use in creating tidal
elevations that would support the
desired intertidal habitats and
improving levees to separate Pond 15
from the remaining active solar salt
operation.
The combination of the wetlands
created at the Otay River Floodplain
Site and Pond 15 Site under the
Subtidal Alternative would also provide
sufficient mitigation credit to meet the
MLMP requirements.
EPA’s Role in the EIS Process
The EPA is charged, under section
309 of the Clean Air Act, to review all
Federal agencies’ EISs and to comment
on the adequacy and the acceptability of
the environmental impacts of proposed
actions in the EISs.
EPA also serves as the repository for
EISs prepared by Federal agencies and
provides notice of their availability in
the Federal Register. The
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS)
Database provides information about
EISs prepared by Federal agencies, as
well as EPA’s comments concerning the
EISs. All EISs are filed with EPA, which
publishes a notice of availability on
Fridays in the Federal Register.
The notice of availability is the start
of the 30-day ‘‘wait period’’ for final
EISs, during which agencies are
generally required to wait 30 days
before making a decision on a proposed
action. For more information, see
https://www.epa.gov/nepa. You may
search for EPA comments on EISs, along
with EISs themselves, at https://
cdxnodengn.epa.gov/cdx-enepa-public/
action/eis/search.
Paul Souza,
Regional Director, Pacific Southwest Region.
[FR Doc. 2018–10630 Filed 5–17–18; 8:45 am]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[FWS–HQ–ES–2018–N063; FF09E42000 178
FXES11130900000]
Endangered and Threatened Species;
Issuance of Enhancement of Survival
and Incidental Take Permits January 2,
2017 Through December 29, 2017
Fish and Wildlife Service,
Interior.
ACTION: Notice.
AGENCY:
We, the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service, in accordance with
section 10(d) of the Endangered Species
Act (ESA) as amended, provide a list to
the public of the permits issued under
SUMMARY:
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23291
sections 10(a)(1)(A) and 10(a)(1)(B) of
the ESA. With some exceptions, the
ESA prohibits take of listed species
unless a Federal permit is issued that
authorizes the taking or is exempted
through section 7 of the ESA. Under
section 10(a)(1)(A), we issue
enhancement of survival permits in
conjunction with candidate
conservation agreements with
assurances (CCAA) and safe harbor
agreements (SHA). Section 10(a)(1)(A)
also authorizes recovery permits, but
this notice is limited to permits issued
with CCAAs and SHAs; issued recovery
permits will be summarized in a
separate notice. Section 10(a)(1)(B)
permits authorize take of endangered
and threatened species incidental to
otherwise lawful activities associated
with habitat conservation plans. We
provide this list to the public as a
summary of our permit issuances for
calendar year 2017.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For
general information about the ESA
permit process, contact Karen
Anderson, 703–358–2301, karen_
anderson@fws.gov. For information on
specific permits, see the contact
information below in Permits Issued.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
Under the authority of section
10(a)(1)(A) of the Endangered Species
Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.;
ESA), we have issued permits to
conduct activities that provide a
conservation benefit for endangered or
threatened species, or for unlisted
species should they become listed in the
future, in response to permit
applications that we received in
conjunction with a CCAA or SHA.
Under section 10(a)(1)(B), we may
issue permits for any taking otherwise
prohibited by section 9 if such taking is
incidental to, and not the purpose of,
carrying out an otherwise lawful activity
(known as an incidental take permit
(ITP)) and the permit applicant submits
a habitat conservation plan (HCP) that
meets the permit issuance criteria under
section 10(a)(2)(B). Typically, applicants
seek an ITP to conduct activities such as
residential and commercial
development, infrastructure
development or maintenance, and
energy development projects that range
in scale from small to landscape-level
planning efforts.
We issued the permits listed below
between January 17 and December 27,
2017. Under section 10(a)(1)(A), we
issued each permit only after we
determined that it was applied for in
good faith, that granting the permit
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]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 97 (Friday, May 18, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 23289-23291]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-10630]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[FWS-R8-R-2018-N008; FF08RSDC00-189-F1611MD-FXRS12610800000]
Otay River Estuary Restoration Project, South San Diego Bay Unit
of the San Diego Bay National Wildlife Refuge, California; Final
Environmental Impact Statement
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability; final environmental impact statement.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, announce the
availability of a final environmental impact statement (EIS) for a
proposed project to restore coastal wetlands at the south end of San
Diego Bay. The Otay River Estuary Restoration Project is located within
the South San Diego Bay Unit of the San Diego Bay National Wildlife
Refuge (NWR) in San Diego County, California. This notice advises the
public that the final EIS is now available to the public. The final EIS
describes the alternatives identified to restore two portions of the
South San Diego Bay Unit of the San Diego Bay NWR to coastal wetlands
to benefit native fish, wildlife, and plant species.
ADDRESSES: Document Availability: You may obtain copies of the EIS and
related documents in the following places:
Internet: https://www.fws.gov/refuge/San_Diego_Bay/what_we_do/Resource_Management/Otay_Restoration.html.
In Person:
[cir] San Diego National Wildlife Refuge Complex Headquarters, 1080
Gunpowder Point Drive, Chula Vista, CA 91910; telephone: 619-476-9150,
extension 103.
[cir] Chula Vista Public Library, Civic Center Branch, 365 F
Street, Chula Vista, CA 91910; telephone: 619-691-5069.
[cir] San Diego County Library, Imperial Beach Branch Library, 810
Imperial Beach Blvd. Imperial Beach, CA 91932; telephone: 619-424-6981.
[cir] Chula Vista Public Library, South Chula Vista Branch, 389
Orange Avenue, Chula Vista, CA 91911; telephone: 619-585-5755.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Brian Collins, Refuge Manager, San
Diego Bay National Wildlife Refuge at 619-575-2704, extension 302
(telephone) or [email protected] (email); or Andy Yuen, Project
Leader, 619-476-9150, extension 100 (telephone), or [email protected]
(email).
[[Page 23290]]
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
National Environmental Policy Act Compliance
We are conducting environmental review for the proposed Otay River
Estuary Restoration Project in accordance with the requirements of the
National Environmental Policy Act, as amended (NEPA; 42 U.S.C. 4321 et
seq.), its implementing regulations in 40 CFR 1500-1508), other
applicable regulations, and our procedures for compliance with those
regulations. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is participating as a
cooperating agency in preparation of the EIS. On November 14, 2011, we
published in the Federal Register a notice of intent to prepare an
environmental impact statement (EIS) for the Otay project (76 FR
70480). Based on information developed after the scoping period, the
proposed area of the project was expanded, so on January 8, 2013, we
published a notice to reinitiate the scoping process (78 FR 1246). We
announced the availability of the draft EIS for public comment on
October 21, 2016 (81 FR 72817), and reopened the comment period on
December 27, 2016 (81 FR 95176). In accordance with 40 CFR 1506.6, we
now announce the availability of the final EIS.
In addition to our publication of this notice, the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is publishing a notice announcing
the final EIS, as required under section 309 of the Clean Air Act (42
U.S.C. 7401 et seq.). The publication date of EPA's notice of
availability in the Federal Register is the start of the 30-day wait
period required for the final EIS. (See EPA's Role in the EIS Process,
below, for further information.)
We will make a decision on the alternatives presented in the EIS no
sooner than 30 days after the publication of the final EIS. We
anticipate issuing a Record of Decision (ROD) in 2018.
Background
In 2006, we completed a comprehensive conservation plan (CCP) and
EIS/ROD to guide the management of the San Diego Bay NWR over a 15-year
period (71 FR 64552, November 2, 2006). The wildlife and habitat
management goal of the selected management alternative in the CCP for
the South San Diego Bay Unit is to ``Protect, manage, enhance, and
restore . . . coastal wetlands . . . to benefit the native fish,
wildlife, and plant species supported within the South San Diego Bay
Unit.'' One of the strategies identified to meet this goal is to
restore native habitats in the Otay River floodplain and the salt
ponds.
On November 15, 2007, the California Coastal Commission
(Commission) approved a coastal development permit (CDP No. E-06-013)
for a proposal by Poseidon Resources (Channelside) LP (Poseidon) to
construct and operate a desalination facility in Carlsbad, California.
As part of that approval, the Commission required Poseidon, through
special condition 8, to submit for additional Commission review and
approval a marine life mitigation plan (MLMP) to address the impacts to
be caused by the facility's use of estuarine water and its entrainment
of marine organisms. The MLMP was conditionally approved by the
Commission on August 6, 2008 (CCC 2008). With the incorporation of the
Commission's revisions, the MLMP was finalized on November 21, 2008.
The MLMP requires that Poseidon submit a proposed mitigation site and
preliminary restoration plan that achieves the following mitigation
requirements:
Create or substantially restore tidal wetland habitat,
preferably in the San Diego Region;
Restore at least 66.4 acres of coastal wetland habitat as
mitigation at a maximum of two sites;
The chosen site must be available and protected against
future degradation; and
Fish productivity must be at least 1,717.5 kg/year.
Project
On September 29, 2010, the San Diego NWR Complex and Poseidon
entered into a memorandum of understanding to establish a partnership
to facilitate the restoration of property within the San Diego Bay NWR,
consistent with the CCP and the Commission's permit requirements for
Poseidon. The proposed restoration project represents step-down
restoration planning for the western portion of the Otay River
floodplain and one of the salt ponds within the Refuge's solar salt
pond complex. Funding for the proposed restoration is being provided by
the Poseidon Resources Carlsbad Desalination Project to fulfill part of
the mitigation requirements imposed by the Commission and the Regional
Water Quality Control Board for the construction of a desalination
plant in Carlsbad.
The proposed action site is located at the south end of San Diego
Bay, San Diego County, California, within the South San Diego Bay Unit
of the San Diego Bay NWR. Restoration activities will occur at two
separate locations within the Refuge: The Otay River Floodplain Site
and the Pond 15 Site. Specifically, the approximately 34-acre Otay
River Floodplain Site is located west of Interstate 5 (I-5) between
Main Street to the north and Palm Avenue to the south in San Diego. The
Pond 15 Site consists of an approximately 91-acre active solar salt
pond located in the northeast portion of the Refuge, to the northwest
of the intersection of Bay Boulevard and Palomar Street in Chula Vista.
Alternatives
The site-specific EIS for the Otay project tiers from the 2006
programmatic EIS and ROD prepared for the Refuge CCP. We analyzed three
alternatives in this final EIS:
Alternative A: No Action Alternative
Under the No Action Alternative, the disturbed areas within the
Otay River Floodplain Site would not be restored or enhanced to coastal
wetlands to benefit native species, and the Pond 15 Site would not be
restored to tidally influenced subtidal and intertidal habitat. Under
this alternative, Pond 15 would remain part of an existing commercial
solar salt operation, and periodic maintenance to control non-native
plants would continue to occur on the Otay River Floodplain Site in
conjunction with ongoing management of the Refuge.
Alternative B: Intertidal Alternative (Proposed Action)
The Intertidal Alternative, Alternative B, is the proposed action.
The proposed action would involve lowering the elevation and contouring
the Otay River Floodplain Site to create approximately 29.8 acres of
tidally influenced habitat, consisting of approximately 5.1 acres of
intertidal mudflat and 24.7 acres of intertidal salt marsh habitat
through altering elevations on the site. In addition, the restored area
would include approximately 3.7 acres of upland habitat. The proposed
action would also involve raising the elevation and contouring the Pond
15 Site to create approximately 10.4 acres of subtidal habitat, 18.4
acres of intertidal mudflat, 57.3 acres of intertidal salt marsh
habitat, about 1 acre of high-tide refugia, and 3.9 acres of upland
habitat. Both sites would be planted with a mix of native wetland
vegetation that would mature into low-marsh, mid-marsh, and high-marsh
vegetative communities. The intertidal areas and the unvegetated
mudflat would provide foraging habitat for adult and juvenile fish,
which then form the foraging base of the food chain
[[Page 23291]]
that would benefit larger fish, birds, and other species on and off the
site.
Implementation of the proposed action would involve the excavation
of approximately 320,000 cubic yards of material from the Otay River
Site and the transport of 260,000 cubic yards of this material to the
Pond 15 Site for use in creating tidal elevations that would support
the desired intertidal habitats and improving levees to separate Pond
15 from the remaining active solar salt operation.
The combination of the wetlands created at the Otay River
Floodplain Site and Pond 15 Site under the proposed action would
provide sufficient mitigation credit to meet the MLMP requirements.
Alternative C: Subtidal Alternative
Alternative C, the Subtidal Alternative, would involve lowering the
Otay River Floodplain Site to an elevation lower than that proposed
under Alternative B (proposed action) to create a subtidal channel
within the Otay River Floodplain Site. Under the Subtidal Alternative,
the subtidal zone would be surrounded by mudflats and increasing
elevation of salt marsh. Specifically, the Subtidal Alternative would
involve lowering the elevation and contouring the Otay River Floodplain
Site to create approximately 4.5 acres of subtidal habitat,
approximately 6.5 acres of intertidal mudflat, 18.7 acres of intertidal
salt marsh habitat, and approximately 3.7 acres of upland habitat. The
Subtidal Alternative would also involve raising the elevation and
contouring the Pond 15 Site to create tidally influenced habitat that
would be similar to that proposed under Alternative B, with
approximately 9.8 acres of subtidal habitat, 16.3 acres of intertidal
mudflat, 58.7 acres of intertidal salt marsh, approximately 2.2 acres
of high-tide refugia, and 4.0 acres of upland habitat. Both sites would
be planted with a mix of native wetland vegetation that would mature
into low-marsh, mid-marsh, and high-marsh vegetative communities. The
subtidal areas would provide fish spawning and foraging habitat, and
the unvegetated mudflat would provide foraging habitat for adult and
juvenile fish during high tides. Combined, the subtidal and mudflat
areas would provide habitat for the basis of the food chain that would
benefit larger fish, birds, and other species on and off the site.
Implementation of the Subtidal Alternative would involve the
excavation of approximately 370,000 cubic yards of material from the
Otay River Site and the transport of 312,000 cubic yards of this
material to the Pond 15 Site for use in creating tidal elevations that
would support the desired intertidal habitats and improving levees to
separate Pond 15 from the remaining active solar salt operation.
The combination of the wetlands created at the Otay River
Floodplain Site and Pond 15 Site under the Subtidal Alternative would
also provide sufficient mitigation credit to meet the MLMP
requirements.
EPA's Role in the EIS Process
The EPA is charged, under section 309 of the Clean Air Act, to
review all Federal agencies' EISs and to comment on the adequacy and
the acceptability of the environmental impacts of proposed actions in
the EISs.
EPA also serves as the repository for EISs prepared by Federal
agencies and provides notice of their availability in the Federal
Register. The Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) Database provides
information about EISs prepared by Federal agencies, as well as EPA's
comments concerning the EISs. All EISs are filed with EPA, which
publishes a notice of availability on Fridays in the Federal Register.
The notice of availability is the start of the 30-day ``wait
period'' for final EISs, during which agencies are generally required
to wait 30 days before making a decision on a proposed action. For more
information, see https://www.epa.gov/nepa. You may search for EPA
comments on EISs, along with EISs themselves, at https://cdxnodengn.epa.gov/cdx-enepa-public/action/eis/search.
Paul Souza,
Regional Director, Pacific Southwest Region.
[FR Doc. 2018-10630 Filed 5-17-18; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4333-15-P
