SPK-1999-00737, Proposal for Regional General Permit XX for the Placer Vineyards Specific Plan Infrastructure, Placer County, CA

SUBJECT: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Sacramento District, (Corps) is evaluating Regional General Permit XX for authorization of the backbone infrastructure for the Placer Vineyards Specific Plan (PVSP). This notice is to inform interested parties of the proposed activity and to solicit comments.  

AUTHORITY: This application is being evaluated under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act for the discharge of dredged or fill material in waters of the United States.

LOCATION: This RGP is restricted to the 5,230-acre PVSP project area, plus those areas in which off-site utilities would be constructed. The PVSP is bounded on the North by Baseline Road, on the East by Walerga Road, on the South by Dry Creek and the Placer County – Sacramento County Line, and on the West by the Placer County – Sutter County Line, Latitude 38.7411°, Longitude -121.4208°, Placer County, California.

ACTIVITIES AUTHORIZED: This RGP would authorize permanent and temporary discharges of fill material into waters of the U.S. associated with construction and/or maintenance of the backbone infrastructure for the PVSP, as well as construction of permittee-responsible compensatory mitigation required for unavoidable direct and indirect adverse effects associated with construction of the backbone infrastructure. Backbone infrastructure includes improvements to existing roadways and intersections, new major roadways and their attendant features, pedestrian/bicycle trails, water transmission lines and storage tanks (both potable and recycled), stormwater management and conveyance systems, and sewer trunk lines, force mains, and lift stations. This RGP does not authorize any work other than that identified as a component of the backbone infrastructure and permittee-responsible compensatory mitigation required for the backbone infrastructure. This RGP does not authorize any major changes in the scope or nature of that backbone infrastructure but does authorize minor deviations to identified infrastructure as a result of further planning or construction needs from those impacts identified in the Appendices provided that the cumulative impacts do not exceed the acreage limit of this RGP.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: 

Background. Placer County first identified the area as appropriate for development in 1990. In their 1994 General Plan, Placer County indicated this area could develop following adoption and implementation of a comprehensive Specific Plan and the County amended the boundaries of the Dry Creek/West Placer Community Plan to include the project area.
Consistent with the direction provided by the Placer County 1994 General Plan, the applicants sponsored the preparation of the PVSP for this 5,230-acre site. In July 2007, the Placer County Board of Supervisors approved the PVSP.
In May 2006, the Corps received 24 applications for a DA permit under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act to fill waters of the United States to develop individual properties within the PVSP area, as well as a request for the Corps to establish a general permit to construct the backbone infrastructure consisting of both on- and off-site improvements. Since then, one of the applicants for a DA permit, SPK-2006-00583, withdrew its application. The 23 pending DA permit applications within the PVSP area are listed in the table below.

Table 1: 23 Pending Applications for DA Permits

In early 2007, the Corps determined preparation of an EIS was necessary for the Proposed Action due to the potential for significant effects on biological resources, air quality, hydrology and water quality, agricultural resources, traffic, and aesthetics. Scoping for the EIS began on March 16, 2007 with publication of a Notice of Intent to Prepare an EIS in the Federal Register (Federal Register Vol. 72, No. 51, 12599-12600). Two public scoping meetings were held on March 28, 2007 at Placer County Community Development Resource Center. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) agreed to be a cooperating agency on the preparation of the EIS on January 21, 2010. The EIS was prepared at a program-level of analysis, as project-level information on on-site alternatives was not available for each project within the PVSP.

On April 26, 2013, a Draft EIS was issued by the Corps for a 45-day review period. A Notice of Availability (NOA) was published in the Federal Register on April 26, 2013 (Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 81, 24744). A public notice of the Draft EIS, including a draft RGP, was issued on April 26, 2013. 

The Corps released the Final EIS on July 25, 2014. An NOA was published in the Federal Register on July 25, 2014 (Federal Register, Vol. 79, No. 143, 43465). A public notice announcing the Final EIS was issued on July 25, 2014. A Record of Decision for the overall PVSP was issued on September 20, 2015. Pursuant to the ROD, the Corps is contemplating the issuance of an RGP for the major backbone infrastructure of the PVSP. The ROD can be viewed at the Corps website at http://www.spk.usace.army.mil/Missions/Regulatory/Permitting/Environmental-Impact-Statements/. 

OTHER GOVERNMENTAL AUTHORIZATIONS: Water quality certification or a waiver, as required under Section 401 of the Clean Water Act from the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board (CVRWQCB) is required for this project. The CVRWQCB issued a technically-conditioned water quality certification for the proposed RGP on June 22, 2015.

HISTORIC PROPERTIES: Potentially eligible cultural resources may be affected by the proposed project. Applicants requesting authorization under the RGP must comply with Programmatic Agreement between the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the California State Historic Preservation Officer regarding the Placer Vineyards Specific Plan Project, Placer County, California, and signed by these entities, in its entirety. 

ENDANGERED SPECIES: The Corps will initiate consultation on each project, with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in order to append the Programmatic Biological Opinion, dated April 1, 2016. In addition, informal consultation has been completed with the National Marine Fisheries Service and the NMFS concurred with the Corps determination that the proposed action may affect but is not likely to adversely affect NMFS ESA-listed species and/or designated critical habitat. 

ESSENTIAL FISH HABITAT: The proposed action would not adversely affect Essential Fish Habitat (EFH) as defined in the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act. 

The above determinations are based on information provided by the applicant and our preliminary review.

EVALUATION FACTORS: The decision whether to issue a permit will be based on an evaluation of the probable impacts, including cumulative impacts, of the described activity on the public interest. That decision will reflect the national concern for both protection and utilization of important resources. The benefit, which reasonably may be expected to accrue from the described activity, must be balanced against its reasonably foreseeable detriments. All factors which may be relevant to the described activity will be considered, including the cumulative effects thereof; among those are conservation, economics, aesthetics, general environmental concerns, wetlands, historic properties, fish and wildlife values, flood hazards, floodplain values, land use, navigation, shoreline erosion and accretion, recreation, water supply and conservation, water quality, energy needs, safety, food and fiber production, mineral needs, consideration of property ownership and, in general, the needs and welfare of the people. The activity's impact on the public interest will include application of the Section 404(b)(1) guidelines promulgated by the Administrator, Environmental Protection Agency (40 CFR Part 230).

The Corps is soliciting comments from the public, Federal, State, and local agencies and officials, Indian tribes, and other interested parties in order to consider and evaluate the impacts of this proposed activity. Any comments received will be considered by the Corps to determine whether to issue, modify, condition, or deny a permit for this proposal. To make this decision, comments are used to assess impacts on endangered species, historic properties, water quality, general environmental effects, and other public interest factors listed above. Comments are used in the preparation of an Environmental Assessment and/or an Environmental Impact Statement pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act. Comments are also used to determine the need for a public hearing and to determine the overall public interest of the proposed activity.

SUBMITTING COMMENTS: Written comments, referencing Public Notice SPK-1999-00737 must be submitted to Laura Shively, at Laura.Shively@usace.army.mil, phone 916-557-5258, on or before November 17, 2016.

The Corps is particularly interested in receiving comments related to the proposal's probable impacts on the affected aquatic environment and the secondary and cumulative effects. Anyone may request, in writing, that a public hearing be held to consider this application. Requests shall specifically state, with particularity, the reason(s) for holding a public hearing. If the Corps determines that the information received in response to this notice is inadequate for thorough evaluation, a public hearing may be warranted. If a public hearing is warranted, interested parties will be notified of the time, date, and location. Please note that all comment letters received are subject to release to the public through the Freedom of Information Act. If you have questions or need additional information please contact the applicant or the Corps' project manager Laura Shively.

Attachments:
RGP
RGP Appendix A: Exhibit A, Summary of Backbone Infrastructure
RGP Appendix B: Figure 1
RGP Appendix C: Programmatic Agreement
RGP Appendix D: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Biological Opinion
RGP Appendix E: National Marine Fisheries Service Concurrence Letter
RGP Appendix F: Section 401 Water Quality Certificate