Environmental Scoping Meeting

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Environmental Scoping Meeting
San Diego Creek Flood Control Channel (Upper
Newport Bay to I-405) Programmatic Operations
and Maintenance Project
June 20, 2007
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Scoping Meeting Purpose and Agenda

• Introduction (Scoping Purpose)
• San Diego Creek Flood Control Channel History
• Proposed Project
• CEQA Documentation
• Regulatory Permits (State Federal)
• Public Comment

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San Diego Creek Flood Control Channel

• Description 15,000-linear-foot segment between
  Jamboree Road and I-405 Freeway
• Maintained by OC Flood Control District
• Uses provides flood control retains sediment
  to protect Upper Newport Bay provides habitat
  corridor

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Project Location
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San Diego Creek Flood Control Channel History

• 1800s - La Cienega de Las Ranas drained
• 1963 - Channel constructed (infrastructure for
  UCI)
• 1983 to 1986 - In-line sediment basins and
  habitat corridor established
• 1998 Channel dredged when San Joaquin Marsh
  constructed
• 2003 (December) Interim maintenance conducted
• Present Long-term OM plan to monitor channel,
  maintain flood-control protection capacity
  (remove sediment), protect and maintain habitat

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Proposed Project
Adoption of an Operations Maintenance Manual.
This is a long-term comprehensive plan that will
ensure public health and safety and protect the
environment.
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Project Description

• Project limits 15,000 linear feet from Jamboree
  Road to I-405
• Facility Inspections and Surveys
• Routine Maintenance Activities
• Vegetation Management
• Sediment Removal
• Emergency Repair Work

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Facility Inspections and Surveys

• Semiannual walk-over inspections and surveys
• Recommendations for maintenance and repair
• Evaluation of sediment levels
• Assessment of vegetation growth
• Annual report

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Routine Maintenance Activities

• Vector control
• Trash and debris removal (cleaning/boom)
• Grading and compacting existing access roads
• Maintaining foot paths for OM activities
• Flashboard operation
• Channel/slope erosion repair
• Sediment basin maintenance
• Recreational/bike trail maintenance
• Utility line maintenance

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Vegetation Management

• Remove non-native vegetation (manually,
  mechanically, and with regulatory agency approved
  herbicides)
• Replant/seed affected native vegetation
• Maintain existing 40-foot-wide riparian corridor

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Sediment Removal

• RWQCB-issued TMDL requires
• Removal of sediment from the in-channel basins
  when operational capacity is reduced to 50
• Testing and classifying sediments to be removed

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Emergency Repair Work
Emergencies occur when there is a threat to life
and public health and safety, including imminent
and significant loss of public or private
property.

• Written notification to the USACE in accordance
  with RGP 63 Emergency Processing Procedures
• Notification to CDFG in accordance with Section
  1602(f)(1)(A) of the California Fish and Game
  Code
• Notification to the Coastal Commission for work
  within coastal zone in accordance with Section
  15026 of the Coastal Act
• Data collection, documentation in the annual
  report

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San Diego Creek Flood Control Channel Basins
Cross Section for San Diego Creek Flood Control
Channel Basins
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San Diego Creek Flood Control Channel
Cross Section for San Diego Creek Flood Control
Channel
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Purpose of Project
Ensuring public health and safety and protecting
our environment are our highest priorities

• OM Manual will
• Ensure continued maintenance of the channel for
  the public health and welfare
• Provide necessary flood capacity in San Diego
  Creek
• Meet regulatory agencies requirements for water
  quality and sensitive species management

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Project Need
Balance the need to protect public health and
safety with the need to safeguard the environment

• Flood protection for IRWD Michelson Water
  Reclamation Plant, UCI, Irvine Worship Center,
  Mariposa Villas disabled persons housing facility
• Water quality protection and wildlife habitat
  preservation in Upper Newport Bay and Newport
  Harbor

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Flood Protection vs. Flood Capacity

• Flood Capacity The capacity of a channel to
  carry calculated flood flows. The required flood
  capacity of San Diego Creek Channel is for a
  100-year flood event. Existing flood capacity
  within San Diego Creek Channel is 18,900 cfs or
  54 of original capacity.
• Flood Protection Flood capacity plus freeboard.
  
• Freeboard A term that reflects how far below the
  top of the channel the water will reach. For a
  100-year flood event FEMA requires a 3-foot
  freeboard. The freeboard addresses unknown
  variables in storm size and hydraulic
  calculations to prevent overtopping.

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Clean Water Act and TMDL

• Section 303(d) of the Clean Water Act requires
  listing of impaired waters.
• Newport Bay and San Diego Creek Channel are
  listed water bodies.
• The only water bodies in Orange County with a
  fully approved Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL).
• TMDL is
• A means to reduce pollution discharges into
  receiving waters.
• The maximum amount of pollutant that a water
  body can receive while still meeting applicable
  water quality standards.
• TMDLs in the Newport Bay/San Diego Creek
  watershed
• Sediment, Nutrients, Fecal Coliform, Toxics

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Sediment TMDL

• Sediment TMDL approved March 1999
• TMDL requirements for county/cities
• Provide control measures to meet overall load
  reduction and allocations for land uses
• Maintain in-bay basins
• Maintain 50 capacity of in-channel and foothill
  basins

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San Diego Creek Flood Control Channel Challenges
Multi-Use Waterway

• 100-year flood capacity (existing capacity is
  56-yr)

• Sediment capture from upstream sources

• Vegetation management and habitat preservation

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CEQA Process

• June 15, 2007 - Notice of Preparation (NOP)
• July 16, 2007 (5 PM) Last day to receive NOP
  comments
• Preparation of Environmental Impact Report (EIR)
• Key environmental issues

• Aesthetics
• Air Quality
• Biological Resources
• Cultural Resources
• Hydrology/Water Quality
• Traffic

• Draft EIR 45-day public review period

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Regulatory Permitting

• Proposed project requires long-term
  approvals/permits prior to initiation from
• Federal Agencies
• U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Section 404
  Permit)
• U.S. Fish Wildlife Service (Section 7
  Consultation)
• State Agencies
• Regional Water Quality Control Board (Section
  401 Certification)
• Department of Fish and Game (1602 Streambed
  Agreement)
• California Coastal Commission (Coastal
  Development Permit)

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June 20, 2007 Environmental Scoping
Meeting Public Comments