[env-trinity] Available: A NOP for the Hocker Flat Rehabilition Site: Trinity River mile 78-79.1 EA/EIR

[Brandt Gutermuth]

Below is the Notice of Preparation (NOP) for an EIR that was submitted
to the State Clearinghouse for review and routing to responsible and
trustee agencies.  Figures and a signature from the lead CEQA agency,
The Department of Water Resources, are included in the attached Adobe
Acrobat version.   The review period will end June 19, 2004.  

If you have questions or would like a hard copy of the NOP, please
contact:
Brandt Gutermuth, environmental specialist for the Trinity River
Restoration Program at (530) 623-1806 or 
Aric Lester, environmental scientist for the California Department of
Water Resources at (530) 529-7365
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

State of California
Resources Agency
Department of Water Resources

NOTICE OF PREPARATION
FOR AN ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT REPORT

Hocker Flat Rehabilitation Site: Trinity River Mile 78 to 79.1

TO: Responsible and Trustee Agencies, and Interested Parties

FROM: State of California, Resources Agency, Department of Water
Resources

SUBJECT: Notice of Preparation for a Draft Environmental Impact Report
(EIR) and Environmental
Assessment (EA) for the Hocker Flat Rehabilitation Site: Trinity River
Mile 78 to 79.1.

LEAD AGENCY: Department of Water Resources (DWR), State of California

PROJECT TITLE: Hocker Flat Rehabilitation Site: Trinity River Mile 78
to 79.1

PUBLIC SCOPING MEETING: A public scoping meeting has been scheduled for
June 2, 2004 at 6:30
pm at the Junction City Community Hall, 71 Dutch Creek RD. (Just south
of HWY 299), Junction City,
CA. Information on the project will be presented and comments on the
scope of the EIR accepted.

NOTICE OF PREPARATION COMMENT PERIOD: A public review period for the
Notice of
Preparation has been established from May 19, 2004 through June 19,
2004. The purpose of this comment
period is to provide involved agencies and the public an opportunity to
learn about the project and to solicit
comments to assist the Lead Agencies in identifying the range of
actions, alternatives, mitigation
measures, and significant effects to be analyzed in the EIR/EA.

Public and agency comments must be received no later than 5:00 p.m. on
June 19, 2004. Please address
comments, questions, and responses to:

Department of Water Resources c/o
Trinity River Restoration Program
Attn: Brandt Gutermuth
P. O. Box 1300
1313 Main Street
Weaverville, CA 96093
Voice (530) 623-1806 or Fax (530) 623-5944

APPLICANT:
U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, Northern California Area Office
Trinity River Restoration Program
P. O. Box 1300
1313 Main Street
Weaverville, CA 96093

Date __________________________ Signature ____________________________
                                                                       
   Dwight Russell, Chief
                                                                       
    Northern District
                                                                       
   Department of Water Resources

BACKGROUND: The Central Valley Project Improvement Act (1992) and the
Trinity River Basin Fish
and Wildlife Management Act (1984) provide the legal authority for
projects that restore the fishery
Resources of the Trinity River. Specifically, these acts include
language intended to protect, restore, and
enhance fish, wildlife, and associated habitats within the Trinity
River Basin.

In December 2000, the Secretary of Interior signed a Record of Decision
(ROD) for the Trinity River
Fishery Restoration Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS). This
decision recognized that
restoration and perpetual maintenance of the Trinity River's fishery
Resources requires rehabilitating the
River itself, and restoring the attributes that produce a healthy,
functioning alluvial River system.
Consequently the ROD included five components to ensure long-term
restoration and maintenance of the
Trinity River: a) Variable annual instream flows ranging from 369,000
acre-feet (af) in critically dry
years to 815,000 af in extremely wet years; b) Physical channel
rehabilitation, including the removal of
riparian berms and the establishment of side channel habitat; c)
Sediment management, including the
supplementation of spawning gravels below Lewiston dam and reduction in
fine sediments which degrade
fish habitats; d) Watershed restoration efforts, addressing negative
impacts which have resulted from land
use practices in the Basin; and e) Infrastructure improvements or
modifications, including rebuilding or
fortifying bridges and addressing other structures affected by the peak
instream flows provided by the
ROD.

The ROD's channel rehabilitation component focused attention on the
need to physically manipulate the
bank and floodplain features of the Trinity River between River Mile
112.0 (Lewiston Dam) and River
Mile 72.4 (North Fork Trinity River). The channel reconstruction is
intended to restore the Trinity
River's historic alternate point bar morphology and habitat
complexity to improve fishery Resources. The
Hocker Flat Rehabilitation Site: Trinity River Mile 78 to 79.1
(Project) is a pilot project to implement the
ROD's mechanical rehabilitation component and rework the Trinity
River floodplain based on pre-dam
channel morphology characteristics.

The DWR, which has completed engineering designs for the project and
has participated in the Trinity
River Restoration Program for many years, will serve as the state
California Environmental Quality Act
(CEQA) Lead Agency and will prepare an Environmental Impact Report
(EIR) for the project as
described below. DWR requests your views concerning the scope and
content of the environmental
information germane to your interests or agency's statutory
responsibilities in connection with the
proposed project. Your agency will need to use this EIR/EA prepared by
DWR when considering your
permit or other approvals for the project. The Bureau of Reclamation
(Reclamation) will be the federal
National Environmental Quality Act (NEPA) lead agency, with the Bureau
of Land Management (BLM)
acting as a cooperating agency under NEPA.

A project description, location maps, and a summary of the potential
environmental effects are included
in this Notice of Preparation.

PROJECT LOCATION: The Project is located on the Trinity River,
immediately downstream from
Junction City, a small community in Trinity County, California (Figure
1). The upstream end of the
Hocker Flat Rehabilitation Site is situated at River Mile 79.1,
immediately downstream from Canyon
Creek, a tributary to the Trinity River. The project extends downstream
approximately 1.1 miles and
encompasses both sides of the Trinity River. River Mile 78.0 marks the
downstream boundary of the
project. The project area is generally associated with Hocker Flat as
shown on the Junction City,
California 7.5-minute United States Geological Survey (USGS) quadrangle
map, Township 33 North,
Range 11 West, Sections 1 and 12, Mount Diablo Base Meridian (MDBM),
040° 44' 26" North latitude
by 123° 03' 47" West longitude.

PROJECT DESCRIPTION: In joint action with Reclamation and BLM, DWR is
evaluating a pilot
River rehabilitation project for the reach of the Trinity River locally
known as Hocker Flat. As a pilot, this
project represents the initial efforts to implement the mechanical
channel rehabilitation component
described in the 2000 ROD.

Within the environmental study limits (ESL) of the project, 16 discrete
activity areas have been identified
(Figure 2). For identification purposes, these areas are labeled as R
(River) or U (upslope riparian), based
on the type of restoration proposed. Within these activity areas, a
variety of discrete actions may be
conducted that are intended to enhance or reestablish the Trinity
River's alternate point bar morphology
and channel complexity, and to subsequently provide an increase in
useable fish habitat. In addition,
these actions are intended to enhance the riparian and terrestrial
habitat adjacent to the Trinity River. The
following actions may be conducted in one or more activity areas as
part of this project.

-Removal of Vegetation
-Earthwork in the Trinity River Floodplain
- Material Transportation
- Material Disposal
-Revegetation

POTENTIAL ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS:
The EIR/EA is being prepared to evaluate potentially significant
impacts to the environment. The
following section provides a brief discussion of the environmental
factors that will be addressed in the
EIR/EA.

Air Quality. The EIR/EA will address regional air quality conditions in
Trinity County and the air
quality impacts resulting from the actions incorporated into this
project. Air quality will be examined to
determine if the proposed project would result in a conflict with the
North Coast Unified Air Quality
Management District regional air quality plan. The nearby Weaverville
Basin is in moderate "nonattainment"
of state PM10 standards. Vehicle exhaust and fugitive dust from
construction activities on
and adjacent to the site will be considered.

Noise. Potential noise impacts associated with construction will be
assessed in the EIR/EA. Noise levels
will be evaluated for consistency with the Junction City Community
Plan, the Trinity County General
Plan and Zoning Ordinance, and State and federal standards and
guidelines regulating noise on public and
private lands.

Geology and Soils. Geological and seismic safety, and soils stability
will be addressed in the EIR/EA.

Hydrology, Water Quality, and Floodplains. The EIR/EA will address any
hydrology, water quality,
and floodplain impacts that may occur as a result of the proposed
project.

The construction phase of the project may have the potential to
increase erosion, turbidity and
sedimentation levels downstream of the project sites. Activities within
the active channel of the Trinity
River would be subject to water quality limitations imposed by the
California North Coast Regional
Water Quality Control Board in conjunction with the issuance of a 401
Certification pursuant to the
federal Clean Water Act.

The Trinity River has been listed under Section 303(d) of the Clean
Water Act as a waterbody impaired
by sediment. A Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) for the Trinity River
was completed by the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency in December, 2001. It is anticipated
that the project will improve the
beneficial uses of the Trinity River (cold water fisheries) that are
impaired by sediment.

Per federal Executive Order 11988 (pertaining to floodplain
involvement), public notice is hereby given
that the project may encroach upon the 100-year floodplain. If it is
determined that project activities
would result in a change to the 100-year floodplain, a floodplain risk
assessment will be performed to
determine what impacts, if any, would occur to adjacent structures and
the public. However, it is
anticipated that completion of the proposed project will reduce
flooding risks and will not adversely affect
the 100-year floodplain and Base Flood Elevations in the project areas.
If the Trinity River 100-year floodplain 
is affected by the project, a Conditional Letter of Map Revision
(CLOMR) will be submitted to
the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). The DWR will be
responsible for preparing the
CLOMR and defining updated Base Flood Elevations using the best
hydrology information that is
available. In addition, project activities in designated floodplains on
private lands will require issuance of
a Floodplain Development Permit from Trinity County.

Biological Resources. Existing biological conditions within the Trinity
River and the area surrounding
the project sites will be described, and potential impacts of the
proposed project on vegetation and
wildlife will be assessed. The EIR/EA will evaluate the likelihood for
any significant biological impacts,
including effects on endangered, threatened, rare, or other special
status plant and animal species, and
wetland/special aquatic Resources.

The area defined by the ESL for the proposed project has the potential
to support a variety of special status
species (listed and non-listed). Spring and fall chinook salmon, coho
salmon, Pacific Lamprey and
summer and winter steelhead are known to spawn within the Trinity
River, and suitable spawning habitat
is available for the species within the study limits of the project. In
addition, the Trinity River is
designated as critical habitat for coho salmon by the National Oceanic
and Atmospheric Administration:
Fisheries Section (NOAA Fisheries). Other special-status and listed
species within the project area could
potentially include the willow flycatcher, green sturgeon, silky
cryptantha, northwestern pond turtle,
yellow warbler, yellow-breasted chat, bald eagle, and osprey. A
comprehensive plant and wildlife survey
will be conducted to determine species presence/absence and potential
project-related effects to species
that are determined to be present.

A Biological Assessment may be required pursuant to Section 7 of the
Federal Endangered Species Act
(federal Endangered Species Act [ESA]) to address impacts to listed
riparian and terrestrial species under
the jurisdiction of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. A Biological
Opinion (BO) was issued by NOAA
Fisheries (formerly National Marine Fisheries Service) on October 12,
2000 for the Trinity River
Fisheries Restoration Program. This BO is considered adequate to
address listed fish species that may be
affected by this project. If required by the California Fish and Game
Code, a "2081 Incidental Take
Permit" (California Endangered Species Act) and a "1601 Streambed
Alteration Agreement" may be
issued, based on the certified final EIR, by the California Dept of
Fish and Game, acting as a responsible
agency.

The project will be assessed for consistency with the state and federal
Wild and Scenic Rivers Acts.
Completion of the project is expected to enhance anadromous salmon and
steelhead fisheries; both
identified as outstandingly remarkable values of the Trinity River.

The project includes a variety of riparian and wetland habitat
elements. These elements are considered
sensitive, and ecologically important to a variety of human and natural
Resources. Activities associated
with the project could result in the loss of an undetermined acreage of
riparian habitat.

Per federal Executive Orders 11990 (pertaining to wetlands), public
notice is hereby given that the project
may encroach upon wetlands. Construction activities associated with the
proposed project could result in
temporary and permanent impacts to wetland features within the ESL that
are subject to U.S. Army Corps
of Engineer's (ACOE) jurisdiction, pursuant to Section 404 of the
Clean Water Act. Within the ESL, a
delineation of jurisdictional waters of the United States will be
conducted and a delineation report will
subsequently be submitted to the ACOE for review and verification, as
necessary.

Cultural Resources. A cultural Resources survey and evaluation will be
conducted, in consultation with
the State Historic Preservation Officer. This evaluation will assess
the area within the environmental
study limits of the project to determine the presence and significance
of cultural and archaeological
Resources identified. The project site does not contain any known
cultural Resources; however, there may
be cultural Resources that are currently hidden within the project
study limits that could be unearthed and
discovered during the construction phase of the project. If cultural
Resources are encountered during the survey, 
a determination will be made as to their eligibility for listing in the
National Register of Historic
Places. The study will be transmitted to the State Office of Historic
Preservation for concurrence with
any eligibility determinations, in accordance with Section 106 of the
National Historic Preservation Act.

Hazards. The actions associated with the project are not expected to
involve the use of hazardous
materials and, therefore, will not expose the public to significant
hazard. Historic Mercury deposits from
past mining efforts likely exist on site. Hazards related to movement
of earth and its effects on Mercury
availability will be addressed.

Land Use. The proposed project is consistent with Trinity County's
General Plan and related policies.
No buildings or permanent structures are located within the ESL.
Mineral extraction activities occur
within the ESL, and will be incorporated into the project design.
Growth-inducing impacts are not
expected to occur as a result of the project, but will be examined.

Socioeconomic/Displacements/Environmental Justice. Right-of-way
acquisition, residential/business
displacements, relocation assistance, business impacts, and
neighborhood cohesion will be analyzed
pursuant to both CEQA and NEPA. In addition, environmental justice
concerns will be addressed
pursuant to NEPA.

Public Services/Utilities. An analysis of public services and utilities
associated with the project will be
included in the EIR/EA.

Visual Resources. A Visual Impact Analysis will be included in the
EIR/EA describing the existing
visual characteristics of the project area and analyzing any potential
visual impacts.

Transportation and Circulation. Transportation and circulation impacts
will be analyzed for each of
the alternatives, including access during construction, and any impacts
to public roads, including State
Highway 299 West. A main objective of the project is to ensure
implementation in a manner that
provides safe transit in and adjacent to the project area. Project work
within existing Right-of-Ways for
public roads may require issuance of an encroachment permit from the
responsible agency.

Construction Impacts. The document will identify and analyze any
further short-term construction
impacts associated with air quality, noise, water quality, traffic
congestion and detours, safety, visual,
business access, community facilities, etc.



Brandt Gutermuth, Environmental Specialist
Trinity River Restoration Program
PO Box 1300 (mailing) 
1313 Main Street (physical address)
Weaverville, CA  96093
(530) 623-1806 voice
(530) 623-5944 fax
Bgutermuth at mp.usbr.gov
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