[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 77 (Friday, April 20, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 23740-23741]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-9577]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[FWS-R8-R-2011-N276; FGRS12610800000V5-123-FF08RSFC00]
Sears Point Wetland and Watershed Restoration Project, Sonoma
County, CA; Final Environmental Impact Report and Environmental Impact
Statement
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) and the
California Department of Fish and Game (CDFG), in cooperation with the
Sonoma Land Trust (SLT), announce that a final environmental impact
report and environmental impact statement (EIR/EIS) for the Sears Point
Wetland and Watershed Restoration Project is now available. The final
EIR/EIS, which we prepared and now announce in accordance with the
National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA), describes the
restoration of approximately 2,300 acres (ac) of former farmland
located in Sonoma County, California, near the San Pablo Bay. The final
EIR/EIS responds to all comments we received on the draft document. The
restoration project, which would be implemented by the SLT, would
restore natural estuarine ecosystems on diked baylands, while providing
public access and recreational and educational opportunities compatible
with ecological and cultural resources protection. The U.S. Army Corps
of Engineers, San Francisco District, and the National Marine Fisheries
Service of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration are
cooperating agencies on the final EIR/EIS.
ADDRESSES: The Final EIR/EIS is available at:
Refuge Headquarters Office, San Pablo Bay National
Wildlife Refuge, 2100 Highway 37, Petaluma, CA 94954; (707) 769-4200.
San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge Complex, 9500
Thornton Avenue, Newark, CA 94560; (510) 792-0222.
John F. Kennedy Public Library, 505 Santa Clara, Vallejo,
CA 94590.
Internet: www.sonomalandtrust.org.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Don Brubaker, Refuge Manager, San
Pablo Bay NWR, (707) 769-4200 x100 (phone); don_brubaker@fws.gov.
(email), or Julian Meisler, Baylands Program Manager, Sonoma Land
Trust, at (707) 526-6930 x109 (phone); julian@sonomalandtrust.org
(email).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
[[Page 23741]]
Location
The project site is located at Sears Point, near the intersection
of Lakeville-Reclamation Road and State Route 37 (SR 37) in southern
Sonoma County, California. The site is also traversed from east to west
by a rail line owned by the Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit (SMART)
District.
The project site is a total of 2,327 ac owned by the Sonoma Land
Trust (SLT) and is comprised of two large properties, the North Point
Joint Venture (NPJV) parcel and the Dickson Ranch parcel, which are
situated on the edge of San Pablo Bay between the mouth of the Petaluma
River and Tolay Creek. The 1,679-ac NPJV parcel extends both north and
south of SR 37. The parcel is bounded on the north by the Infineon
Raceway property, on the east by Cougar Mountain (north of SR 37) and
Paradise Vineyards (south of SR 37), on the south by the SMART rail
line, and on the west by Lakeville-Reclamation Road. The 648-ac Dickson
Ranch parcel is located entirely south of Highway 37, and is bounded on
the south by San Pablo Bay and on the west by Tolay Creek and the
outboard levee as it veers bayward from the SMART rail line. The entire
Dickson Ranch parcel and 858 ac of the NPJV parcel are located within
the approved acquisition boundary of the Service's San Pablo Bay
National Wildlife Refuge. The SLT is transferring approximately 500-ac
of the land bounded by Highway 37 and the SMART rail line to the
Service, and the remainder of the land to CDFG.
Alternatives
We identified and analyzed a total of eight alternatives. The
alternatives were analyzed based on a set of criteria, including (1)
ability to meet the project purpose and need; (2) technical,
logistical, and financial feasibility; and (3) ability to avoid or
substantially reduce one or more significant impacts. We removed five
of these alternatives from further consideration because they did not
meet the purpose and need, were not feasible, or did not provide
substantial variation in environmental impacts. The lead agencies
carried forward three possible alternatives for environmental analysis:
The No-Action Alternative, the Partial-Tidal (Preferred) Restoration
Alternative, and the Full-Tidal Restoration Alternative.
No-Action Alternative
Under the No-Action Alternative, there would be no wetland
restoration or enhancement, no new trails, and no new habitat creation,
with the exception of the California red-legged frog enhancement, which
would likely proceed as a separate enhancement project. The Sonoma Land
Trust (SLT) would maintain ownership of the property north of Highway
37, and would still move forward with the transfer of title of the
Sears Point properties south of Highway 37 to the Federal and State
agencies. SLT will honor existing agricultural and commercial leases on
the property through May 2012.
Partial-Tidal (Proposed) Restoration Alternative
The Partial-Tidal Restoration Alternative would restore 955 acres
of tidal marsh; preserve and enhance a 106-acre area of non-tidal
seasonal wetland while maintaining agriculture between the SMART line
and Highway 37; provide public recreation access south and possibly
north of Highway 37; and enhance 15.5 acres of additional breeding
habitat for the California red-legged frog, including 0.86 acres of
excavation in the floodplain near the northern project boundary.
Full-Tidal Restoration Alternative
The Full-Tidal Restoration Alternative would restore 1,352 acres of
tidal marsh; provide public recreation access south and possibly north
of Highway 37; and enhance 15.5 acres of additional breeding habitat,
including 0.86 acres of excavation in the floodplain, for the
California red-legged frog near the northern project boundary.
NEPA Compliance
The entire Dickson Ranch parcel and 858 acres of the NPJV parcel
are located within the approved acquisition boundary of the San Pablo
Bay NWR. Federally owned lands within the Refuge boundary are adjacent
to these properties. In order to implement the action alternatives
described above, some activity (levee breaching and habitat
restoration) within the San Pablo Bay NWR is necessary. We will use the
EIR/EIS to determine whether to authorize activities within the San
Pablo Bay NWR in order to accomplish project goals.
The EIR/EIS discusses the direct, indirect, and cumulative impacts
of the alternatives on biological resources, cultural resources, land
use, air quality, water quality, water resources, and other
environmental resources. It also identifies appropriate mitigation
measures for adverse environmental effects.
Public Review
We conducted public review of the EIR/EIS in accordance with the
requirements of NEPA, as amended (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), its
implementing regulations (40 CFR parts 1500-1508), other applicable
regulations, and our procedures for compliance with those regulations.
The formal public comment period for the draft EIR/EIS opened on August
28, 2009, and closed on October 13, 2009. We announced the availability
of the draft document by several methods, including press releases and
public notice, including a notice in the Federal Register (74 FR 44379,
August 28, 2009). While we received a number of comments on the draft
EIR/EIS, none of the comments received from interested individuals,
groups, or agencies required us or CDFG to add new alternatives or to
significantly alter existing alternatives.
The EIR/EIS meets the requirements of both NEPA and the California
Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). The California Department of Fish and
Game is the CEQA lead agency. The final EIR/EIS contains our responses
to all comments received on the draft document. Following the release
of the final EIR/EIS, we will prepare a Record of Decision not sooner
than 30 days after the Environmental Protection Agency has published
its notice of filing of the document in the Federal Register. We
anticipate that we will issue a Record of Decision in the spring of
2012.
We provide this notice under regulations implementing NEPA (40 CFR
1506.6).
Alexandra Pitts,
Acting, Regional Director, Pacific Southwest Region.
[FR Doc. 2012-9577 Filed 4-19-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-55-P