Sunol Valley Water Treatment Plant Expansion Eagle Permit NEPA Documents

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service received an application from the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission requesting eagle take coverage under the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act. The application requested authorization for incidental disturbance take of eagles associated with expansion and facility upgrades at the existing Sunol Valley Water Treatment Plant. The plant is located in Sunol, California in Alameda County. The Project involves the expansion of the plant, including construction of a new ozonation facility and a new utility and fire water pump station, and the relocation of an existing radio tower, as well as upgrades to existing facilities at the plant and off-site electrical system upgrades. Activities are scheduled to occur from approximately September 2024 to December 2028. These activities may disturb a golden eagle pair nesting in the vicinity of the project, which may prevent them from breeding and producing offspring.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service prepared an Environmental Assessment (EA), pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act, to assess impacts of the proposed action of issuance of the requested short-term (four-year) incidental eagle take permit to the applicant, as well as alternatives to the proposed action. The proposed action of issuing a permit requires implementation of measures to avoid and minimize adverse effects to eagles to the maximum extent practicable and compensatory mitigation to fully offset eagle take. Details of the minimization measures and compensatory mitigation can be found in the EA document provided here. The analysis detailed in the EA resulted in selection of the proposed action and a Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI). The FONSI and final EA documents are provided here.