[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 225 (Tuesday, November 22, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Page 72187]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-30088]
[[Page 72187]]
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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Department of the Army; Corps of Engineers
Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for the
Proposed Westbrook Project, Corps Permit Application Number SPK-2005-
00938
AGENCY: Department of the Army, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, DOD.
ACTION: Notice of intent.
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SUMMARY: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Sacramento District, (Corps)
received a Department of the Army permit application from Westpark S.V.
400, LLC (Applicant) to fill approximately 9.6 acres of waters of the
United States to construct the proposed Westbrook Project in Placer
County, CA, in June 2011. The Corps, as the lead agency responsible for
compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA),
determined that the proposed project may result in significant impacts
to the environment, and that the preparation of an Environmental Impact
Statement (EIS) is required.
The Applicant proposes to implement a moderate scale, mixed-use,
mixed-density master planned community. The Westbrook Project, as
proposed, would include a mixture of land uses, including new
residential neighborhoods, elementary school, parks and several
neighborhood serving retail centers. The Westbrook Project would
involve approximately 146 acres of low-density residential, 84 acres of
medium-density residential 28 acres high-density residential and 43
acres of commercial land uses. Other proposed land uses include a 10-
acre elementary school site, approximately 16 acres for three
neighborhood parks, and approximately 37 acres of open space for the
preservation of natural resources areas.
The proposed project site is approximately 400 acres and contains
approximately 13 acres of waters of the United States. The project, as
proposed, would result in direct impacts to approximately 9.6 acres of
waters of the United States. These acreages do not include indirect
impacts from the proposed action or impacts anticipated to result from
offsite infrastructure that may be determined to be required as part of
the project through the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) process.
ADDRESSES: To submit comments on this notice or for questions about the
proposed action and the Draft EIS, please contact James T. Robb, 650
Capitol Mall, Room 5-200, Sacramento, CA 95814. Please refer to
Identification Number SPK-2005-00938 in any correspondence.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. James T. Robb, (916) 557-7610,
email: [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Interested parties are invited to submit
written comments on the permit application on or before November 14,
2011. Scoping comments should be submitted within the next 45 days, but
may be submitted at any time prior to publication of the Draft EIS.
The USACE will evaluate alternatives including the no action
alternative, the proposed action alternative, and other on-site and
off-site alternatives. No project alternatives have been defined to
date. The proposed project and the alternatives to its proposed size,
design, and location will be developed through the EIS process.
The proposed project would result in direct impacts to
approximately 9.6 acres of waters of the United States and would avoid
approximately 2.9 acres of these waters of the United States. Waters of
the U.S. on-site include two intermittent streams, seasonal wetlands,
wetland swales, and vernal pools.
The proposed site for the Westbrook community is in unincorporated
Placer County, CA, immediately west of the City of Roseville's existing
city limits. The proposed project site is approximately 6 miles west of
Interstate 80 and State Route 65, 10 miles northeast of the City of
Sacramento, 10 miles east of State Route 99, 5 miles west of downtown
Roseville, and 4 miles east of the Sutter County line. The proposed
project site is bordered on the west by Fiddyment Road and is
approximately 1.2 miles north of Baseline Road. The property to the
north was previously authorized for development under permit SPK-2002-
00666 (Westpark/Fiddyment Ranch) or is under review in the case of
Creekview (SPK-2006-00650). The property to the south, directly
adjacent to Baseline Road, is currently under review (Sierra Vista
Specific Plan, SPK-2006-01050 and Placer Vineyards, SPK-1999-00737).
The proposed project site was once a part of the Sierra Vista Specific
Plan area, but the landowners at the time withdrew their application
for a Section 404 permit and the area was dropped from analysis under
the Sierra Vista EIS in 2008. A new permit application was received for
the proposed Westbrook project on June 9, 2011.
The Corps' public involvement program includes several
opportunities to provide oral and written comments on the Westbrook
project through the EIS drafting process. Affected federal, state, and
local agencies, Indian tribes, and other interested private
organizations and parties are invited to participate. Significant
issues to be analyzed in depth in the EIS include impacts to waters of
the United States, including vernal pools and other wetlands;
agricultural resources; cultural resources; threatened and endangered
species; transportation; air quality; surface water and groundwater;
hydrology and water quality; socioeconomic effects; and aesthetics.
The applicant reports that the project area supports suitable
habitat for certain federally listed branchiopods, including the
threatened vernal pool fairy shrimp (Branchinecta lynchi) and
endangered Conservancy fairy shrimp (Branchinecta conservatio) and
vernal pool tadpole shrimp (Lepidurus packardi). The suitable habitat
for branchiopods within the project area includes vernal pools and
depressional seasonal wetlands (including depressional areas within
wetland swales).
The Applicant reports that there are historic properties within the
Westbrook project area. The Corps will review this information,
determine eligibility and initiate the appropriate state and tribal
consultations as required under Section 106 of the NHPA as outlined in
the Corps' Interim Guidance to 33 CFR part 325 Appendix C.
It is anticipated that the Draft EIS will be made available to the
public between November 2012 and May 2013.
Brenda S. Bowen,
Army Federal Register Liaison Officer.
[FR Doc. 2011-30088 Filed 11-21-11; 8:45 am]
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