[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 247 (Friday, December 23, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 94351-94352]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-30985]
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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Department of the Army, Corps of Engineers
Intent To Prepare an Integrated Feasibility Study/Environmental
Impact Statement for the San Francisquito Creek Flood Risk Management
Study, San Mateo and Santa Clara Counties, CA
AGENCY: Department of the Army, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, DOD.
ACTION: Notice of intent.
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SUMMARY: The Department of the Army and the San Francisquito Creek
Joint Powers Authority (SFCJPA) hereby give notice of intent to prepare
an integrated Feasibility Study/Environmental Impact Statement (FS/EIS)
for the San Francisquito Creek Flood Risk Management Project in San
Mateo and Santa Clara Counties, CA to consider opportunities to reduce
fluvial flooding, to reduce the risk to public safety due to flooding
consistent with protecting the Nation's environment, in accordance with
national environmental statutes, applicable executive orders, and other
Federal planning requirements. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE)
is the lead agency for this project under NEPA. The SFCJPA is the lead
agency for this project under the California Environmental Quality Act
(CEQA) and will be preparing a separate Environmental Impact Report
(EIR).
DATES: Written comments from all interested parties are encouraged and
must be received on or before 5:00 p.m. on February 17, 2017.
ADDRESSES: Written comments and requests for information should be sent
to Eric Jolliffe, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, San Francisco District,
1455 Market St., 17th floor, San Francisco, CA 94103,
[email protected].
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Eric Jolliffe, (415) 503-6869.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The San Francisquito Creek watershed
encompasses an area of approximately 45 square miles, extending from
the ridge of the Santa Cruz Mountains to San Francisco Bay in
California. The majority of the watershed lies in the Santa Cruz
Mountains and Bay Foothills northwest of Palo Alto; the remaining 7.5
square miles lie on the San Francisquito alluvial fan near San
Francisco Bay.
The San Francisquito Creek watershed contains mainstem San
Francisquito Creek and the main tributary streams of West Union Creek,
Corte Madera Creek, Bear Creek and Los Trancos Creek. Los Trancos Creek
and lower San Francisquito Creek form the boundary between San Mateo
and Santa Clara counties. The reaches are divided up as follows: Reach
1 extends from San Francisco Bay to the upstream face of Highway 101;
Reach 2 extends from Highway 101 to El Camino Real; Reach 3 continues
from El Camino Real to Sand Hill Road; and Reach 4 continues from Sand
Hill Road to the ridge of the Santa Cruz Mountains. This FS/EIS will
investigate flood risk management solutions related to breakout flow in
Reach 2 only. The entire watershed will be considered when developing
solutions to address flooding in Reach 2.
The non-Federal sponsor for the Feasibility phase of the study is
the SFCJPA. The SFCJPA is comprised of the following member agencies:
the City of Palo Alto; the City of Menlo Park; the City of East Palo
Alto; the Santa Clara Valley Water District; and the San Mateo County
Flood Control District.
1. Background. The carrying capacity of San Francisquito Creek is
affected by the presence of development, vegetation, sedimentation,
land subsidence, levee settlement, erosion, and culverts and bridges in
the project area. Erosion has caused the undermining of roads and
structures in many places throughout the watershed. Flooding on San
Francisquito Creek affects the cities of Menlo Park and East Palo Alto
in San Mateo County, and the city of Palo Alto in Santa Clara County.
Flooding from San Francisquito Creek has been a common occurrence.
The most recent flood event occurred in December 2012, and the flood of
record occurred in February 1998, when the Creek overtopped its banks
in several areas, affecting approximately 1,700 residential and
commercial structures and causing more than $26.6 million in property
damages. After these floods, the SFCJPA was formed to pursue flood
control and restoration opportunities in the area.
The current USACE Feasibility Study is a continuation of the
authority passed on May 22, 2002 by the Committee on Transportation and
Infrastructure of the United States House of Representatives, which is
in accordance with Section 4 of the Flood Control Act of 1941. The
resolution reads as follows:
``Resolved by the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of
the United States House of Representatives, That, the Secretary of the
Army, in accordance with Section 4 of the Flood Control Act of 1941, is
hereby requested to conduct a study of the Guadalupe River and
Tributaries, California, to determine whether flood damage reduction,
environmental restoration and protection, storm water retention, water
conservation and supply, recreation and other allied purposes are
advisable in the interest of the San Francisquito Creek Watershed,
including San Francisquito Creek, Santa Clara and San Mateo Counties,
California.''
2. Proposed Action. The integrated FS/EIS will consider the
environmental impact of potential flood risk management projects with
the end goal of reducing flood damage in the San Francisquito Creek
Watershed.
3. Project Alternatives. The integrated FS/EIS will include four
alternatives.
a. No Action: Alternative 1 is the No Action Plan. With the No
Action Plan (which is the ``Future Without-Project Condition''), it is
assumed that no long-term actions would be taken to reduce flood damage
along San Francisquito Creek; flood control improvements would consist
of emergency fixes to damage areas, consistent with available funding.
b. Alternative 2 includes replacing bridges and widening channel
constriction points to provide additional channel capacity in Reach 2
between Highway 101 and El Camino Real. Under this alternative, bridges
and channel constrictions or ``bottlenecks''
[[Page 94352]]
that cause creek flows to back up and rise would be widened to increase
channel conveyance and thus reduce water surface elevation. Included in
this widening is a proposed project element to align the channel with a
CalTrans project to increase flow capacity at Highway 101 and adjacent
frontage roads. Impacts from these activities will be evaluated in the
FS/EIS.
c. Alternative 3 includes constructing floodwalls along the
channel. This Alternative would consider the addition of floodwalls in
Reach 2 as a stand-alone measure and in combination with the bridge
replacement and channel widening in Alternative 2.
d. Alternative 4 would consider the addition of a bypass culvert as
a stand-alone measure and in combination with the bridge replacement
and channel widening in Alternative 2. This alternative may include
floodwalls, though at a reduced scale compared to Alternative 3. This
alternative includes a new bypass inlet located a few hundred feet
upstream from University Avenue that would divert high flows to a
culvert beneath Woodland Avenue or a street in Palo Alto. A box culvert
would follow a roadway in the downstream direction for approximately
1.0 to 1.5 miles to an outlet structure where high flows would be
returned to the creek.
4. Environmental Considerations. In all cases, environmental
considerations will include riparian habitat, aquatic habitat, sediment
budget, fish passage, recreation, public access, aesthetics, cultural
resources, and environmental justice as well as other potential
environmental issues of concern.
5. Scoping Process. The USACE and SFCJPA are seeking input from
interested federal, state, and local agencies, Native American
representatives, and other interested private organizations and parties
through provision of this notice and holding of a scoping meeting. The
purpose of this meeting is to solicit input regarding the environmental
issues of concern and the alternatives that should be discussed in the
integrated FS/EIS. The public scoping meeting will be held on January
18, 2017 at 6:30 p.m. at the Laurel School Upper Campus, 275 Elliott
Drive in Menlo Park, CA.
6. Availability of integrated FS/EIS. The public will have an
additional opportunity in the NEPA process to comment on the proposed
alternatives after the draft integrated FS/EIS is released to the
public in 2017. It is being issued pursuant to section 102(2)(c) of the
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969 as implemented by the
Council on Environmental Quality regulations (40 CFR parts 1500-1508).
John C. Morrow,
Lieutenant Colonel, Corps of Engineers District Engineer.
[FR Doc. 2016-30985 Filed 12-22-16; 8:45 am]
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