[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 174 (Monday, September 11, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 42703-42704]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-19085]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
National Park Service
[NPS-PWR-PWRO-23152; PPPWGOGAP0 PPMPSAS1Z.YP0000]
Final Environmental Impact Statement for Vista Grande Drainage
Basin Improvement Project, Golden Gate National Recreation Area, San
Francisco and San Mateo Counties, California
AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability.
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SUMMARY: The National Park Service (NPS) announces the availability of
the Final Environmental Impact Statement (Final EIS) for the proposed
Vista Grande Drainage Basin Project (Project), prepared in cooperation
with the City of Daly City (Daly City). The Final EIS incorporates the
Final Environmental Impact Report (EIR) prepared by Daly City. Daly
City is seeking a Special Use Permit from the NPS for construction
activities proposed at Fort Funston, a possible Right of Way approval
for outfall-related infrastructure on the beach below Fort Funston, and
modernization of an existing easement to clarify the rights and
obligations of the parties with regard to proposed structures within
Fort Funston.
DATES: The NPS will execute a Record of Decision no sooner than 30 days
after the date of publication by the Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA) of the notice of filing and availability of the Final EIS in the
Federal Register.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Please contact Steve Ortega at the
Golden Gate National Recreation Area (GGNRA) Planning Division at (415)
561-4930 or [email protected].
ADDRESSES: An electronic copy of the Final EIS is available on the
project Web site (http://parkplanning.nps.gov/Vista_Grande). A limited
number of printed copies of the Final EIS are available for public
inspection, and may be requested by contacting the GGNRA Planning
Division as noted above.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The purpose and need for the Project is to
alleviate flooding in the Vista Grande Drainage Basin and Canal and
provide a sustainable source of water for management of Lake Merced
water levels and quality, and to ensure that the portion of the Project
within federally managed lands, if authorized, is constructed,
operated, and maintained in a manner that is consistent with the
protection and enhancement of resources, values, and uses of lands and
waters under federal jurisdiction. NPS's objectives for the Project
include the following: (1) Avoid, minimize, or mitigate environmental
impacts to Park natural and cultural resources; (2) during
construction, ensure the health and safety of park visitors and staff,
maintain access to and through Fort Funston, and minimize impacts to
the visitor experience; (3) permanently improve public access along the
beach; and (4) minimize impacts on park assets and sustain or restore
all park assets (e.g., facilities, features, grounds) to pre-
construction or better conditions.
Range of Alternatives: The Project would address storm-related
flooding in the Vista Grande Drainage Basin, while providing the
additional benefit of augmenting the level of Lake Merced. The project
would also improve recreational access and reduce litter transfer and
deposition along the beach below Fort Funston and maximize the use of
existing rights-of-way, easements, and infrastructure to minimize
construction-related costs, habitat disturbance, and disruption to
recreational users. The Final EIS describes and analyzes the following
four alternatives:
No Project/No Action Alternative would result in no construction of
the physical components of the proposed Project, and none of the
proposed operational changes to stormwater routing or Lake Merced water
management would be made. The NPS would not grant the Special Use
Permit or amend the existing easement, and no construction could occur
within NPS-managed lands. Annual Canal sediment removal activities
would continue, as well as as-needed maintenance activities. Because
Canal and Tunnel capacity would not be improved, occasional flooding of
the Canal and associated flooding of John Muir Drive into Lake Merced
and in local neighborhoods would continue. This alternative serves as
the environmental baseline from which potential effects of the
``action'' alternatives were compared.
Proposed Project, identified as the NPS preferred alternative,
would consist of the following: (1) Improvements within the Vista
Grande Basin storm drain system upstream of the Vista Grande Canal; (2)
Partial replacement of the existing Vista Grande Canal to incorporate a
gross solid screening device, an approximately 2.6-acre constructed
treatment wetland, and diversion and discharge structures to route some
stormwater (and authorized non-stormwater) flows from the Vista Grande
Canal to Lake Merced and to allow lake water to be used for summer
treatment wetland maintenance; (3) Modification of the existing
effluent gravity pipeline so that it may be used year round to convey
treated effluent from the nearby North San Mateo County Sanitation
District Wastewater Treatment Plant to the existing outlet and diffuser
by gravity, and abandoning the force main pipeline; (4) Modification of
the existing lake overflow structure to include an adjustable weir and
siphon that allows water from the lake to flow into the Canal and
Tunnel; (5) Replacement of the existing Vista Grande Tunnel to expand
its hydraulic capacity and extend its operating lifetime and
replacement of the Lake Merced Portal to the Tunnel; and (6)
Replacement of the existing Ocean Outlet structure and a portion of the
existing 33-inch submarine outfall pipeline that crosses the beach at
Fort Funston.
Tunnel Alignment Alternative would include the construction of a
replacement tunnel south of the existing Tunnel. The new tunnel would
run from a new east portal at the Canal to a new or rehabilitated Ocean
Outlet structure at Fort Funston. The Tunnel would run beneath the
Olympic Club, Highway 35, and the GGNRA lands. This alternative could
be paired with either the proposed Canal improvements or the Canal
Configuration Alternative.
Canal Configuration Alternative would not construct the box culvert
replacing the first 1,500 feet of the Canal; rather, the diversion
structure described for the proposed Project
[[Page 42704]]
would be relocated to the southern (upstream) end of the Canal. The box
culvert under John Muir Drive also would be relocated and would cross
under John Muir Drive close to the southern end of Impound Lake. The
design of the diversion structure, box culvert under John Muir Drive,
and Lake Merced Outlet would be approximately the same as for the
proposed Project, but located at the upstream (southern) end of the
Canal. The diversion structure would replace the first approximately
350 feet of the Canal, and the rest of the Canal would be unchanged
except as needed for temporary construction access to the Lake Merced
Tunnel Portal. Under the Canal Configuration Alternative, only one
wetland cell of approximately 1.7 acres would be constructed. This
alternative could be paired with either the proposed Tunnel
improvements or the Tunnel Alignment Alternative.
The EPA notice of filing and availability of the Draft EIS was
published on April 29, 2016, which opened the 60 day public review and
comment period. The draft document was posted online at http://parkplanning.nps.gov/Vista_Grande, and printed copies were available on
request. Daly City conducted one public meeting in Daly City on May 26,
2016. Following a review of agency and public comments on the Draft
EIS, the NPS and Daly City prepared written responses to substantive
comments relevant to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and
California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) review of the Project.
Responses to comments are provided in Chapter 3 of the Final EIS.
Staff-initiated revisions to the text of the Draft EIS as well as
revisions made in response to pertinent comments are provided in
Chapter 4 of the Final EIS.
The NPS will execute a Record of Decision no sooner than 30 days
following EPA's notice published in the Federal Register announcing
filing and release of the Final EIS. The official responsible for
approval of the Vista Grande Drainage Basin Improvement Project is the
Regional Director of the Pacific West Region, and subsequently the
General Superintendent, GGNRA, will be responsible for NPS
implementation.
Authority: 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.
Dated: July 25, 2017.
Martha J. Lee,
Acting Regional Director, Pacific West Region.
[FR Doc. 2017-19085 Filed 9-8-17; 8:45 am]
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