Intent To Prepare a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for the Proposed Southern Pacific Milling Company Sisquoc River Mining Plan in the Sisquoc River in Santa Barbara County, CA

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Department of the Army

Corps of Engineers

Intent To Prepare a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS)

for the Proposed Southern Pacific Milling Company Sisquoc River Mining

Plan in the Sisquoc River in Santa Barbara County, CA

AGENCY: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Los Angeles District, DOD.

ACTION: Notice of Intent.

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SUMMARY: The proposed action is to mine construction-grade aggregate

deposits from a 1.5-mile stretch of the Sisquoc River, a water of the

United States. The California Division of Mines and Geology has

determined that the most significant concentration of construction-

grade aggregate in the region occurs in the Sisquoc/Santa Maria River

basin. This deposit contains material that is important to two

countries for construction, maintenance and rehabilitation of public

and private facilities. The proposed action is intended to help satisfy

the long-term demand for commercially-usable aggregate material in the

region.

Because the action will require a permit under Section 404 of the

Clean Water Act (as amended) and adverse individual culminative impacts

to the aquatic ecosystem may result, the Corps has determined that the

proposed action warrants an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS)

pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act.

A Joint Review Panel (JRP) consisting of the primary permitting

agencies for the project has been formed to coordinate multi-agency

review. The JRP includes representatives of the U.S. Army Corps of

Engineers, California Division of Mines and Geology, and Country of

Santa Barbara. The County of Santa Barbara will serve as the lead

agency under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). The

environmental document will therefore be circulated as a joint

Environmental Impact Statement/Environmental Impact Report (EIS/EIR).

ADDRESSES: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Regulatory Branch, 2151

Alessandro Drive, Suite 255, Ventura, California 93001.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Mr. Michael Jewell, (805) 641-0301.

DATE: Scoping comment period will expire January 20, 1995.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

1. Proposed Action

Southern Pacific Milling Company (SPMilling), has applied to the

Corps of Engineers for a Section 404 individual permit to remove sand

and gravel material from a 1.5-mile stretch of the Sisquoc River over

the course of the next 20 years. The proposed mining plan has been

designed to interface with the proposed Coast Rock Products Mining and

Reclamation Plan on the Sisquoc and Santa Maria Rivers (see Federal

Register 59 FR 2361).

In 1989, the California Division of Mines and Geology found that

the largest concentration of construction-grade material in Santa

Barbara and San Louis Obispo Counties (the service area) extends along

the Sisquoc/Santa Maria river system from a narrow canyon in the

Sisquoc Ranch to the ancient flood plain underlying the City of Santa

Maria. Because much of this material is no longer accessible due to

surface improvements or established land use, the most viable long-term

sources have been identified to occur within and adjacent the Sisquoc

and Santa Maria Rivers. The overall purpose of the proposed action is

to mine high-quality, construction-grade aggregate (MRZ-2 classified)

deposits within the service area for utilization of the resource for

approximately 20 years and reclaim mined lands in accordance with the

requirements of the California State Surface Mining and Reclamation Act

(SMART).

The EIS/EIR for this proposal will be combined with the Coast Rock

Products IS/EIR (currently in development) in one document. Since the

SPMilling project site is situated between the upstream and downstream

Coast Rock Products sites, it was determined that a combined document

for both proposals would be appropriate and valuable in evaluating

individual and cumulative impacts of these major operations on the

river system.

2. Alternatives

At least the following alternatives will be considered: (1) No

action; (2) applicant's preferred project; (3) off-site (outside the

100-year floodplain) mining; (4) mining in the river (within the 100-

year floodplain) but not within Section 404 jurisdiction; (5) a

reduced-scale project; and (6) alternative landuse/reclamation

scenarios.

3. Scoping Process

a. Federal, state and local agencies and other interested private

citizens and organizations are encouraged to send their written

comments to Mr. Michael Jewell at the address provided in this notice.

This scoping comment period will expire 30 days from the date of this

notice.

b. Significant issues to be analyzed in depth in the Draft

Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) include hydrology/hydraulics,

biological resources, water quality, cultural resources, air quality,

transportation, groundwater recharge, noise, aesthetics, and

socioeconomics.

c. Coordination will be undertaken with the U.S. Environmental

Protection Agency, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, California

Department of Fish and Game, State Historic Preservation Office, and

California Regional Water Quality Control Board.

d. The project will also be reviewed under the California

Environmental Quality Act. A draft EIS/EIR will be published which will

discuss both NEPA and CEQA issues.

4. Scoping Meeting

A scoping meeting has not been scheduled for the SPMilling

proposal. A scoping meeting was held in January 1994 to identify

potential issues relative to the Coast Rock Mining and Reclamation

Plan. The same or similar issues will be germane to the proposal

discussed herein.

5. DEIS Schedule

The current schedule estimates that the combined DEIS will be

available for public review and comment in February 1995.

Kenneth L. Denton,

Army Federal Register Liaison Officer.

[FR Doc. 94-31330 Filed 12-20-94; 8:45 am]

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