Intent To Prepare Environmental Impact Statement for Permit Application for Proposed Activities at Bolsa Chica, Orange County, CA

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Intent To Prepare Environmental Impact Statement for Permit

Application for Proposed Activities at Bolsa Chica, Orange County, CA

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

ACTION: Notice of intent.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is considering an application

for section 404 and section 10 permits to conduct dredge and fill

activities at Bolsa Chica near the City of Huntington Beach, Orange

County, California. The proposed project incorporates components of

residential housing and associated infrastructure, habitat restoration

of the estuarine marsh, and modifications to the existing East Garden

Grove-Wintersburg Flood Control Channel.

The primary Federal concern is the dredging and discharging of

materials within waters of the United States, including wetlands, and

potential significant impacts on the human environment. Therefore, in

accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the Corps

is requiring the preparation of an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS)

prior to consideration of any permit action.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Comments and questions regarding scoping of the Draft EIS may be

addressed to: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Los Angeles District,

Regulatory Branch, ATTN: Bruce Henderson, P.O. Box 2711, Los Angeles,

California 90053-2325.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Project Site

The Bolsa Chica site consists of approximately 1,973 acres of land

located in northwestern coastal Orange in southern California. Of the

total acreage, approximately 1,312 acres consists of lowlands situated

between two upland mesas (Bolsa Chica Mesa to the north and Huntington

Mesa to the south).

The site is surrounded by residential neighborhoods to the north,

east, and southeast, and by the Pacific Coast Highway (State Route 1)

and Bolsa Chica State Beach to the southwest. At present the site is

largely undeveloped and is traversed by numerous compacted dirt berm

roads associated with ongoing oil production activities. A 300-acre

State Ecological Reserve, of which 170 acres have been restored, is

also located in the Bolsa Chica lowland adjacent to Pacific Coast

Highway.

In February 1989, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

determined that 927 acres of waters of the United States, including

wetlands, are present at the site. Approximately 916 acres are the

subject of the applicant's permit request.

Proposed Action

The applicant's proposed project is comprised of three primary

components:

(1) Construction of residential housing and associated

infrastructure on approximately 270 acres of the Bolsa Chica Mesa as

well as approximately 194 acres of the lowlands (comprised of 119 acres

of wetlands and/or waters of the U.S. and 75 non-jurisdictional acres

adjacent to existing homes;

(2) Consolidation and restoration of degraded wetlands and creation

of new wetlands from on site non-jurisdictional areas;

(3) Modifications to the existing East Garden Grove-Wintersburg

Flood Control Channel. The proposed wetlands restoration work includes

the construction of a new non-navigable tidal inlet beneath Pacific

Coast Highway and through Bolsa Chica State Beach.

The permit application states that completion of the residential

construction component in the lowlands will enable the landowner to

finance and complete the wetlands restoration component.

Issues

Potentially significant environmental issues associated with

implementation of the applicant's proposed project to be addressed in

the EIS include:

a. Geological issues including subsidence, seismic concerns and

landform alteration.

b. Impacts to terrestrial and aquatic biological resources,

including Federally listed threatened and endangered species.

c. Impacts to surface and ground water quality and hydrology.

d. Impacts to prehistoric and historic cultural resources.

e. Land use patterns, including recreation and coastal access.

f. Impacts to air quality.

g. Noise impacts.

h. Impacts to public services and utilities.

i. Impacts to aesthetic resources.

j. Oceanography and fishing impacts.

k. Impacts to local traffic circulation.

l. Socioeconomic concerns including population, housing and

infrastructure costs and benefits.

m. Public health and safety concerns.

n. Cumulative impacts.

Alternatives

The EIS will consider an appropriate range of alternatives for the

proposed project at Bolsa Chica. For purposes of this analysis,

separate alternatives will be analyzed for each of the plan's three

primary components, keeping in mind the overall project purpose.

Because the applicant proposes to develop the Bolsa Chica Mesa

regardless of any action in the lowlands, the following applies

primarily to the applicant's permit application for that portion of the

project in the lowlands. Accordingly, the following list of

alternatives is set for in three categories: (I) Residential housing;

(II) wetlands restoration; and (III) flood control modifications.

I. Residential Housing Component

1. Residential housing and associated road construction on 119

acres of degraded wetlands and 75 non-jurisdictional acres along the

inland edge of the site (Applicant's Preferred Action). The applicant

contends that this alternative will provide it with sufficient usable

property in the lowland to enable it to restore and convey in

perpetuity the balance of its lowland holdings (approximately 767

acres) to the County of Orange. This conveyed property would be

restored by the applicant in accordance with one of the restoration

alternatives listed in Section II below.

2. Residential development and construction of a navigable ocean

entrance and public marina with associated commercial uses. Like

alternative I.1, this alternative is intended to enable the applicant

to restore and convey the remainder of the lowland to the County of

Orange.

3. Residential development in the areas known as the Bolsa Pocket

and Edward's Thumb. The Bolsa Pocket is an area situated between the

East Garden Grove-Wintersburg Flood Control Channel and the base of the

Bolsa Chica mesa. Edward's Thumb is an area situated in the northeast

corner of the lowland. Like alternative I.1, this alternative is

intended to enable the applicant to restore and convey the remainder of

the lowland to the County of Orange.

4. Creation of wetlands mitigation bank in the lowland with no

lowland residential development.

5. Acquisition of the lowland by a public entity or a non-profit

organization and restoration by same in accordance with one of the

restoration alternatives listed in Section II below. This alternative

will be analyzed with and without the development of a public parkland

area along the inland edge of the site. In either case, there would be

no lowland residential development.

6. No action.

II. Wetlands Restoration Component

1. Full tidal restoration with construction of a non-navigable

tidal inlet (Applicant's Preferred Action). This alternative includes

the removal of many of the roads and oil drilling pads that traverse

the Bolsa Chica lowland and requires significant excavation and

discharge of fill in the central portion of the lowland in order to

create a suitable tidal prism for enhancement of the ecosystem.

2. Muted tidal restoration without construction of a tidal inlet.

This alternative differs in significant respects from alternative II.1

in that it would rely on an increased tidal exchange from the adjoining

Huntington Harbour instead of the non-navigable inlet.

3. Minimal restoration without increased tidal action either from

Huntington Harbor or from a new tidal inlet. The roads and drilling

pads that traverse the lowland would largely be left intact. New water

sources to the lowland would be created by breaching the California

department of Fish and Game levee and the Freeman Creek corridor.

4. No action.

III. Flood Control Modifications

1. Modifications to the East Garden Grove-Wintersburg Flood Control

Channel that involve removing approximately 1.2 acres of embankment

dirt for purposes of widening the existing channel and discharge flow

into the lowland area. (Applicant's Preferred Action).

2. Modifications to the flood control channel that involve

excavating the Outer Bolsa Bay at the channel outlet.

3. No action.

IV. Plan Packages

Based on a preliminary review of a reasonable range of

alternatives, the following plan packages have been identified for a

more comprehensive review in the EIS. All of the following include

residential development on the Bolsa Chica Mesa. It is anticipated that

the final design may encompass one or more of the components described

in sections I, II, and III, but not necessarily as described below.

1. Applicant's Preferred Action: Residential development in the

lowlands adjacent to the existing homes (I.1); full tidal restoration

(II.1); in-channel flood control modifications (III.1).

2. Residential development in the Bolsa Pocket and Edward's Thumb

areas (I.3); minimal wetlands restoration (II.3); flood control

modifications involving Outer Bolsa Bay (III.2).

3. Acquisition and restoration of the lowland by a public agency or

nonprofit organization (I.5); muted tidal restoration (II.2); flood

control modifications involving Outer Bolsa Bay (III.2). This

alternative will be analyzed with and without the development of a

public parkland area in the lowlands adjacent to the existing homes.

4. Creation of a wetlands mitigation bank (I.4); full tidal

restoration (II.1); in-channel flood control modifications (III.1).

5. Residential development and creation of a public marina with a

navigable ocean entrance (I.2); full tidal restoration (II.1); in-

channel flood control modifications (III.1).

6. No action (I.6); no action (II.4); no action (III.3).

Scoping Process

The Corps of Engineers invites input from other Federal, state, and

local agencies, Native Americans, and other interested private

organizations and individuals to comment on the scope of this EIS,

including the range of alternatives and issues to be addressed. In

addition, a public notice in area newspapers will be published for

purposes of soliciting public comments so as to assess public concerns

regarding the appropriate scope and preparation of the draft EIS.

Other related public environmental assessments that have been

prepared for this project include the Draft Environmental Impact Report

for the Bolsa Chica Project, prepared by the Orange County

Environmental Management Agency (December 20, 1993).

The Corps of Engineers will also be consulting with the U.S. Fish

and Wildlife Service under the Endangered Species Act and Fish and

Wildlife Coordination Act, and with the State Office of Historic

Preservation under the National Historic Preservation Act.

Additionally, the EIS will assess the consistency of the proposed

action with the Coastal Zone Management Act, as well as executive

orders on wetlands and floodplain protection.

Availability of the Draft EIS

The Draft EIS is expected to be published and circulated in late

Spring 1994, and a Public Hearing will be held after its publication.

Kenneth L. Denton,

Army Federal Register Liaison Officer.

[FR Doc. 94-4834 Filed 3-2-94; 8:45 am]

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