Record of Decision for the Development of Facilities in San Diego/Coronado, CA To Support the Homeporting of One Nimitz-Class Aircraft Carrier

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Department of the Navy

Record of Decision for the Development of Facilities in San

Diego/Coronado, CA To Support the Homeporting of One Nimitz-Class

Aircraft Carrier

Pursuant to section 102(2) of the National Environmental Policy Act

(NEPA) of 1969 and the Council on Environmental Quality regulations

implementing NEPA procedures (40 CFR 1500-1508), the Department of the

Navy announces its decision to implement the preferred alternative

presented in the Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) to comply

with the 1993 Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) directive from

Congress to close Naval Air Station Alameda and relocate ships

currently homeported there to fleet concentrations in San Diego and in

the Pacific Northwest. Affected ships include two Nimitz-class aircraft

carriers (CVNs), one of which will be realigned to the San Diego area

and is the subject of this decision.

A Notice of Intent was published in the Federal Register in July

1993, indicating that the Navy would prepare a Draft Environmental

Impact Statement (DEIS) for the Development of Facilities in San Diego/

Coronado to Support the Homeporting of One Nimitz-Class Aircraft

Carrier. A scoping meeting was held in August 1993, in Coronado,

California. In May 1995, the DEIS was distributed to federal, state and

local agencies, elected officers, special interest groups, and

interested individuals. A public hearing was held on June 7, 1995 in

Coronado. Oral and written comments and Navy responses were

incorporated into the FEIS which was distributed to the public for a

review period that ended on December 8, 1995.

The proposed action includes six separate construction projects for

facilities and infrastructure necessary to support one CVN and preserve

the existing capacity to accommodate one transient CVN at Naval Air

Station North Island (NASNI). Homeporting a CVN will require: (1)

Dredging of the carrier berths and turning basin, and the San Diego Bay

channel (consisting of the inner channel and the outer channel); and

(2) constructing a bay fill area, a carrier wharf, propulsion plant

maintenance facilities, and support utilities during the next five

years.

The carrier berths and turning basin will be dredged to a depth of

-50 feet below Mean Lower Low Water (MLLW), the inner channel will be

dredged to -47 feet MLLW, and the outer channel will be dredged to -55

feet MLLW. The outer channel extends south from Point Loma for 2.2

miles until the natural water depth reaches -55 feet MLLW. A total of

approximately 9 million cubic yards (CY) of sediments will be dredged

and disposed of at several locations. Of that amount, 70,000 CY

adjacent to the existing quaywall has been found unsuitable for ocean

disposal and will be used as backfill in the bay fill area. In

addition, approximately 40,000 CY of sediment dredged from the rock

dike foundation and 150,000 CY of sediment dredged from an eelgrass

mitigation site will also be used as backfill in the bay fill area.

Bioaccumulation studies indicated that approximately 932,000 CY of

dredged material located in the berthing area are suitable for ocean

disposal and will be disposed of at the U.S. Environmental protection

Agency approved Ocean Disposal Site (LA-5), located approximately 5

miles southwest of Point Loma. The remaining dredged material of

approximately 7.86 million CY are suitable for beach nourishment. This

material will be deposited nearshore in water depth ranging between -20

and -30 feet MLLW at four severely eroded beaches in San Diego County.

These beaches include: (a) Imperial Beach which will receive

approximately 1.7 million CY, (b) Del Mar and (c) Oceanside, which will

receive approximately 2.46 million CY each, and (d) Mission Beach,

which will receive approximately 1.24 million CY of the dredged

material. The exact disposal quantities and locations are subject to

approval and permitting by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (COE).

The San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG) is attempting to

obtain funding to supplement available Navy military construction

funding in order to place dredged material directly onto eroded

beaches. In the event that federal, state, or local funding becomes

available in time to meet dredging schedules, dredge material

determined suitable for beach nourishment by the COE would be placed

directly onshore at five beach sites located in San Diego County. These

five beaches were analyzed during the EIS process and have been

determined to be suitable for onshore beach nourishment. These beaches

are not suitable for nearshore placement of dredged material because of

sensitive

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marine resources. Under this contingency, the total of beach quality

materials would be deposited at nine sites, both nearshore and on the

beach. The exact disposal quantities and locations are subject to

approval and permitting by the COE.

A 13.4 acre bay fill area will be constructed to provide adequate

land space for carrier maintenance and support functions that need

access, laydown, or staging room. This area will also accommodate a

boatyard, a cleared security area, requisite fire lanes, and sufficient

space for pier crane operations including the movement of towed

aircraft to and from the carrier. A carrier wharf adjacent to the bay

fill area will be constructed to provide the necessary berthing spaces

and onshore support facilities, including electrical power, steam,

water, sewage, and oily waste offloading. A 14 acre near-shore site for

eelgrass mitigation will be dredged between the low tide line and -5

feet MLLW along the western shore at NASNI.

Three propulsion plant maintenance facilities will be constructed

to provide depot-level maintenance of CVN propulsion plant systems and

components in the San Diego area. These facilities are: (1) The

Controlled Industrial Facility which will be used for the inspection,

modification and repair of radiologically controlled equipment and

components associated with naval nuclear propulsion plants; (2) The

Ship Maintenance Facility which will house the machine tools,

industrial processes, and work functions necessary to perform

nonradiological depot-level maintenance on CVN propulsion plants; and

(3) The Maintenance Support Facility which will house the central area

for receiving, inspecting, shipping, and storing materials, and for

personnel support spaces. Construction of these three facilities will

involve demolition of two historic seaplane hangars.

Impacts to water quality, air quality, benthic organisms, marine

and natural resources will briefly occur during dredging and disposal

activities and construction of the shore facilities. These impacts,

however, are not considered significant within the context of the

project location and with implementation of specific mitigation

measures described herein.

While the environmental analysis conducted during the EIS process

concluded that there would be no significant impacts associated with

this project, several topics of concern were identified, including

traffic congestion, dredging, and dredge material disposal.

In accordance with the Clean Air Act and General Conformity Rule

requirements, an air quality review has been conducted for the proposed

projects. it has been determined that the proposed action is in

compliance with 40 CFR Part 63 (Determining conformity of General

Federal Actions to State or Federal Implementation Plans) and satisfies

the requirement of Section 176(c) of the Clean Air Act (42 USC 7506).

Accordingly, the proposed action conforms to the state implementation

plan's purpose of eliminating or reducing the severity and number of

violations of the national ambient air quality standards and achieving

expeditious attainment of those standards.

Section 404 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (FWPCA)

requires authorization from the COE for the discharge of dredged

material into the waters of the United States. Section 404 regulations

prohibit the use of any disposal site in open water when its use would

result in adverse effects on water quality, shellfish beds, fisheries

and wildlife, or recreational areas. The Navy has determined that the

proposed dredging would not have significant impacts and has applied

for a Section 404 permit for this project.

Section 401 of the FWPCA requires that any party proposing to

engage in an activity which may affect water quality must obtain state

water quality certification. Certification will not be granted unless

it has been determined that the proposed activity will not violate

state water quality standards. The Navy has applied for a Section 401

permit from the California Regional Water Quality Control Board.

In accordance with the Coastal Zone Management Act, the Navy has

requested and received concurrence with its determination of coastal

zone consistency for the CVN homeporting project from the California

Coastal Commission.

Pursuant to Executive Order 12898 on Environmental Justice,

potential environmental and economic impacts on minority and low-income

persons and communities were assessed. Any impacts caused by the CVN

homeporting project will be experienced equally by all groups within

the overall regional population. Because no long-term negative

environmental impacts are expected from the proposed action, no

particular minority or low income segment of the population would be

disproportionately affected. There is not anticipated to be any

likelihood for minority or low income individuals to be subjected to

adverse environmental or health risks.

In accordance with the National Historic Preservation Act, the Navy

has signed a Memorandum of Agreement which stipulates the mitigation

required for the demolition of two seaplane hangars.

The Navy has also concluded that there are no historic properties

at the dredge or disposal sites.

Comments Received on the FEIS

Ten comment letters were received following publication of the

FEIS. Several of these letters contained substantive comments which are

addressed below. Others reiterated comments which were previously

submitted and which have been addressed in the FEIS, or which were

beyond the scope of this EIS.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency responded supporting the

project, concluding that the Navy had been responsive to the Agency's

concerns.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) responded concurring with

the analysis contained in the EIS and with the mitigation plan

established for the burrowing owl.

The City of Coronado expressed support for homeporting the CVN

addressed in this project, however the City is concerned about the

impact on Coronado of all Navy projects in the area. The City requests

the Navy agree to take action on several measures the City believes

would ease the impacts of Navy-related projects in the area. The Navy

has met with City representatives and has found significant areas of

cooperation and agreement, including the following specific actions:

Use of an existing parking lot on NAS North Island

property for use by Navy members and government employees whose

automobiles do not meet criteria for general access to the base. This

lot is intended to reduce parking congestion on city streets near the

base. The lot's only restriction is to limit vehicles to 30 days of

continuous use. The Navy will investigate the legal impacts of

eliminating even the 30 day restriction.

The Navy is willing to seek funding for a new entrance to

NAS North Island, at the end of Third Street in Coronado, in

conjunction with construction of a new commissary planned for 1997.

Barging equipment and material rather than trucking it

through Coronado is a major consideration for the construction

contracts to be awarded for this project. In its requests for proposals

from prospective contractors, the Navy specified alternate

transportation as a consideration for contract award. The Navy has

elected to

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award those contracts on the basis of ``best value'' rather than

``lowest price'' partly in order to encourage this more expensive, but

less intrusive method of transportation. Specific transportation plans

will be presented to the City of Coronado subsequent to contractor

selection.

Free passenger ferry service exists now between downtown

San Diego and NAS North Island. Additional service to the north side of

San Diego Bay is on track to begin in July 1996. A new pier will be

constructed and a parking lot designated at the Antisubmarine Training

Center in San Diego Harbor's West Basin. Initial service will include a

100-space parking lot, to be expanded to 300 spaces as passenger volume

increases. Shuttle service from the North Island ferry terminal to work

sites on base is already in place.

Park and Ride sites at Imperial Beach and NAS Miramar are

also being negotiated. Key here is identification of sites which are

convenient to users. Other actions have been implemented to complement

this measure, including prime parking spaces reserved for car pools,

institution of van pools, guaranteed rides home for car and van pool

riders as well as discounted mass transit fares.

Comments were also received expressing concern that the FEIS did

not adequately address cumulative impacts associated with future

replacement of North Island's two remaining conventionally powered

aircraft carriers and other BRAC related actions. Chapter Six of the

FEIS addressed cumulative impacts in quantitative detail, when

practiable, for past, present and future projects at North Island and

in the San Diego area.

Future Navy projects will be the subject of independent NEPA

analysis. The cumulative impacts of past and present projects coupled

with the CVN homeporting projects have not been determined to be

significant.

Mitigation

The following mitigation measures will be employed to ensure

minimization of environmental impacts associated with dredging and

disposal operations: (1) Compliance with the permit conditions

established by the COE, the California Regional Water Quality Control

Board, and the California Coastal Commission which regulate dredging

operations and define dredge sediment disposal locations; (2) adherence

to the ``no barge overflow'' requirement; (3) adherence to a dredge and

disposal monitoring plan for testing and evaluation of water quality

parameters, selected chemical contaminants and measures of turbidity in

the water column; (4) use of precision navigational equipment at both

the dredging and disposal sites; and (5) placement of all dredged

material suitable for beach nourishment nearshore for the protection of

severely eroded beaches or a combination of nearshore and onshore

disposal as previously described.

Traffic and socioeconomic impacts associated with the proposed CVN

homeporting at NASNI are not significant in context because there have

historically been three conventionally powered aircraft carriers (CVs)

homeported at NASNI. A CVN has a personnel complement of approximately

102 personnel more than that of a CV. The depot-level maintenance

facilities would increase personnel complement to an average of 750

personnel for a six-month maintenance availability period every 24

months. However, comparing the full-buildout year of 1999 with the

baseline year of 1992 indicates there will be an overall decrease of

330 personnel.

Construction of the 13.4 acre bay fill area will result in the

elimination of 13.4 acres of intertidal and shallow water subtidal

habitat, including 3.9 acres of eelgrass located in the nearshore area.

Mitigation will include the creation of 14 acres of new bay bottom,

establishment of 8 acres of eelgrass and the creation of fish

enhancement structures in the tidal area. Additionally compensation

will include the relocation of burrowing owls from the mitigation area

to other areas and the placement of clean sand from the mitigation site

at two areas on NASNI to enhance habitat for the California least tern

and Western snowy plover. Placement of the clean sand will not occur

during the California least tern or the Western snowy plover nesting

season. Further compensation for the plant species Nuttall's lotus and

coast wooly-head at the mitigation site includes the removal and

relocation of the top 6 inches of soil containing seeds from these

plants, to another location, free from disturbance at NASNI. Impacts to

nesting great blue herons, snowy egrets, and black-crowned night herons

at the new maintenance facility site will be compensated by

establishing replacement habitat at a site where there would be fewer

long-term impacts by NASNI activities.

Questions regarding the Final Environmental Impact Statement

prepared for this action may be directed to Mr. Robert Hexom,

Environmental Planning, Southwest Division, Naval Facilities

Engineering Command, 1220 Pacific Highway, San Diego, California 92132,

telephone (619) 532-3761; fax (619) 532-3824.

Dated: December 13, 1995.

Duncan Holaday,

Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Navy, (Installations and Facilities).

[FR Doc. 30837 Filed 12-19-95; 8:45 am]

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