[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 42 (Thursday, March 3, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-4834]


[[Page Unknown]]

[Federal Register: March 3, 1994]


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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]
BILLING CODE 3710-08-M