[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 3 (Friday, January 4, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 568-569]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-3]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration


National Estuarine Research Reserve System: Sediment Retention 
System in Goat Canyon Creek and Watershed at Tijuana National Estuarine 
Research Reserve

AGENCY: Estuarine Reserves Division, Office of Ocean and Coastal 
Resource Management, National Ocean Service, National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of availability of the Final Environmental Impact 
Statement/Environmental Impact Report on a proposed sediment retention 
system in the Goat Canyon Creek and watershed at the Tijuana River 
National Estuarine Research Reserve, Imperial Beach, California.

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SUMMARY: Pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act and the 
California Environmental Quality Act, the National Ocean Service (NOS), 
in cooperation with California Department of Parks and Recreation and 
California Coastal Conservancy, has completed the preparation of a 
joint Final Environmental Impact Statement/Environmental Impact Report 
(FEIS/EIR) addressing the potential effects on the human and natural 
environment that may result from construction of sedimentation, flood 
control and other facilities within and adjacent to Goat Canyon, and 
the elevation and/or realignment of Monument Road through Border Field 
State Park lands. The purpose of these proposed facilities is to 
enhance the existing Goat Canyon Creek and its natural habitat 
communities, including the Tijuana River Estuary, through the 
management of sediment within the canyon and on the adjacent alluvial 
fan.
    The proposed project is in conformance with the Final Goat Canyon/
Canon de los Laureles Enhancement Plan prepared by the Southwest 
Wetlands Interpretive Association (SWIA) and California Coastal 
Conservancy. As a result of the construction of sedimentation basins, 
it is anticipated that Goat Canyon Creek, its watershed, and the 
Tijuana River Estuary will be enhanced.
    The Final EIS/EIR is available for public review. All comments 
received, including names and addresses, will become part of the 
administrative record and be made available to the public. NOAA is not 
required to respond to comments received as a result of issuance of the 
FEIS/EIR, however comments will be reviewed and considered for their 
impact on issuance of a Record of Decision (ROD). The ROD will be 
printed in the Federal Register some time after the close of the public 
review period.

DATES: The review period for the joint Final EIS/EIR will end on 
Monday, February 4, 2002. All written comments received by this 
deadline will be considered in the preparation of the ROD.

ADDRESSES: Written comments on the joint Final EIS/EIR should be sent 
to Nina Garfield, NOAA, Estuarine Reserves Division, SSMC-4, 11th 
Floor, 1305 East-West Highway, Silver Spring, Maryland, 20910-3281.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mayda Winter, Goat Canyon Enhancement 
Project, Southwest Wetlands Interpretive Association, 925 Seacoast 
Drive, Imperial Beach, California, 91932, tel. (619) 575-0550.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Goat Canyon Creek is located in the far 
western portion of the greater Tijuana River Watershed approximately 
one mile inland from the Pacific Ocean. The watershed is characterized 
by steep slopes, sandy soils with cobbles,

[[Page 569]]

pockets of native coastal sage scrub, riparian vegetation, and a high 
level of human-induced disturbance, especially during the last 20 to 30 
years. A prominent result of changes in the watershed has been a 
significant increase in sediment yield in response to higher volumes of 
runoff and an increased sediment supply throughout the watershed. 
Increased sedimentation has adversely affected the local habitat 
communities of Goat Canyon and downstream within the Tijuana River 
Estuary. By the mid-1980s, it was estimated that erosion and 
sedimentation had resulted in the loss of 30 acres of intertidal 
wetland area in the Tijuana River Estuary. The composition and 
distribution of native habitat communities along the creek and on the 
alluvial fan have been altered, as has the morphology of the creek. 
Further, during storm events, sediment is deposited on Monument Road, 
which in turn blocks public access to Border Field State Park and 
impedes the U.S. Border Patrol.
    On August 10, 2000, the National Ocean Service published in the 
Federal Register a Notice of Intent to prepare a joint Environmental 
Impact Statement/Environmental Impact Report (Vol. 65 No. 155, 48971-
48972). The stated intent of the proposed project was to enhance the 
existing Goat Canyon Creek and its natural habitat communities, 
including the Tijuana River Estuary, through the management of sediment 
within the canyon and on the adjacent alluvial fan. A notice announcing 
the availability of the draft EIS/EIR was published on October 12, 
2001.
    The final EIS/EIR examines the potential effects of the No Project 
Alternative and four project alternatives for construction of a 
sedimentation retention system within Goat Canyon and the alluvial fan. 
NOAA has identified Alternative D-1 as the Preferred Alternative based 
on an evaluation of the comparison of the impacts between the 
alternatives.
    Alternative D-1 features an in-canyon diversion structure and 
sedimentation basin system consisting of two basins in series to 
capture the flow in Goat Canyon Creek. The system has been designed to 
contain the full 100-year flood event. The Preferred Alternative also 
involves construction of access roads around the basins, staging areas 
adjacent to the basins, a visual berm located between the basins and 
Monument Road, improvements to part of Monument Road and a multi-
purpose trail, and creation of wetland habitat. The Preferred 
Alternative would be the most efficient at capturing sediment and would 
result in the least impacts to sensitive wetland habitats and 
endangered species.

Document Availability

    Copies of the final EIS/EIR are available for review at the 
California State Parks, San Diego Coast District Office, 9609 Waples, 
Suite 200, San Diego, California, 92108, (858) 642-4200, the Tijuana 
River National Estuarine Research Reserve at 301 Caspian Way, Imperial 
Beach, California 91932, (619) 575-3613, and at the Imperial Beach 
Public Library, 810 Imperial Beach Boulevard, Imperial Beach, 91932, 
(619) 424-6981.

    Federal Domestic Assistance Catalog Number 11.420 (Coastal Zone 
Management) Research Reserves

    Dated: December 21, 2001.
Alan Neuschatz,
Associate Assistant Administrator for Management, Ocean Services and 
Coastal Zone Management.
[FR Doc. 02-3 Filed 1-3-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-08-P