[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 19 (Thursday, January 29, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 4295-4296]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-1671]


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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Department of the Army; Corps of Engineers


Intent To Prepare a Draft Environmental Impact Statement/
Environmental Impact Report (DEIS/DEIR) for Proposed Future Permit 
Actions Under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act for the Newhall Ranch 
Specific Plan and Associated Facilities Along Portions of the Santa 
Clara River and its Side Drainages, in Los Angeles County, CA

AGENCY: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, DoD.

ACTION: Notice of Intent (NOI).

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SUMMARY: The project proponent and landowner, The Newhall Land and 
Farming Company, has requested a long-term section 404 permit from the 
Corps of Engineers for facilities associated with the Newhall Ranch 
Specific Plan. Pursuant to section 102(2)(c) of the National 
Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) as implemented by the 
regulations of the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ), 40 CFR 1500-
1508, the Corps of Engineers intends to prepare a Draft Environmental 
Impact Statement (DEIS) to evaluate the potential effects of the 
proposed action on the environment. To eliminate duplication of 
paperwork, the Corps of Engineers intends to coordinate the DEIS with 
the Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR) being prepared by the 
California Department of Fish and Game. The joint document will meet 
the requirements of NEPA as well as enable the Corps to analyze the 
project pursuant to the 404(b)(1) Guidelines and assess potential 
impacts on various public interest factors.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Questions about the proposed action 
and Draft EIS/EIR can be answered by Dr. Aaron O. Allen, Corps Project 
Manager, at (805) 585-2148. Comments shall be addressed to: U.S. Army 
Corps of Engineers, Los Angeles District, Ventura Field Office, ATTN: 
File Number 2003-01264-AOA, 2151 Alessandro Drive, Suite 110, Ventura, 
CA 93001. Alternatively, comments can be e-mailed to: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    1. Project Site and Background Information. The Newhall Ranch 
Project is located in northern Los Angeles County and encompasses 
approximately 12,000 acres. The Santa Clara River and State Route 126 
traverse the northern portion of the Specific Plan area. The river 
extends approximately 5.5 miles east to west across the site. On March 
27, 2003, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors approved the 
Specific Plan, which establishes the general plan and zoning 
designations necessary to develop the site with residential, 
commercial, and mixed uses over the next 20 to 30 years. The Newhall 
Ranch Specific Plan also includes a Water Reclamation Plant at the 
western edge of the project area. Individual projects, such as 
residential, commercial, and industrial developments, roadways, and 
other public facilities would be developed over time in accordance with 
the development boundaries and guidelines in the approved Specific 
Plan. Many of these developments would require work in and adjacent to 
the Santa Clara River and its side drainages (``waters of the United 
States'').
    The Newhall Land and Farming Company would develop most of the 
above facilities. However, other entities could construct some of these 
facilities using the approvals or set of approvals issued to The 
Newhall Land and Farming Company. The proposed Section 404 permit would 
also include routine maintenance activities to be carried out by Los 
Angeles County Department of Public Works using the Section 404 permit 
issued to The Newhall Land and Farming Company. Any party utilizing a 
Section 404 permit issued to The Newhall Land and Farming Company would 
be bound by the same conditions in the Section 404 permit.
    2. Proposed Action. Newhall Land has identified various activities 
associated with the Newhall Ranch Project that would require Corps 
permitting. Many of the proposed activities would require a 404 permit 
because the activities would affect the riverbed or banks within the 
jurisdictional limits of the Corps in San Martinez Grande, Chiquito, 
Potrero, and Long canyons, and smaller drainages with peak flows of 
less than 2,000 cubic feet per second, as well as the Santa Clara 
River. These activities are listed and described in further detail 
below:
     Bank protection to protect land development 
projects along water courses (including buried soil cement, buried 
gunite, grouted riprap, ungrouted riprap, and gunite lining);
     Drainage facilities such as storm drains or 
outlets and partially lined open channels;
     Grade control structures;
     Bridges and drainage crossings;
     Utility crossings;
     Trails;
     Building pads;

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     Activities associated with construction of a 
Water Reclamation Plant (WRP) adjacent to the Santa Clara River and 
required bank protection;
     Water quality control facilities (sedimentation 
control, flood debris, and water quality basins);
     Ongoing maintenance activities by the LACDPW; 
and
     Temporary haul routes for grading equipment.
    3. Scope of Analysis. The DEIS will be a project-level document 
which addresses a number of interrelated actions over a specific 
geographic area that (1) would occur as logical parts in the chain of 
contemplated actions, and (2) would be implemented under the same 
authorizing statutory or regulatory authorities. The information in the 
DEIS will be sufficient for the Corps to make a decision regarding the 
issuance of a long-term Section 404 permit for the Newhall Ranch 
Specific Plan.
    The document will be a joint Federal and state document. The 
California Department of Fish and Game (CDFG) will prepare an 
Environmental Impact Report (EIR) in accordance with the California 
Environmental Quality Act for the same project regarding a state 
streambed alteration agreement and state endangered species permit. The 
Corps and CDFG will work cooperatively to prepare a joint DEIS/DEIR 
document, and to coordinate the public noticing and hearing processes 
under Federal and state laws.
    The impact analysis will follow the directives in 33 CFR part 325 
which requires that it be limited to the impacts of the specific 
activities requiring a 404 permit and only those portions of the 
project outside of ``waters of the United States'' over which the Corps 
has sufficient control and responsibility to warrant Federal review. 
The Corps will extend the geographic scope of the environmental 
analysis beyond the boundaries of ``waters of the United States'' in 
certain areas to address indirect and cumulative impacts of the 
regulated activities, and to address connected actions pursuant to NEPA 
guidelines (40 CFR part 1508). In these upland areas, the Corps will 
evaluate impacts to the environment and identify feasible and 
reasonable mitigation measures and the appropriate state or local 
agencies with authority to implement these measures if they are outside 
the authority of the Corps. In evaluating impacts to areas and 
resources outside the Corps' jurisdiction, the Corps will consider the 
information and conclusions from the Final Program EIR for the Specific 
Plan prepared by Los Angeles County Department of Regional Planning. 
However, the Corps will exercise its independent expertise and judgment 
in addressing indirect and cumulative impacts to upland areas due to 
issuance of the proposed Section 404 permit.
    4. Issues. There are several potential environmental issues that 
will be addressed in the DEIS/DEIR. Additional issues may be identified 
during the scoping process. Issues initially identified as potentially 
significant include:
    (a) Surface Water Hydrology, Erosion and Sedimentation;
    (b) Groundwater;
    (c) Water Quality;
    (d) Biological Resources;
    (e) Land Use;
    (f) Cultural and Paleontological Resources;
    (g) Air Quality;
    (h) Noise;
    (i) Traffic;
    (j) Visual Resources;
    (k) Parks, Recreation and Trails.
    5. Alternatives. Alternatives initially being considered for the 
proposed improvement project include the following:
    (a) Alternate locations and configurations of various proposed 
facilities such as buried bank stabilization, bridges, and grade 
control structures, along each of the major side drainages including 
Chiquito Canyon, Potrero Canyon, San Martinez Grande, and Long Canyon, 
as well as the Santa Clara River;
    (b) No Federal action (no construction of facilities within 
``Waters of the U.S.'');
    (c) No Project (no physical changes).
    6. Scoping Process. A public scoping meeting to receive input on 
the scope of the DEIS will be conducted on February 19, 2004 at 6:30 
p.m. at Castaic Middle School, located at 28900 Hillcrest Parkway in 
Castaic, California. Participation in the scoping meeting by Federal, 
state, and local agencies, and other interested private citizens and 
organizations are encouraged.
    7. Availability of the Draft EIS/EIR. The joint lead agencies 
expect the Draft EIS/EIR to be made available to the public in the 
summer of 2004. A public hearing will be held during the public comment 
period for the Draft EIS/EIR.

    Dated: January 7, 2004.
John V. Guenther,
Lieutenant Colonel, U.S. Army, Acting District Engineer.
[FR Doc. 04-1671 Filed 1-28-04; 8:45 am]
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