[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 137 (Tuesday, July 19, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 41380-41382]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-14181]


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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, and Development of a Candidate 
Conservation Agreement with Assurances (CCAA) for the San Fernando 
Valley Spineflower, in Los Angeles County, California, With the U.S. 
Fish and Wildlife Service

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

ACTION: Revised Notice of Intent.

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SUMMARY: The project proponent and landowner, The Newhall Land and 
Farming Company (Newhall Land), has requested a long-term Clean Water 
Act Section 404 permit from the Corps of Engineers for facilities 
associated with the Newhall Ranch Specific Plan. The action is 
necessary to facilitate buildout of the Specific Plan. The effect will 
be to authorize the construction of bridges, flood control structures, 
and to grade and fill certain side drainages for roads and buildings. 
The reason for this revised notice of intent (NOI) is because the 
project proponent's proposed action has been expanded to include 
development of a voluntary CCAA between Newhall Land and the U.S. Fish 
and Wildlife Service (USFWS) to specify spineflower preserve locations, 
manage spineflower habitat, and to authorize future take of 
spineflower, in the event it becomes federally listed under the federal 
Endangered Species Act as threatened or endangered, involving three 
properties: Newhall Ranch, Valencia Commerce Center, and Entrada. 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 the National Environmental Policy Act (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 site 
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'').
    Newhall Land 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 Newhall Land. 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 Newhall Land. Any party utilizing a 
Section 404 permit issued to Newhall Land would be bound by the same 
conditions in the Section 404 permit.
    The CCAA area includes Newhall Ranch and two other areas adjacent 
to Newhall Ranch, the Valencia Commerce Center and Entrada areas. The 
Valencia Commerce Center is a partially built out commercial/industrial 
center located east of Newhall Ranch and north of State Route 126. 
Entrada is a proposed residential development located east of

[[Page 41381]]

Newhall Ranch and south of Magic Mountain Parkway.
    Under the Specific Plan, Newhall Land and Farming has applied to 
Los Angeles County for tentative tract (subdivision) maps for portions 
of the Specific Plan area, Valencia Commerce Center, and Entrada. Los 
Angeles County is currently processing those applications, including 
the preparation of project-level Environmental Impact Reports for these 
areas.
    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 
watercourses (including buried soil cement, 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;
     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.
    In addition to construction of the permitted facilities identified 
above, the proposed action includes development of a CCAA between 
Newhall Land and the USFWS. The CCAA would serve to protect populations 
of San Fernando Valley spineflower, a species identified as a candidate 
for listing under the federal Endangered Species Act, which occur on 
the Newhall Ranch, Valencia Commerce Center, and Entrada sites. The 
CCAA would involve spineflower preserves and management and also 
authorize the take of certain spineflower plants at all three 
locations.
    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 
EIS 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 EIS will also allow the USFWS to make a decision on 
the CCAA.
    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, state endangered species permit for 
Newhall Ranch, and a Spineflower Conservation Plan and state endangered 
species permit for the Newhall Ranch, Valencia Commerce Center and 
Entrada areas. 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 
Appendix B, 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. However, due to the varied location and extent of waters of the 
United States, threatened and endangered species and critical habitat, 
and historic and prehistoric cultural sites within the project area, 
there exists sufficient cumulative Federal responsibility and control 
to expand the geographic scope of analysis to include the entire 
Newhall Ranch Specific Plan site. This extension of the scope of 
environmental analysis will address indirect and cumulative impacts of 
the regulated activities, as well as connected actions pursuant to NEPA 
guidelines (40 CFR part 1508(a)(1)). In 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. Significant 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) Jurisdictional Streams and Wetlands;
    (f) Air Quality;
    (g) Traffic;
    (h) Noise;
    (i) Cultural Resources;
    (j) Paleontological Resources;
    (k) Agriculture and Soils;
    (l) Geology and Geologic Hazards;
    (m) Land Use;
    (n) Visual Resources;
    (o) Parks, Recreation, and Trails;
    (p) Public Safety;
    (q) Public Services;
    (r) Hazards and Hazardous Materials;
    (s) Socioeconomics/Environmental Justice:
    (t) Significant, Irreversible Environmental Changes.
    5. Alternatives. Alternatives initially being considered for the 
proposed improvement project include the following:
    (a) Numerous 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, ranging from no impact 
to the proposed action and configurations of various proposed San 
Fernando Valley Spineflower Preserve areas;
    (b) Under the No Federal Action alternative, the proposed Section 
404 permit would not be issued, so no discharges of fill material 
within Corps jurisdictional waters would be authorized. This 
alternative will be analyzed in the DEIS/DEIR to satisfy NEPA 
requirements to evaluate the impacts of ``No Federal Action'' 
alternative.
    6. Scoping Process. A previous NOI was published in the Federal 
Register on January 29, 2004 (69 FR 4295-4296). Public scoping meetings 
to receive input on the scope of the DEIS/EIR were previously conducted 
on February 4, 2000 in Santa Clarita and February 19,

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2004 in Castaic, California. An additional public scoping meeting will 
be held on August 24, 2005, at 6:30 pm, at the Castaic Middle School 
Multipurpose Room located at 28900 West Hillcrest Parkway, Castaic, CA.
    Participation in the scoping is encouraged by Federal, state, and 
local agencies, and other interested private citizens and 
organizations. The Corps will be the federal lead agency and the USFWS 
will be a cooperating agency for this DEIS/EIR. Other environmental 
review and consultation requirements, not discussed above, include a 
USFWS Section 7 Biological Opinion, State Historic Preservation Office 
consultation, and a 401 certification and National Pollutant Discharge 
Elimination System (NPDES) permit from the Los Angeles Regional Water 
Quality Control Board.
    7. Availability of the Draft EIS/EIR. The joint lead agencies 
expect the Draft EIS/EIR to be made available to the public in late 
2005. Written comments on the DEIS/DEIR will be received once that 
document is released. A public hearing will be held during the public 
comment period for the Draft EIS/EIR.

    Dated: July 11, 2005.
Brian M. Moore,
Deputy District Engineer for Project Management.
[FR Doc. 05-14181 Filed 7-18-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3710-92-P