[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 109 (Tuesday, June 9, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 27292-27293]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-13473]


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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Department of the Army, Corps of Engineers


Intent To Prepare a Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the 
Proposed Elverta Specific Plan Project, in Sacramento County, CA, Corps 
Permit File Number SPK-2004-323

AGENCY: Department of the Army, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, DOD.

ACTION: Notice of intent.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Sacramento District (Corps), 
will prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Elverta 
Specific Plan project, a proposed master planned community in 
Sacramento County, CA. The Elverta Owners Group has applied for 
Department of Army permits to fill approximately 39 acres of waters of 
the United States, including wetlands, to construct this project.

ADDRESSES: Please send written comments to Kathleen Dadey, U.S. Army 
Corps of Engineers, Sacramento District, 1325 J Street, Room 1480, 
Sacramento, CA 95814-2922.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Questions about the proposed action 
and EIS should be addressed to Kathleen Dadey, (916) 557-7253, e-mail: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Elverta Specific Plan (Plan) addresses 
future land uses on approximately 1,745 acres in north-central 
Sacramento County, California. The Elverta Owners Group has applied for 
Department of the Army permits under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act 
to develop approximately 775.6 acres of the Plan area as the initial 
phase of the Plan. The Elverta Owners Group, which is comprised of 13 
applicants, has submitted one application for the infrastructure to 
serve the Plan area and individual permit applications for 22 separate 
development parcels (projects). Each of the projects is complete and 
independent from one another; however, each of the projects relies upon 
the common drainage, roadways, and sewer infrastructure as described in 
the infrastructure permit application.
    An Environmental Impact Report (EIR) was prepared for the Plan by 
the Sacramento County Department of Environmental Review and Assessment 
(DERA) under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). The EIR 
provided a site plan that identified participant properties included in 
the project at the time of publication. Since that time the mix of 
included properties

[[Page 27293]]

has changed. For this reason, figures and analyses in the EIR and in 
various technical documents show differing patterns of included project 
parcels within the Plan area as compared to the current proposal. 
However, because the EIR evaluated impacts at a programmatic level for 
the entire Plan area, all parcels that are included in the current 
proposal were evaluated by DERA in the EIR.
    The Elverta Specific Plan is primarily residential in character: It 
includes 880.3 acres of urban residential uses and 551.8 acres of 
agricultural-residential uses with a total of 6,187 residential units; 
15.0 acres of commercial uses; 4.4 acres of office/professional uses; 
20.2 acres of school uses; 73.3 acres of park uses; 18.4 acres (former 
landfill site) to be designated as open space; and 191.9 acres to be 
used for drainageways, detention facilities, trails, powerline corridor 
and major roads. Development proposed by the Elverta Owners Group on 
the 22 parcels would be consistent with these uses. The number of 
residential units has increased from the original 4,950 units analyzed 
previously in the EIR. The Sacramento County Housing Element 2008-2013 
(adopted December 2008) allows for a 25% density increase for 
residential development projects that meet the following two 
conditions: (1) Result in energy savings beyond those obtained with 
conventional design and construction techniques, and, (2) The amount of 
increased density is proportional to the amount of increased energy 
efficiency achieved that exceeds adopted regulations (see Chapter 3, 
Sub-Strategy VII-A, Policy HE-59c of the Housing Element [page 3-91]). 
The proposed project would meet these criteria and therefore the 
maximum of 6,187 residential units is proposed.
    The project would result in fill of up to 39 acres of waters of the 
United States, including seasonal wetlands, vernal pools, intermittent 
channels, swales, and ditches. Some of this fill would be permanent and 
some would be temporary. Temporary fill would be restored with 
approximately 15 acres of riparian corridors on the project site. The 
riparian enhancements are expected to enhance the hydrologic functions 
and biological quality of existing channels. Offsite mitigation is also 
proposed to compensate for onsite impacts to wetlands and waters.
    The EIS will include an evaluation of a reasonable range of 
alternatives. Currently, the following alternatives are expected to be 
analyzed in detail: (1) The no action (no development) alternative, (2) 
the no federal action (no permit issued) alternative, (3) the 
applicant's preferred project, (4) the approved Specific Plan, and (5) 
a different location (off-site) alternative. The no action (no 
development) alternative assumes no development would occur on the 
site. The no federal action (no permit issued) alternative assumes 
limited development would occur on the site with all waters of the 
United States avoided. The off-site alternative assumes the proposed 
project would be developed at a different but suitably sized site in 
the region. The Corps will also use the EIS to evaluate alternatives 
under the Section 404(b)(1) Guidelines, and additional alternatives may 
be developed under this evaluation.
    The Corps' scoping process for the EIS includes a public 
involvement program with several opportunities to provide oral and 
written comments. In addition to public meetings and notifications in 
the Federal Register, the Corps will issue public notices when the 
draft and final EISs are available. Affected Federal, State, and local 
agencies, Native American tribes, and other interested private 
organizations and parties are invited to participate.
    Potentially significant issues to be analyzed in the EIS include, 
but are not limited to: Loss of waters of the United States, including 
wetlands; land use and agriculture; population, employment and housing; 
environmental justice and socio-economic impacts; drainage, hydrology 
and water quality; utilities and service systems; public services; 
geology, soils and mineral resources; paleontological resources; 
cultural and historic resources; biological resources; visual 
resources; parks and recreation; hazards and hazardous materials; 
traffic and transportation; air quality and global climate change; 
noise; and cumulative and growth inducing impacts. The Corps is the 
lead agency for preparation of the EIS under the requirements of the 
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The Corps will coordinate 
with other agencies, such as Sacramento County.
    Other environmental review and consultation requirements for the 
proposed action include the need for the applicant to obtain water 
quality certification under Section 401 of the Clean Water Act from the 
California Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board. In 
addition, the federally listed vernal pool fairy shrimp (Branchinecta 
lynchi) is known to occur in the Plan area. Surveys conducted on the 
majority of the properties within the Plan area according to the U.S. 
Fish and Wildlife Service's protocol requirements during the wet 
seasons of 2000 and 2001 found B. lynchi at three locations. Dry season 
sampling conducted in 2005 (on 12 parcels) and 2007 (on 23 parcels) 
also found evidence of the federally listed Branchinecta. The Corps 
will formally consult with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in 
accordance with Section 7 of the federal Endangered Species Act. The 
Corps will also consult with the State Historic Preservation Officer 
under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act concerning 
properties listed, or potentially eligible for listing, on the National 
Register of Historic Places.
    A public scoping meeting for the EIS will be held on June 24, 2009, 
from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. The meeting will be held at the Rio Linda Elverta 
Community Center, 810 Oak Lane, Rio Linda, CA 95673. Interested parties 
can provide oral and written comments at the meeting. Interested 
parties may also submit written comments on this notice. Scoping 
comments should be submitted before June 29, 2009 but may be submitted 
at any time prior to publication of the Draft EIS.
    Interested parties may register for the Corps' public notice e-mail 
notification lists at: http://www.spk.usace.army.mil/organizations/cespk-co/regulatory/pnlist.html.

Brenda S. Bowen,
Army Federal Register Liaison Officer.
[FR Doc. E9-13473 Filed 6-8-09; 8:45 am]
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