[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 166 (Friday, August 28, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 44379-44380]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-20582]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

[FWS-R8-ES-2008-N0201; ABC Code: 1261-0000-80230-W2]


Sears Point Wetland and Watershed Restoration Project, Sonoma 
County, CA

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability; request for comments: draft 
environmental impact statement and environmental impact report.

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SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) and the 
California Department of Fish and Game (CDFG), in cooperation with the 
Sonoma Land Trust (SLT), have prepared a draft environmental impact 
report and environmental impact statement (DEIR/EIS) on the restoration 
of approximately 2,300 acres (ac) of former farm land located in Sonoma 
County, California near the San Pablo Bay. The proposed restoration 
project, which would be implemented by the SLT, would restore natural 
estuarine ecosystems on diked baylands, while providing public access 
and recreational and educational opportunities compatible with 
ecological and cultural resources protection. In accordance with 
National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA), this notice advises 
other agencies, Tribes, and the public that the DEIR/EIS on the 
proposed Sears Point Wetland and Watershed Restoration Project is now 
available for review. We invite and encourage interested persons to 
review the document and submit written comments to identify issues 
related to the alternatives we address in the DEIR/EIS.

DATES: We must receive written comments at the address below on or 
before October 13, 2009. You may submit comments by any one of the 
methods we describe under ADDRESSES. We will hold a public meeting in 
the fall of 2009, to solicit comments. See SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION 
for more details.

ADDRESSES: The Draft EIS/EIR is available for review at:
     Refuge Headquarters Office, San Pablo Bay National 
Wildlife Refuge, 2100 Highway 37, Petaluma, CA 94954; (707) 769-4200.
     San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge Complex, 9500 
Thornton Avenue, Newark, CA 94560; (510) 792-0222.
     John F. Kennedy Public Library, 505 Santa Clara, Vallejo, 
CA 94590.
     http://www.sonomalandtrust.org.
    Written comments and requests for information may be mailed to: 
Christy Smith, Refuge Manager, San Pablo Bay National Wildlife Refuge, 
7715 Lakeville Highway, Petaluma, California, 94954. Alternatively, you 
may fax written comments to (707) 769-8106, or send them by electronic 
mail to [email protected]. Please include the heading ``Sears 
Point NEPA comments in your response.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Christy Smith, Refuge Manager, San 
Pablo Bay NWR, (707) 769-4200 (phone); [email protected] (e-mail), 
or John Brosnan, Baylands Program Manager, at (707) 526-6930 x109 
(phone); [email protected] (e-mail).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Location

    The project site is located at Sears Point near the intersection of 
Lakeville-Reclamation Road and State Route 37

[[Page 44380]]

(SR 37) in southern Sonoma County, California. The site is also 
traversed from east to west by an inactive rail line owned by the 
Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit (SMART) District.
    The project site is a total of 2,327 ac owned by the Sonoma Land 
Trust (SLT) and is comprised of two large properties, the North Point 
Joint Venture (NPJV) parcel and the Dickson Ranch parcel, which are 
situated on the edge of San Pablo Bay between the mouth of the Petaluma 
River and Tolay Creek. The 1,679-ac NPJV parcel extends both north and 
south of SR 37. It is bounded on the north by the Infineon Raceway 
property, on the east by Cougar Mountain (north of SR 37) and Paradise 
Vineyards (south of SR 37), on the south by the SMART rail line, and on 
the west by Lakeville-Reclamation Road. The 648-ac Dickson Ranch parcel 
is located entirely south of Highway 37, and is bounded on the north by 
the SMART rail line, on the west by Tolay Creek, on the south by San 
Pablo Bay, and on the west by the outboard levee as it veers bayward 
from the SMART rail line. The entire Dickson Ranch parcel and 858 ac of 
the NPJV parcel are located within the approved acquisition boundary of 
the San Pablo Bay National Wildlife Refuge. The SLT proposes to 
transfer a 350-acre parcel of this land bounded by Highway 37 and the 
SMART rail line, to the Service, and the remainder of the land to CDFG.

Alternatives

    We identified and analyzed a total of eight alternatives. The 
alternatives were analyzed based on a set of criteria, including (1) 
ability to meet the project purpose and need, (2) technical, 
logistical, and financial feasibility, and (3) ability to avoid or 
substantially reduce one or more significant impacts. We removed five 
of these alternatives from further consideration because they did not 
meet the purpose and need, were not feasible, or did not provide 
substantial variation in environmental impacts. The lead agencies 
carried forward three possible alternatives for environmental analysis: 
the No-Action Alternative, the Partial-Tidal (Preferred) Restoration 
Alternative, and the Full-Tidal Restoration Alternative.

No-Action Alternative

    Under the No-Action Alternative, there would be no wetland 
restoration or enhancement, no new trails, and no new habitat creation. 
The Sonoma Land Trust (SLT) would still move forward with the transfer 
of title of the Sears Point properties to the Federal and State 
agencies. SLT will honor existing agricultural and commercial leases on 
the property through June 2010.

Partial-Tidal (Preferred) Restoration Alternative

    The Partial-Tidal Restoration Alternative would restore 970 acres 
of tidal marsh; improve tidal exchange in Tolay Creek along the eastern 
edge of the project boundary; preserve and enhance a 106-acre area of 
non-tidal seasonal wetland while maintaining existing agriculture 
between the SMART line and Highway 37; provide public recreation access 
south and possibly north of Highway 37; enhance 40 acres of non-tidal 
seasonal wetland north of Highway 37; and create 15.5 acres of 
additional breeding habitat for the California red-legged frog, 
including 0.5 acres of excavation in the floodplain near the northern 
project boundary.

Full-Tidal Restoration Alternative

    The Full-Tidal Restoration Alternative would restore 1,335 acres of 
tidal marsh; improve tidal exchange in Tolay Creek along the eastern 
edge of the project boundary; provide public recreation access south 
and possibly north of Highway 37; enhance 40 acres of non-tidal 
seasonal wetland north of Highway 37; and create 15.5 acres of 
additional breeding habitat, including 0.5 acres of excavation in the 
floodplain, for the California red-legged frog near the northern 
project boundary.

NEPA Compliance

    The entire Dickson Ranch parcel and 858 acres of the NPJV parcel 
are located within the approved acquisition boundary of the San Pablo 
Bay NWR. Federally owned lands within the Refuge boundary are adjacent 
to these properties. In order to implement the action alternatives 
described above, some activity (channel dredging and levee breaching) 
within the San Pablo Bay NWR is necessary. We will use the EIR/EIS to 
determine whether to authorize activities within the San Pablo Bay NWR 
in order to accomplish project goals.
    The EIR/EIS discusses the direct, indirect, and cumulative impacts 
of the alternatives on biological resources, cultural resources, land 
use, air quality, water quality, water resources, and other 
environmental resources. It also identifies appropriate mitigation 
measures for adverse environmental effects.
    We are conducting public review of the EIR/EIS in accordance with 
the requirements of NEPA, as amended (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq. ), its 
implementing regulations (40 CFR parts 1500-1508), other applicable 
regulations, and our procedures for compliance with those regulations. 
The EIR/EIS meets the requirements of both NEPA and the California 
Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). The California Department of Fish and 
Game is the CEQA lead agency. We provide this notice under regulations 
implementing NEPA (40 CFR 1506.6).

Public Meeting

    We will hold one public meeting to solicit comments on the DEIR/
EIS. We will mail a separate notice to the public and local 
publications that identifies the time, date, and location of the 
meeting.

Public Comments

    We invite the public to comment on the DEIR/EIS during the comment 
period. Before including your address, phone number, e-mail address, or 
other personal identifying information in your comment, you should be 
aware that your entire comment--including your personal identifying 
information--may be made publicly available at any time. While you can 
ask us in your comment to withhold your personal identifying 
information from public review, we cannot guarantee that we will be 
able to do so. We will use the comments to prepare a final EIR/EIS. A 
decision will be made no sooner than 30 days after the publication of 
the final EIR/EIS. We anticipate that a Record of Decision will be 
issued by the Service in 2010.

    Dated: August 20, 2009.
Margaret T. Kolar,
Acting Regional Director, Pacific Southwest Region.
 [FR Doc. E9-20582 Filed 8-27-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-55-P