[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 83 (Friday, April 29, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 25707-25709]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-10172]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-PWR-PWRO-20344; PPPWGOGAP0 PPMPSAS1Z.YP0000]


Draft Environmental Impact Report and Environmental Impact 
Statement for Vista Grande Drainage Basin Improvement Project, Golden 
Gate National Recreation Area, San Francisco and San Mateo Counties, 
California

AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability.

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SUMMARY: The National Park Service (NPS), in cooperation with the City 
of Daly City (Daly City), has prepared a joint Draft Environmental 
Impact Report and Environmental Impact Statement (DEIR/EIS) for the 
Vista Grande Drainage Basin Project (Project). The NPS is the lead 
agency for environmental review under NEPA, and Daly City is the lead 
agency for environmental review under the California Environmental 
Quality Act

[[Page 25708]]

(CEQA). Daly City is proposing the Project to address storm-related 
flooding in the Vista Grande Drainage Basin, while providing the 
additional benefit of augmenting the level of Lake Merced. The Project 
would also improve recreational access and reduce litter transfer and 
deposition along the beach below Fort Funston and maximize the use of 
existing rights-of-way, easements, and infrastructure to minimize 
construction-related costs, habitat disturbance, and disruption to 
recreational users. Daly City is seeking a Special Use Permit from the 
NPS for construction activities proposed at Fort Funston and update to 
an existing easement to accommodate the proposed structures within Fort 
Funston and to clarify the rights and obligations of the parties to the 
easement.

DATES: All comments must be postmarked or transmitted not later than 60 
days from the date of publication in the Federal Register of the 
Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) notice of filing and release of 
the DEIR/EIS.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Please contact Steve Ortega at the 
Golden Gate National Recreation Area Planning Division at (415) 561-
4955 or [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This process has been conducted pursuant to 
the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) 
and the regulations promulgated by the Council on Environmental Quality 
(40 CFR part 1502.9). The purpose and need for the Project is to 
alleviate flooding in the Vista Grande Drainage Basin and Canal and 
provide a sustainable source of water for management of Lake Merced 
water levels and quality, and to ensure that the portion of the Project 
within federally managed lands, if authorized, is constructed, 
operated, and maintained in a manner that is consistent with the 
protection and enhancement of resources, values, and uses of lands and 
waters under federal jurisdiction. This purpose and need is driven by 
the following factors:
    (1) The Vista Grande storm drain system drains the northwestern 
portion of Daly City and an unincorporated portion of San Mateo 
County--areas originally within the watershed of Lake Merced. In the 
1890s, the Vista Grande Canal and Tunnel were built to divert 
stormwater away from the lake to an outlet at the Pacific Ocean, below 
what is now Fort Funston. The existing Canal and Tunnel do not have 
adequate hydraulic capacity to convey storm flows, and this 
periodically causes backing up of Tunnel flows into the Canal, and 
flooding during peak storm events in adjacent low-lying residential 
areas and roads. Such flooding and Canal overtopping events cause 
property damage, bank erosion, traffic nuisances, public safety issues, 
and may have adverse impacts to Lake Merced water quality.
    (2) Urban development has significantly reduced Lake Merced's 
original estimated watershed size. As urban development advanced in the 
area, surface runoff was diverted away from Lake Merced. Consequently, 
the southern portion of the original watershed (Daly City), including 
what is now the Vista Grande Drainage Basin, and the eastern portion of 
the original watershed (San Francisco) were diverted from flowing into 
the Lake. Operation of the Project would capture a portion of the 
existing Basin stormwater and authorized non-storm runoff that is 
currently conveyed to the Pacific Ocean and beneficially re-use over 
the long-term it to augment water levels in Lake Merced.
    (3) The existing Daly City Ocean Outlet structure juts out from the 
cliff approximately 90 feet across the beach below Fort Funston, 
impeding recreational access, particularly during high tides. The 
Project presents an opportunity to improve public access across the 
beach.
    (4) The width of the existing Tunnel easement is undetermined. 
Legal easement issues associated with a potential new tunnel alignment 
and with proposed improvements at the beach would be evaluated for 
consistency with the goals of protection and enhancement of resources, 
values, and uses of lands and waters under federal jurisdiction.
    Accordingly, NPS's objectives for the Project include the 
following: (1) Avoid, minimize, or mitigate environmental impacts to 
Golden Gate National Recreation Area (GGNRA) natural and cultural 
resources; (2) during construction, ensure the health and safety of 
park visitors and staff, maintain access to and through Fort Funston, 
and minimize impacts to the visitor experience; (3) permanently improve 
public access along the beach; and (4) minimize impacts on park assets 
and sustain or restore all park assets (e.g., facilities, features, 
grounds) to pre-construction or better conditions.
    Range of Alternatives Considered: The DEIR/EIS documents several 
preliminary engineering and water supply options considered and 
dismissed from full analysis, and describes and analyzes the following 
four alternatives:
    No Project/No Action Alternative: No physical component of the 
proposed Project would be constructed and none of the proposed 
operational changes to stormwater routing or Lake Merced water 
management would be made. The NPS would not grant the Special Use 
Permit or amend the existing easement, and no construction could occur 
within NPS-managed lands. Annual Canal sediment removal activities 
would continue, as well as as-needed maintenance activities. Because 
Canal and Tunnel capacity would not be improved, occasional flooding of 
the Canal and associated flooding of John Muir Drive into Lake Merced 
and in local neighborhoods would continue. This alternative serves as 
the environmental baseline from which potential effects of the 
``action'' alternatives were compared.
    Proposed Project: The Project as proposed by Daly City would 
consist of the following: (1) Improvements within the Vista Grande 
Basin storm drain system upstream of the Vista Grande Canal; (2) 
Partial replacement of the existing Vista Grande Canal to incorporate a 
gross solid screening device, an approximately 2.6-acre constructed 
treatment wetland, and diversion and discharge structures to route some 
stormwater (and authorized non-stormwater) flows from the Vista Grande 
Canal to Lake Merced and to allow lake water to be used for summer 
treatment wetland maintenance; (3) Modification of the existing 
effluent gravity pipeline so that it may be used year round to convey 
treated effluent from the nearby North San Mateo County Sanitation 
District Wastewater Treatment Plant to the existing outlet and diffuser 
by gravity, and abandoning the force main pipeline; (4) Modification of 
the existing lake overflow structure to include an adjustable weir and 
siphon that allows water from the lake to flow into the Canal and 
Tunnel; (5) Replacement of the existing Vista Grande Tunnel to expand 
its hydraulic capacity and extend its operating lifetime and 
replacement of the Lake Merced Portal to the Tunnel; and (6) 
Replacement of the existing Ocean Outlet structure and a portion of the 
existing 33-inch submarine outfall pipeline that crosses the beach at 
Fort Funston.
    Tunnel Alignment Alternative: The Tunnel Alignment Alternative 
would include the construction of a replacement tunnel south of the 
existing Tunnel. The new tunnel would run from a new east portal at the 
Canal to a new or rehabilitated Ocean Outlet structure at Fort Funston. 
The Tunnel would run beneath the Olympic Club,

[[Page 25709]]

Highway 35, and the GGNRA lands. This alternative could be paired with 
either the proposed Canal improvements or the Canal Configuration 
Alternative.
    Canal Configuration Alternative: This alternative would not 
construct the box culvert replacing the first 1,500 feet of the Canal; 
rather, the diversion structure described for the proposed Project 
would be relocated to the southern (upstream) end of the Canal. The box 
culvert under John Muir Drive also would be relocated and would cross 
under John Muir Drive close to the southern end of Impound Lake. The 
design of the diversion structure, box culvert under John Muir Drive, 
and Lake Merced Outlet would be approximately the same as for the 
proposed Project, but located at the upstream (southern) end of the 
Canal. The diversion structure would replace the first approximately 
350 feet of the Canal, and the rest of the Canal would be unchanged 
except as needed for temporary construction access to the Lake Merced 
Tunnel Portal. Under the Canal Configuration Alternative, only one 
wetland cell of approximately 1.7 acres would be constructed. This 
alternative could be paired with either the proposed Tunnel 
improvements or the Tunnel Alignment Alternative.
    Public Involvement: The Notice of Intent (NOI) to prepare the DEIR/
EIS was published in the Federal Register on May 8, 2013 (78 FR 26807). 
Daly City also issued a joint NOI/Notice of Preparation (NOP) to 
prepare the DEIR/EIS on February 28, 2013. On March 4, 2013, the NPS 
sent an electronic mail (email) message to 1,317 recipients, inviting 
them to an open house featuring the Vista Grande Drainage Basin 
Improvements and other projects within the GGNRA. The email message 
provided a link to Daly City's Vista Grande Project Web site, where 
interested parties could access the NOI/NOP. The NPS held an open house 
on March 19, 2013, at the General's Residence in Fort Mason. Several 
projects and topics were covered at the open house, including the Vista 
Grande Project. Daly City staff and consultants attended the open house 
and spoke with attendees about the Project. On March 28, 2013, Daly 
City held a public scoping meeting to educate members of the public 
about the Project and to solicit comments on the scope of the DEIR/EIS. 
The scoping comment period for the NOI published in the Federal 
Register ended on June 7, 2013. A scoping report summarizing the 
outcomes of the scoping process, including comments received, and which 
includes copies of all comment letters received during the scoping 
period, is included as Appendix B of the DEIR/EIS. Comments from these 
meetings and letters, as well from additional stakeholder and agency 
outreach meetings and subsequent internal planning workshops, were used 
to further refine the alternatives and identify the key topics to be 
addressed in the DEIR/EIS.
    Copies of and/or internet links to the DEIR/EIS will be circulated 
to congressional delegations, state and local elected officials, 
federal and state agencies, tribes, organizations, local businesses, 
and public libraries. Printed copies (in limited quantity) and CDs will 
be supplied in response to email, phone, or mail requests. Printed 
copies will be available at public libraries in San Francisco and San 
Mateo County.
    How to Comment: The public comment period begins upon the lead 
agencies' issuance of public notice of DEIR/EIS availability, including 
through the NPS publication of this Notice of Availability (NOA) for 
the DEIR/EIS in the Federal Register. The public comment period will 
end 60 days from the date of the EPA's publication in the Federal 
Register of the notice of filing and release of the DEIR/EIS; the NPS 
will notify all entities on the project mailing list, and public 
announcements about the DEIR/EIS review period will be posted on the 
project Web site (http://parkplanning.nps.gov/Vista_Grande) and 
distributed via local and regional press media. Written comments may be 
transmitted electronically through the project Web site (noted above). 
If preferred, comments may be mailed to the General Superintendent, 
GGNRA, Attn: Vista Grande Drainage Basin Improvement Project DEIR/EIS, 
Fort Mason, Building 201, San Francisco, CA 94123.
    Before including your address, phone number, email 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.
    Public comments received during the comment period will be recorded 
and categorized in order for the lead agencies to prepare responses, 
which then will be incorporated into the Final EIR/EIS. Where responses 
to comments require important changes to the EIR/EIS, the body of the 
text may be revised. Comments received on the cultural resources 
section of the EIR/EIS will also be considered during the separate, but 
coordinated process of compliance with Sec.  106 of the National 
Historic Preservation Act.
    Decision Process: All comments received on the DEIR/EIS will be 
duly considered in preparing the Final EIR/EIS, which is expected to be 
prepared in mid-2016 (availability will be announced in the Federal 
Register, as well as through regional and local press media and park 
Web site postings). A Record of Decision will be prepared not sooner 
than 30 days after release of the Final EIR/EIS. Because this is a 
delegated EIS, the NPS official responsible for approval of the project 
is the Regional Director, Pacific West Region. The official responsible 
for project implementation is the Superintendent, Golden Gate National 
Recreation Area.

    Dated: February 16, 2016.
Martha J. Lee,
Acting Regional Director, Pacific West Region.
[FR Doc. 2016-10172 Filed 4-28-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4312-FF-P