[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 247 (Friday, December 23, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 94351-94352]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-30985]


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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Department of the Army, Corps of Engineers


Intent To Prepare an Integrated Feasibility Study/Environmental 
Impact Statement for the San Francisquito Creek Flood Risk Management 
Study, San Mateo and Santa Clara Counties, CA

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

ACTION: Notice of intent.

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SUMMARY: The Department of the Army and the San Francisquito Creek 
Joint Powers Authority (SFCJPA) hereby give notice of intent to prepare 
an integrated Feasibility Study/Environmental Impact Statement (FS/EIS) 
for the San Francisquito Creek Flood Risk Management Project in San 
Mateo and Santa Clara Counties, CA to consider opportunities to reduce 
fluvial flooding, to reduce the risk to public safety due to flooding 
consistent with protecting the Nation's environment, in accordance with 
national environmental statutes, applicable executive orders, and other 
Federal planning requirements. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) 
is the lead agency for this project under NEPA. The SFCJPA is the lead 
agency for this project under the California Environmental Quality Act 
(CEQA) and will be preparing a separate Environmental Impact Report 
(EIR).

DATES: Written comments from all interested parties are encouraged and 
must be received on or before 5:00 p.m. on February 17, 2017.

ADDRESSES: Written comments and requests for information should be sent 
to Eric Jolliffe, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, San Francisco District, 
1455 Market St., 17th floor, San Francisco, CA 94103, 
[email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Eric Jolliffe, (415) 503-6869.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The San Francisquito Creek watershed 
encompasses an area of approximately 45 square miles, extending from 
the ridge of the Santa Cruz Mountains to San Francisco Bay in 
California. The majority of the watershed lies in the Santa Cruz 
Mountains and Bay Foothills northwest of Palo Alto; the remaining 7.5 
square miles lie on the San Francisquito alluvial fan near San 
Francisco Bay.
    The San Francisquito Creek watershed contains mainstem San 
Francisquito Creek and the main tributary streams of West Union Creek, 
Corte Madera Creek, Bear Creek and Los Trancos Creek. Los Trancos Creek 
and lower San Francisquito Creek form the boundary between San Mateo 
and Santa Clara counties. The reaches are divided up as follows: Reach 
1 extends from San Francisco Bay to the upstream face of Highway 101; 
Reach 2 extends from Highway 101 to El Camino Real; Reach 3 continues 
from El Camino Real to Sand Hill Road; and Reach 4 continues from Sand 
Hill Road to the ridge of the Santa Cruz Mountains. This FS/EIS will 
investigate flood risk management solutions related to breakout flow in 
Reach 2 only. The entire watershed will be considered when developing 
solutions to address flooding in Reach 2.
    The non-Federal sponsor for the Feasibility phase of the study is 
the SFCJPA. The SFCJPA is comprised of the following member agencies: 
the City of Palo Alto; the City of Menlo Park; the City of East Palo 
Alto; the Santa Clara Valley Water District; and the San Mateo County 
Flood Control District.
    1. Background. The carrying capacity of San Francisquito Creek is 
affected by the presence of development, vegetation, sedimentation, 
land subsidence, levee settlement, erosion, and culverts and bridges in 
the project area. Erosion has caused the undermining of roads and 
structures in many places throughout the watershed. Flooding on San 
Francisquito Creek affects the cities of Menlo Park and East Palo Alto 
in San Mateo County, and the city of Palo Alto in Santa Clara County.
    Flooding from San Francisquito Creek has been a common occurrence. 
The most recent flood event occurred in December 2012, and the flood of 
record occurred in February 1998, when the Creek overtopped its banks 
in several areas, affecting approximately 1,700 residential and 
commercial structures and causing more than $26.6 million in property 
damages. After these floods, the SFCJPA was formed to pursue flood 
control and restoration opportunities in the area.
    The current USACE Feasibility Study is a continuation of the 
authority passed on May 22, 2002 by the Committee on Transportation and 
Infrastructure of the United States House of Representatives, which is 
in accordance with Section 4 of the Flood Control Act of 1941. The 
resolution reads as follows:
    ``Resolved by the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of 
the United States House of Representatives, That, the Secretary of the 
Army, in accordance with Section 4 of the Flood Control Act of 1941, is 
hereby requested to conduct a study of the Guadalupe River and 
Tributaries, California, to determine whether flood damage reduction, 
environmental restoration and protection, storm water retention, water 
conservation and supply, recreation and other allied purposes are 
advisable in the interest of the San Francisquito Creek Watershed, 
including San Francisquito Creek, Santa Clara and San Mateo Counties, 
California.''
    2. Proposed Action. The integrated FS/EIS will consider the 
environmental impact of potential flood risk management projects with 
the end goal of reducing flood damage in the San Francisquito Creek 
Watershed.
    3. Project Alternatives. The integrated FS/EIS will include four 
alternatives.
    a. No Action: Alternative 1 is the No Action Plan. With the No 
Action Plan (which is the ``Future Without-Project Condition''), it is 
assumed that no long-term actions would be taken to reduce flood damage 
along San Francisquito Creek; flood control improvements would consist 
of emergency fixes to damage areas, consistent with available funding.
    b. Alternative 2 includes replacing bridges and widening channel 
constriction points to provide additional channel capacity in Reach 2 
between Highway 101 and El Camino Real. Under this alternative, bridges 
and channel constrictions or ``bottlenecks''

[[Page 94352]]

that cause creek flows to back up and rise would be widened to increase 
channel conveyance and thus reduce water surface elevation. Included in 
this widening is a proposed project element to align the channel with a 
CalTrans project to increase flow capacity at Highway 101 and adjacent 
frontage roads. Impacts from these activities will be evaluated in the 
FS/EIS.
    c. Alternative 3 includes constructing floodwalls along the 
channel. This Alternative would consider the addition of floodwalls in 
Reach 2 as a stand-alone measure and in combination with the bridge 
replacement and channel widening in Alternative 2.
    d. Alternative 4 would consider the addition of a bypass culvert as 
a stand-alone measure and in combination with the bridge replacement 
and channel widening in Alternative 2. This alternative may include 
floodwalls, though at a reduced scale compared to Alternative 3. This 
alternative includes a new bypass inlet located a few hundred feet 
upstream from University Avenue that would divert high flows to a 
culvert beneath Woodland Avenue or a street in Palo Alto. A box culvert 
would follow a roadway in the downstream direction for approximately 
1.0 to 1.5 miles to an outlet structure where high flows would be 
returned to the creek.
    4. Environmental Considerations. In all cases, environmental 
considerations will include riparian habitat, aquatic habitat, sediment 
budget, fish passage, recreation, public access, aesthetics, cultural 
resources, and environmental justice as well as other potential 
environmental issues of concern.
    5. Scoping Process. The USACE and SFCJPA are seeking input from 
interested federal, state, and local agencies, Native American 
representatives, and other interested private organizations and parties 
through provision of this notice and holding of a scoping meeting. The 
purpose of this meeting is to solicit input regarding the environmental 
issues of concern and the alternatives that should be discussed in the 
integrated FS/EIS. The public scoping meeting will be held on January 
18, 2017 at 6:30 p.m. at the Laurel School Upper Campus, 275 Elliott 
Drive in Menlo Park, CA.
    6. Availability of integrated FS/EIS. The public will have an 
additional opportunity in the NEPA process to comment on the proposed 
alternatives after the draft integrated FS/EIS is released to the 
public in 2017. It is being issued pursuant to section 102(2)(c) of the 
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969 as implemented by the 
Council on Environmental Quality regulations (40 CFR parts 1500-1508).

John C. Morrow,
Lieutenant Colonel, Corps of Engineers District Engineer.
[FR Doc. 2016-30985 Filed 12-22-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3720-58-P