25F - AGMT - DELHI DIVERSION PROJECT

Home Browse Search

following publications and agency guidance documents: USACE Wetland Delineation Manualu; USACE Interim regional supplement to the Wetland Delineation Manual, Arid West Region, Version 2.02; and USACE and Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Clean Water Act Jurisdiction Following the U.S. Supreme Court's Decision in Rapanos v. United States & Carabell v. United States guidance document3. A pedestrian -based field survey of the study area will be conducted using sub -meter GPS accuracy to precisely delineate the boundaries of potential aquatic resources. The field survey results will be synthesized into a Jurisdictional Delineation Report, which will be submitted as a requisite attachment to the USACE, CDFW, and the RWQCB aquatic resource permit applications. The report will identify the limits of wetlands, non - wetland waters of the U.S., waters of the State, and jurisdictional riparian areas within the study area boundaries. It will also include Project- specific details associated with vegetation communities, soils, and hydrology of aquatic resources within the study area and will include a photolog of aquatic resources. A Preliminary Jurisdictional Determination, rather than an Approved Jurisdictional Determination, will be requested from the USACE in order to expedite the permitting process. A Preliminary Jurisdictional Determination is a formal letter from the USACE stating that Waters of the U.S. "may be" present on site and assumes federal jurisdiction. Because the Delhi Channel is jurisdictional, no Approved Jurisdictional Determination is required. 3.5 Aquatic Resource Permitting: The study area includes aquatic resources that will be impacted by the proposed diversion facility in the Santa Ana -DeN Channel. Completion of Clean Water Act (CWA) Section 401 and Section 404, and California Fish and Game Code (CFGC) 1602 (et seq.) permit applications are most likely required to execute the Project. Within this scope of work, URS will prepare and submit a USACE CWA Section 404 Nation Wide Permit (NWP) Preconstruction Notification (PCN) package. The NWP Program provides applicants with a streamlined USACE evaluation and approval process for certain types of activities that have minimal impacts to jurisdictional aquatic environments. If this is feasible based on the total disturbance footprint, then it will significantly reduce the federal permit processing time and expense. The Project appears to qualify for NWP 43, Stormwatet Management Facilities, so long as impacts to Waters of the U.S. are under 0.5 acre, 300 linear feet, and no construction will occur within perennial streams. It is assumed that the Santa Ana -Delhi Channel is seasonal, rather than perennial. If NWP 43 is not acceptable due to perennial flows within the channel, then NWP 18, Minor Discharges, may be potentially used. The RWQCB has determined that an individual 401 water quality certification may be required for most nationwide permits. URS will subunit a CWA Section 401 Water Quality Certification (WQC) application to the RWQCB. The WQC is required for those applicants seeking a federal permit (e.g., CWA Section 404 permit) to discharge fill material into Waters of the State and /or Waters of the U.S. The USACE will not grant authorization until the WQC has been obtained or has been waived. Environmental Laboratory (EL). 1987. Corps of Engineers Wetlands Delineation Manual, Technical Report Y -87 -1, U.S. Army Engineer Waterways Experimental Station, Vicksburg, Mississippi. i Interim regional supplement to the Corps of Engineers Welland Delineation Manual: Arid West Region (Version 2.0). J. S. Wakeley, R.W. Lichvar, and C. V. Noble (Eds.). ERDCIEL TR- 08 -28. Vicksburg, MS: U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center. s U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USACE). 2008a. Memorandum Re: CWA Jurisdiction Following U.S. Supreme Court discussion in Rapanos v United States. 25851