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HomeMy WebLinkAboutS22 - Effluent Pump Station Annex & Collection System Odor & Corrosion Control ProgramHearing Date: Agenda Item No.: Staff Person: REPORT TO THE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL August 27, 2002 S22 Sharon Z. Wood (949) 644 -3222 SUBJECT: Comments on Draft Supplemental to the 1999 Strategic Plan EIR for the Effluent Pump Station Annex and Collection System Odor and Corrosion Control Program SUGGESTED ACTION: Approve and direct staff to transmit comments prepared by the Environmental Quality Affairs Committee The Environmental Quality Affairs Committee (EQAC) reviewed the Draft Supplemental EIR prepared for the subject Orange County Sanitation District project at their meeting of August 19, 2002. The comments in the attached memorandum were approved by EQAC. The City Council Resolution establishing EQAC provides that the City Council approve EQAC's comments on environmental documents prepared for projects outside of Newport Beach, when time allows. In this case, the comment period ends on September 6, 2002. SHARON Z. WOOD Assistant City Manager CITY OF NEWPORT BEACH O4,aEW ^T COMMUNITY AND ECONOMIC v = DEVELOPMENT PLANNING DEPARTMENT 3300 NEWPORT BOULEVARD NEWPORT BEACH, CA 92658 (949) 644 -3200; FAX (949) 644 -3250 Hearing Date: Agenda Item No.: Staff Person: REPORT TO THE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL August 27, 2002 S22 Sharon Z. Wood (949) 644 -3222 SUBJECT: Comments on Draft Supplemental to the 1999 Strategic Plan EIR for the Effluent Pump Station Annex and Collection System Odor and Corrosion Control Program SUGGESTED ACTION: Approve and direct staff to transmit comments prepared by the Environmental Quality Affairs Committee The Environmental Quality Affairs Committee (EQAC) reviewed the Draft Supplemental EIR prepared for the subject Orange County Sanitation District project at their meeting of August 19, 2002. The comments in the attached memorandum were approved by EQAC. The City Council Resolution establishing EQAC provides that the City Council approve EQAC's comments on environmental documents prepared for projects outside of Newport Beach, when time allows. In this case, the comment period ends on September 6, 2002. SHARON Z. WOOD Assistant City Manager MEMORANDUM To: Mayor Tod Ridgeway and Members of the City Council City of Newport Beach Cc: Homer Bludau, City Manager From: Environmental Quality Affairs Citizen's Advisory Committee ( "EQAC ") City of Newport Beach Subject: Orange County Sanitation District Draft Supplement to the 1999 Strategic Plan Environmental Impact Report for the Effluent Pump Station Annex and Collection System Odor and Corrosion Control Program (the "Project ") Date: August 20, 2002 Thank you for the opportunity to provide these comments on the Supplement Draft Environmental Impact Report ( "SDEIR ") for the above - referenced Project prepared by the Orange County Sanitation District ( "District'). Based on the review of the document, EQAC's comments are as follows: I. Project Description The SDEIR addresses the impacts associated with two projects proposed by the District. The District proposes the construction of Effluent Pump Station Annex ( "EPSA "), which is located at Treatment Plant No. 2 in the City of Huntington Beach along the Santa Ana River near Pacific Coast Highway. Treatment Plant No. 2 is visible from the City of Newport Beach. The proposed EPSA will provide backup pump capacity for the District's Ocean Outfall Booster Station ( "OOBS'). The Project includes replacing the current back up capacity from the Foster Pump Station ( "FPS') and demolishing the FPS. In addition, the District proposes to implement an odor control system known as the Odor and Corrosion Control Program ( "OCP "). There are currently eight OCP sites at various locations throughout the District's collection system. These sites have been part of a pilot study, and the District proposes to make them permanent, with the possibility of adding new sites in the future. II. Air Ouality We have no comments on the substance of the air quality analysis; however, there seems to be an error on page 3.1 -9. The second paragraph states "Construction Mayor Tod Ridgeway Members of the City Council City of Newport Beach Page 2 August 20, 2002 emissions would be considered a significant unavoidable impact to air quality." This statement is inconsistent with the remaining discussion on air quality, and should be corrected. III. Aesthetics The project description states that additional OCP storage tank locations may be needed in the future. These tanks may be as a large as twelve (12) feet in diameter and sixteen (16) feet in height. Proposed Mitigation Measure 3.2 -2 states that such tanks will be placed out of public view to the extent feasible, and Mitigation Measure 3.2 -3 states that the Sanitation District will coordinate with cities prior to installation of any new tanks. These two measures should be strengthened by replacing the M.M 3.2 -2 phrase "to the extent feasible" with "to the satisfaction of the city in which the proposed tank is to be located." IV. Geology The SDEIR recognizes several significant geologic limitations and restrictions, as well as potentially significant impacts from the Project. However, as discussed below, the SDEIR fails to recognize additional potentially significant impacts which may result from the Project which require additional analysis and possibly mitigation. Among other things, these include the significant forty (40') feet of excavation in an area which is subject to subsidence and groundwater intrusion. The SDEIR acknowledges that the Project site is, or may be, located in an area with expansive soils and may be subject to settlement, subsidence, and liquefaction. However, the Project includes significant construction in such areas, including the proposed EPSA, which will provide backup pump capacity for the District's OOBS. The EPSA has several features which could create significant Project - related impacts on the geology of the area: (1) the Pump Building consumes 4,600 square feet and is forty (40') feet tall; (2) the Distribution Center will cover over 5,400 square feet and will be thirty (30') feet high; (3) the Standby Power Facility will be approximately 7,800 square feet and will be approximately twenty -six (26') feet high; and (4) in order to accommodate some of these structures, the Project site will require substantial excavation at least forty (40') feet below existing grade. The Project site is adjacent to the ocean and in an area of expansive soils and peat bogs. The SDEIR recognizes that high groundwater is present at the Project site. As indicated above, the SDEIR addresses two potentially significant impacts: (1) the Project could expose people and structures to earthquakes and ground failure, including liquefaction; and (2) the Project could be located on expansive soils. Mayor Tod Ridgeway Members of the City Council City of Newport Beach Page 3 August 20, 2002 As to the first, ground stability, the SDEIR proposes to conduct geotechnical studies and provide appropriate mitigation. However, the District's promise and deferral on the mitigation of the potentially significant geologic impacts fails to satisfy CEQA's requirements. `By deferring environmental assessment to a future date, the conditions run counter to that policy of CEQA which requires environmental review at the earliest feasible stage in the planning process." Sundstrom v. County of Mendocino (1988) 202 Cal. App. 3d 296, 308. See Bozuniz v. Local Agency Formation Com.(1975) 13 Cal.3d 263, 282 (holding that "the principle that the environmental impact should be assessed as early as possible in government planning. "); Mount Sutro Defense Committee v. Regents of University of California (1978) 77 Cal. App. 3d 20, 34 (noting that environmental problems should be considered at a point in the planning process "where genuine flexibility remains'). CEQA requires more than a promise of mitigation of significant impacts: mitigation measures must really minimize the impact. The only way to accomplish this and satisfy the disclosure and analytic requirements of the SDEIR is to require the District to conduct the studies and propose the mitigation measures in a revised SDEIR. With respect to the issue of expansive soils, again, the District proposes to study and delay proposal of the exact nature and extent of the mitigation. As indicated above, the District should provide this analysis and the proposal in a revised SDEIR. In addition, the SDEIR fails to recognize or analyze the relation of the high groundwater to the geologic resources and the potential for soil instability. The revised SDEIR should provide a clear analysis of the Project with its substantial excavation on the peat bogs and the high groundwater. The Project may require substantial mitigation to limit impacts on these geologic features of the site. V. Hydrology The Project site is next to the Santa Ana River and in an area of high groundwater. The SDEIR acknowledges these site characteristics, as well as the potential for flooding at the site. The SDEIR recognizes three areas of potentially significant impacts and proposes three mitigation measures which will lower these impacts to acceptable levels. First, the SDEIR recognizes that, with the high groundwater and substantial excavation, as well as storm water inflows, the Project may violate water quality standards or waste discharge requirements, including substantial dewatering efforts. The SDEIR proposes to mitigate this impact by preparing a Storm Water Pollution Prevention Plan. However, the SDEIR does not contain such a plan or even address the constituents of such a plan. As indicated above, this impermissibly defers mitigation. Moreover, in order to assess fully the nature and extent of the mitigation, a revised SDEIR must discuss the outlines of such a plan and discuss important aspects which relate to the Project. Mayor Tod Ridgeway Members of the City Council City of Newport Beach Page 4 August 20, 2002 Second, the SDEIR acknowledges that the Project will likely alter drainage on the Project site. However, the SDEIR notes that either drainage is intercepted by the storm drain and directed into the District's system, or it is directed off -site. This ignores the substantial excavation of the Project: the forty (40') foot excavation will likely act as a reservoir for which the existing drainage system will not work, at least during construction. The District should prepare a revised SDEIR to address such impacts and provide mitigation of those impacts. Third, the SDEIR recognizes that the Project may be susceptible to flooding and proposes upgrading facilities to prevent inundation from the Santa Ana River. However, this analysis ignores the potential for onsite flooding due to the excavation. The District should prepare a revised SDEIR to address the potential for onsite flooding including onsite flooding during construction and provide appropriate mitigation measures. VI. Traffic The Project Description notes that approximately 30,000 cubic yards of soil will be removed from the site as a result of excavation during construction, and that the removal of the soil will require approximately 1,500 round -trip truck trips. In addition, the Project Description states that "approximately 1.5 acres of the existing site will be graded and designed to generally match existing grades." It is unclear whether the grading of the 1.5 acres will require additional removal of soil from the site. Mitigation measure M -3.7 -1 states that dirt haul trucks will avoid peak traffic periods; however, the SDEIR should identify the routes to be taken by the haul trucks and ensure that no routes are located within the City of Newport Beach. VII. Recommendation We recommend that the District reconsider the SDEIR, revise the document to address the Project's impacts in connection with the issues discussed above, and recirculate the document for public comment.