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ITEM: |
PUBLIC HEARING |
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10. |
CONSIDER AUTHORIZING A NOTICE OF INTENT TO ADOPT A MITIGATED Negative Declaration AND THE FIRST
READING FOR ORDINANCE NO. 181 AMENDING
DISTRICT RULES AND REGULATIONS TO MODIFY THE EXTENT OF ACTIVITIES IN THE
CARMEL RIVER RIPARIAN CORRIDOR |
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Meeting Date: |
February 21, 2019 |
Budgeted: |
N/A |
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From: |
David A. Stoldt, |
Program/ |
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General Manager |
Line Item No.: |
N/A |
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Staff Contact: |
Larry Hampson |
Cost Estimate: |
N/A |
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General Counsel Approval: Yes.
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Committee
Recommendation: N/A |
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CEQA Compliance:
Subject to review according to California Environmental
Quality Act Guidelines Section
15153 - Use of an EIR from an Earlier Project |
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SUMMARY: The Board will consider proposed actions to extend
the Carmel River Riparian Corridor by 13.5 miles from the eastern end of Carmel
Valley Village upstream to the Ventana Wilderness boundary. A Notice of Intent (Exhibit 10-A) to adopt a Draft Initial Study/Mitigated
Negative Declaration (IS/MND, Exhibit 10-B)
and a draft Ordinance 181 (Exhibit 10-C)
is included in this package.
To comply with CEQA requirements, the District
intends to rely on the previously certified 1984 Final EIR for the Carmel River
Management Program. At the Public Hearing, the Board will consider comments
about the proposal, hold the first reading of draft Ordinance 181, and set a
Public Hearing to approve the MND at the second reading and Adoption of the
Ordinance.
RECOMMENDATION: Staff recommends that the Board take the following actions:
DISCUSSION: The Monterey Peninsula Water Management District (MPWMD or District) is charged with the integrated management of the water resources of the Carmel River basin, which is a Central California Coast basin located a few miles southeast of Monterey in Monterey County. MPWMD initiated a program to protect and restore streamside resources in the lower 15.4 miles of the river in 1983. This program includes Rules to require a valid permit from MPWMD to alter the bed or banks of the river and to remove vegetation. In addition, the program provides technical assistance to property owners, funds to mitigate for impacts to the environment from water extraction and water-producing facilities, monitoring of the health of the stream, and research to understand system dynamics and to maintain appropriate standards.
Funding for Carmel River Management Program (CRMP) activities was initially approved on April 9, 1984 under Ordinance 12. The program was funded through a User Fee placed on the Cal-Am bill and a Benefit Assessment Zone fee paid by riverside property owners, both of which sunset on July 1, 1993. Ordinance 69, passed on June 23, 1993, authorized continuation of the Carmel River Management Plan and activities may be undertaken by the District as discretionary acts to the extent that funds are reasonably available. In 1993, the District determined that CRMP activities would be subsumed into the Mitigation Program and that CRMP activities would be funded through the revenues collected for the Mitigation Program.
It should be noted that the effects on steelhead and the river from operating Los Padres Dam were considered in the November 1990 Findings of the Board of Directors of the Monterey Peninsula Water Management District Certification of the Final Water Allocation Program Environmental Impact Report. In particular, the effects on fish passage and sedimentation due to the reservoir were considered in the Findings.[1] This is an important consideration when considering the management of the resources of the river.
The District now proposes to extend its Rules that protect the bed and banks of the main stem Carmel River from River Mile (RM, measured from the ocean) 15.4 at the confluence of the main stem with Klondike Creek to the Ventana Wilderness boundary at approximately RM 28.8, which would result in an additional 13.5 miles that would be included in the District’s program. The reach is sparsely populated, but includes some private residences, the Stonepine Resort, the former San Clemente Dam site, a portion of Prince’s Camp, the Cachagua Community Center, and the Los Padres Dam and Reservoir. A complete list of Assessor’s Parcel Numbers and property owners is contained in the Draft IS/MND. The approximate middle of the reach is at latitude 36.416N: longitude -121.709E.
The natural resources of the Carmel River downstream of the Ventana Wilderness have been impacted by a variety of causes in the past two hundred years that include early grazing and clearing of the Valley for agriculture, impoundment of water and sediment retention at Los Padres and San Clemente dams, surface water diversions, gravel mining, development of the flood plain, vegetation removal, groundwater pumping, disorganized responses to streambank erosion, and fire suppression in the surrounding watershed.
Along many reaches of the lower Carmel River below San Clemente Dam, extensive changes in channel form have occurred since the mid-1960s. Changes include widening of the bed in some areas and downcutting in others, extensive bank erosion, and damage or loss of streamside vegetation. Effects have been particularly dramatic during winter storm events when damage to property can be widespread.
Steelhead and their habitat from the Pacific Ocean to the confluence of Danish Creek with the main stem (at RM 26) have undergone cyclic degradation due to sediment starvation, dewatering, vegetation removal, development, bank erosion, increases in water temperature (due to the presence of main stem reservoirs), and changes to the food supply.
The District desires to protect and restore all the riparian resources of the Carmel River and its surrounding environs downstream of the Ventana Wilderness boundary and to update its Rules for the Carmel River to reflect changes in the river environment and the need to better manage the resources of the Carmel River basin.
The District finds that changes to the river and watershed upstream of the confluence with Klondike Creek due to human activities have or can significantly affect riverfront properties and the streamside environment within the lower portion of the river. Current program activities such as monitoring, vegetation management, restoration activities, and Rules enforcement would not change. However, this program would be extended upstream to cover the additional area. It should be noted that MPWMD presently carries out a comprehensive steelhead monitoring, rescue, and enhancement program throughout the length of the river between the Pacific Ocean and the limit of anadromy in the main stem.[2]
Stream
Conditions Since 1984
Streamside conditions along the lower 15.4 miles of the river have significantly improved as compared with the conditions at the time the 1984 Final EIR for the CRMP was approved. These changes are the result of: 1) a significant reduction in Cal-Am diversions to municipal use and a cessation of surface water diversions at the former San Clemente Dam; 2) restrictions placed by Monterey County on floodplain development; and 3) a comprehensive program to mitigate for stream diversions and restore the natural resources of the river. In addition to legacy impacts from human activities over the past two hundred years, two fundamental ongoing problems remain that affect all the river from Los Padres Reservoir downstream: 1) impoundment of the natural sediment supply from the upper watershed behind Los Padres Dam; and 2) diversions in the watershed that contribute to seasonal dewatering of the Carmel Valley Alluvial Aquifer. The primary management goal of the CRMP – “…a progressive and predictable transition of the river to an equilibrium 'stable ' channel for those sites below Robles del Rio where such conditions do not today exist” – is still valid.
The 1984 EIR described one potentially adverse impact from implementing the CRMP – adverse downcutting, especially in the reaches above the Narrows at RM 9.9 and a parallel decline of the water table. While the previous analysis was correct in recognizing the effects of sediment starvation, the actual impact has manifested itself more in the lower seven miles of the river that above the Narrows. In the lowest reach, there has been several feet of downcutting which has exposed infrastructure in the active channel and contributed to streambank instability.
The quasi equilibrium state of the river[3] described for the 1921-1965 period appears to be re-established in some reaches of the river downstream of Robles del Rio. However, the removal of San Clemente Dam at RM 18.6 in 2015 has been a significant event and the cumulative effect of its removal may not be clear for several years.
Stream conditions described in the 1984 EIR have evolved since then due to the enactment of the CRMP, reduced water diversions, and changes in municipal supply operations. In 1984, the most impacted and unstable reaches of the river were between Schulte Road and Robles del Rio. After most groundwater pumping was shifted to downstream of Schulte Road in the mid-1980s, the reach between Schulte Road and Rancho Cañada became the most heavily impacted. Much of the reach upstream of the Narrows recovered naturally with the resumption of perennial flow.
Impacts on vegetation associated with groundwater pumping have been transferred to the lower river by concentrating pumping in the lower eight miles of the river. It is becoming more apparent with each passing winter that sediment starvation continues to be a problem as more infrastructure and streambanks are being undermined. Degradation of steelhead habitat (in particular, spawning habitat) from retention of sediment in the main stem dams is evident all along the river downstream of Los Padres Dam and is especially significant in the interdam reach (between the former San Clemente Dam and Los Padres Dam).
California
Environmental Quality Act
CEQA Section 15153 states that the Lead Agency may use an earlier EIR prepared in connection with an earlier project to apply to a later project, if the circumstances of the project are essentially the same.
The existing plan and programmatic Environmental Impact Report (EIR) to protect and restore the lower 15.4 miles of the river was approved by MPWMD on October 29, 1984 (SCH Number: 84032705). The District adopted Resolution 84-26 making findings, a statement of overriding considerations, and certifying the Final EIR for the Carmel River Management Plan and Boronda Erosion Control Project. This program includes Rules to require a valid permit from MPWMD to alter the bed or banks of the river and to remove vegetation. In addition, the program provides technical assistance to property owners, funds to mitigate for impacts to the environment, monitoring of the health of the stream, and research to understand system dynamics and to maintain appropriate standards.
While
the magnitude of degradation along the river has been reduced in some reaches since
1984, portions of the river remain degraded and unstable and the number of
Carmel River adult steelhead returning to the river have declined. There is still a need to address these
conditions. District staff have concluded
that extending the CRMP and District Rules to include all of the river
downstream of the Ventana Wilderness will help to manage the river’s resources
and will not have a significant effect with proposed mitigation measures. The District would also also be able to become
involved in projects in the upper watershed, similar to the role the District
has taken on in the lower 15.4 miles of the river.
IMPACT TO DISTRICT RESOURCES: Extending the Carmel River Management Program activities could require additional staff time to enforce District Rules. Other District activities such as vegetation management, technical assistance, and carrying out restoration projects would continue to be carried out as funding allows.
EXHIBITS
10-A Notice of Intent
10-B Initial Study/Mitigated Negative Declaration
10-C Draft Ordinance 181
U:\staff\Boardpacket\2019\20190221\PublicHrngs\10\Item-10.docx
[1] See Findings 168, 296, 297, and 304.
[2] The limit of anadromy is about three miles upstream of the Ventana Wilderness boundary along the Miller Fork branch of the Carmel River. Within the Ventana Wilderness, steelhead habitat is monitored, but no rescues or habitat enhancement occurs.
[3] The lower 15.4 miles of the Carmel River is described as being in a transition zone between a stable, single thread channel and an unstable, braided channel. Changes in sediment supply, water flow, and streambank vegetation can affect whether the river moves from one form to another. Since the implementation of the CRMP, the river has transitioned in most reaches to a single-thread channel.