EVEREST June, 2013 - California Department of Boating and ...

More documents

Recommendations

Info

Orange County Coastal Regional Sediment Management Plan disturbance. This information in combination with monitoring would support evaluations of plan performance and possibly future adaptive refinement of implementation to optimize long-term benefits and reduce environmental impacts associated with RSM in Orange County. Impacts of RSM projects would depend on project-specific details (sediment volume, equipment, methods), site-specific environmental conditions, and construction schedule. Project-specific impact assessments would be conducted as part of the environmental review and permitting process prior to project implementation. Use of best practice and resource protection guidelines in project design and implementation are recommended to minimize impacts (Speybroeck, et al. 2006; SAIC, 2011a, 2011b). Construction phase measures may include buffer distances, schedule restrictions (e.g., environmental windows), equipment operational controls, best management practices (BMPs), or monitoring (SAIC, 2011b). The Regional Water Quality Control Board (RWQCB) may require monitoring of water quality to meet waste discharge requirements specified as a condition of the 401 water quality certification. Biological monitoring may be required by resource agencies to verify absence of sensitive species from the Plan area during construction, halt or redirect construction if sensitive resources enter the Plan area, ensure construction does not significantly impact sensitive resources, confirm construction remains within designated work areas, or to verify that unexpected impacts do not occur. Depending on the project-specific concerns, monitoring may be focused (e.g., eelgrass, grunion, least tern, snowy plover, Pismo clams) or may assess biological communities of particular interest (e.g., benthic invertebrate community, bird foraging-invertebrate prey interactions, hard-bottom habitat); biological indicators generally are used to monitor community level responses. Monitoring requirements may vary on a project-specific basis depending on resources within the vicinity of the proposed sediment management project. Impact verification monitoring may be required depending on level of concern or uncertainty associated with potential impacts to sensitive habitats. Monitoring requirements would be determined during environmental review and permitting. Additionally, monitoring may provide opportunities to gather additional information relative to sand placement techniques or minimization measures that would support adaptive management decisionmaking to improve the environmental effectiveness of plan implementation over time. Table B1 summarizes environmental constraint periods for relevant managed and sensitive species associated with sand placement on beaches. Construction work windows are relatively unconstrained during the fall and winter except in areas with wintering concentrations of snowy plover. Construction work windows in the spring and summer are constrained by California grunion if suitable beach habitat to support spawning is present. Additional constraints also may apply if sites are located nearby nesting sites of California least tern or snowy plover. Snowy plover critical habitat is a constraint regardless of season. The highlighted sensitive species constraint periods in Table B1 may start at the beginning or middle of the first month and run to the middle or end of the last month indicated. Constraint periods may differ in their specification among historical permits or documents; for example, the Everest International Consultants, Inc. B.4
Orange County Coastal Regional Sediment Management Plan constraint period for least tern is generally identified as April 15 to September 15 by USACE, although it is listed as April 1 to August 30 in RGP 67 (USACE, 2006). The snowy plover breeding season constraint period may be identified as March 1 to September 15 or September 30 (RGP 67). Generally, the grunion constraint period extends from March 1 through August 31. Verification of constraint periods and work windows for coastal projects conducted in Orange County should be verified during project permitting, as applicable. Different color shading in the table denotes the months associated with the referenced seasonal periods. Table B.1 Summary of Environmental Constraint Periods by Species and Season SEASON Fall-Winter Spring Summer Species Grunion – spawning Least Tern – breeding/nesting Snowy Plover – breeding/nesting Snowy Plover - wintering MONTH J F M A M J J A S O N D Relevant Sensitive Species Constraint Periods For projects scheduled during the spring and summer construction window (between March 1 and September 30), pre-construction survey assessment and coordination with resource and regulatory agencies may be necessary to assess habitat suitability for grunion spawning and impact considerations for sensitive species (e.g., least terns, snowy plovers), as applicable, depending on environmental conditions and proximity to sensitive resources. Potential impact considerations include project schedule, interference with spawning, burial of eggs, sediment compatibility, constructed beach slope, and turbidity. Beach nourishment has the potential to enhance spawning habitat in erosive beach areas (SAIC, 2006). RSM projects would require consultation between the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) and US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) or National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) under Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act if activities have the potential to affect least tern or snowy plover during the breeding season, critical habitat of snowy plover, or interfere with the movement or behavior of other sensitive wildlife (e.g., endangered sea turtles). Coordination with the USFWS should occur for projects located within two miles of least tern breeding colonies. Mitigation measures (e.g., monitoring, protective measures) may be necessary to conduct beach nourishment during constraint periods depending on project- and site-specific conditions. Everest International Consultants, Inc. B.5
Page 1 and 2:
Prepared for U.S. Army Corps of Eng
Page 3 and 4:
Orange County Coastal Regional Sedi
Page 5 and 6:
Page 7 and 8:
Page 9 and 10:
Page 11 and 12:
Page 13 and 14:
Page 15 and 16:
Page 17 and 18:
Page 19 and 20:
Page 21 and 22:
Page 23 and 24:
Page 25 and 26:
Page 27 and 28:
Page 29 and 30:
Page 31 and 32:
Page 33 and 34:
Page 35 and 36:
Page 37 and 38:
Page 39 and 40:
Page 41 and 42:
Page 43 and 44:
Page 45 and 46:
Page 47 and 48:
Page 49 and 50:
Page 51 and 52:
Page 53 and 54:
Page 55 and 56:
Page 57 and 58:
Page 59 and 60:
Page 61 and 62:
Page 63 and 64:
Page 65 and 66:
Page 67 and 68:
Page 69 and 70:
Page 71 and 72:
Page 73 and 74:
Page 75 and 76:
Page 77 and 78:
Page 79 and 80:
Page 81 and 82:
Page 83 and 84:
Page 85 and 86:
Page 87 and 88:
Page 89 and 90:
Page 91 and 92:
Page 93 and 94:
Page 95 and 96:
Page 97 and 98:
Page 99 and 100:
Page 101 and 102:
Page 103 and 104:
Page 105 and 106:
Page 107 and 108:
Page 109 and 110:
Page 111 and 112:
Page 113 and 114:
Page 115 and 116:
Page 117 and 118:
Page 119 and 120:
Page 121 and 122:
Page 123 and 124:
Page 125 and 126:
Page 127 and 128:
Page 129 and 130:
Page 131 and 132:
Page 133 and 134:
Page 135 and 136:
Page 137 and 138:
Page 139 and 140:
Page 141 and 142: Orange County Coastal Regional Sedi
Page 191: Orange County Coastal Regional Sedi
show all

EVEREST June, 2013 - California Department of Boating and ...

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?