SFPUC 2001 Alameda Watershed Management Plan

XII. SUMMARY OF COMMMENTS AND RESPONSESB. SUMMARY OF COMMENTS AND RESPONSESComment B-4: “Additionally, for most of these species 1 there were some -- it just struck me thatthe analysis of the impact to these species, it was completely inadequate. And I didn’t seeanywhere the EIR addressed the impact of operation of dams and water diversions from theSFPUC in the watershed and 20 reservoirs and then the dams in Niles Canyon. And the smalldam.Those dams have the impacts, obvious impacts on fish, but they also have impacts on thedependent species such as amphibians.” (Jeff Miller – Pleasanton Public Meeting)Response: As noted on page II-1 of the DEIR, the EIR assesses the potential impacts of theManagement Plan, and not the impacts of existing facilities and operations. Specifically, the coreof the EIR is the analysis of management actions proposed in the Management Plan. Theenvironmental setting presented in Chapter III of the DEIR included a description of the physicalenvironmental conditions in the vicinity of the project, as they existed at the time the notice ofpreparation was published, as required by CEQA Guidelines Section 15125. This setting wasused as the baseline to describe existing physical conditions upon which the potential impacts ofManagement Plan implementation were evaluated. It would be very difficult, less exact, and lessuseful to choose a time in the past (e.g., before the diversion and retention of water by theSFPUC) by which to analyze impacts to the Watershed resources. For this reason, CEQAGuidelines define baseline conditions as those that exist at the time the notice of preparation ispublished (see CEQA Guidelines Section 15125[a]).While some of the environmental setting sections in Chapter III may include some historicalsetting information, the sections primarily describe existing conditions, based on recent literaturereview and field observations conducted during the preparation of the Management Plan andDEIR. The Natural Resources section (DEIR Section III.E) includes an overview of historicgrazing on the Watershed, as well as historic fishery resources information. This overview waspresented solely for informational purposes and to allow the reader to understand how naturalresources conditions on the Watershed have changed over time. The baseline used for theevaluation of natural resources impacts was not the pre-European period (pre-grazing) assuggested in Comment B-1.1 The commentor previously discussed sensitive species impacts, including fisheries. See Comments I-25, I-46, andK-13.NOP 96.223E: Alameda Watershed Management Plan C&R.12 ESA / 930385