SFPUC 2001 Alameda Watershed Management Plan

I. SUMMARYcomprehensive set of goals, policies, and management actions that address all Watershedactivities and reflect the unique qualities of the Watershed.In addition to serving as a long-term regulatory framework for decision-making by the SFPUC,the Management Plan is also intended to be used as a Watershed management implementationguide by the SFPUC’s Land and Resource Management Section (LRMS) staff. The ManagementPlan provides the LRMS manager and staff with management actions designed to implement theestablished goals and policies for water quality, water supply, ecological and cultural resourceprotection, fire safety management, Watershed activities, public awareness, and financialmanagement. The Management Plan also enables LRMS staff to address and plan for futuremanagement issues such as fire management, erosion control, public access, security,development encroachment, construction and maintenance of utility facilities, and ecologicalresource management. Although the Management Plan has been developed with an effort todesign realistic policies and actions, it may be that due to funding realities or changedcircumstances, some actions may not be implemented or may be implemented at a later phase. Insuch cases the status quo would prevail.The Alameda Watershed Management Plan is presented in six chapters. An Introduction(Chapter 1.0) is followed by a discussion of Existing Conditions and Resource Sensitivity(Chapter 2.0). Chapter 3.0 briefly describes the major Watershed Management Issues.Chapter 4.0 takes the major management issue areas (established in Chapter 3.0) and describesWatershed Management Goals and Policies for each of these management issue areas.Chapter 5.0 presents the actions and guidelines that form the basis of the Alameda WatershedManagement Plan. Chapter 6.0 provides a discussion of Phasing and Implementation.The Alameda Watershed Management Plan was designed to improve the SFPUC’s ability toprotect its overall Watershed in general, and in particular the specific resources that make up thatWatershed. Given the intention behind the Management Plan design, the overall environmentalimpacts of the Management Plan are beneficial. However, some actions also have the potential tohave significant adverse physical impacts on the environment. These management actions aredescribed in Chapter II, and the analysis of these actions forms the core of this EnvironmentalImpact Report (EIR).B. PRINCIPAL ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTSPrincipal among the issues addressed in this environmental impact report for the ManagementPlan are the issues of increased public access and use, the expansion and extended timing ofmining north and south of Interstate 680 (I-680), ongoing operations and maintenance activities,and construction of new facilities. The impacts associated with the expansion and extendedtiming of mining north and south of I-680 were found to be significant and unavoidable withrespect to loss of prime agricultural land. The impacts associated with increased public accessand use and implementation of other management actions of the Management Plan were found tobe at a less than significant level or to be mitigated to a less than significant level with mitigationmeasures to be implemented by the SFPUC.NOP 96.223E: Alameda Watershed Management Plan I-2 ESA / 930385January 2001