Volume 2: Draft Gorst Planned Action Environmental Impact Statement

GORST PLANNED ACTION EIS | AFFECTED ENVIRONMENT, SIGNIFICANT IMPACTS, AND MITIGATION MEASURESShoreline Master Programs and Critical AreasBoth the County and City have locally adopted new Shoreline Master Programs that require Ecology approval priorto their being effective. These pending Shoreline Master Programs differ with respect to shoreline buffers on GorstCreek. Kitsap County’s proposed Shoreline Master Program and Critical Areas Regulations will apply in the GorstUGA until such time as the area is annexed by the City when Bremerton’s proposed regulations will apply. The Cityof Bremerton’s shoreline buffer standards for the Sinclair inlet are greater than the County’s, and the County’sbuffer standards for Gorst Creek are greater than the City of Bremerton’s. Apart from these more prominentshorelines, the City of Bremerton and County regulate smaller streams and wetlands similarly.The adoption of the Gorst Subarea Plan is an opportunity to develop joint standards for stream and shorelineprotection. This is particularly important with the new analysis included in the watershed characterization and therecent list of steelhead (see Section 3.4 Plants and Animals). This Draft EIS Appendix D Shoreline Buffer Comparison& Options provides options for common shorelines standards along Gorst Creek to achieve some of the WatershedCharacterization Study BMPs. These options could be considered as the final Subarea Plan is developed around apreferred alternative.The Suquamish TribeThe study area includes the Suquamish Tribes usual and accustomed fishing and hunting areas, as well as the GorstCreek Hatchery. There are also cultural resources important to the tribe in the Gorst UGA and elsewhere.Alternative 1, No Action, would continue current plans in the watershed. There would be less coordinationregarding areas of protection and restoration, such as removal of fish passage barriers.Action alternatives would implement a Watershed Characterization & Framework Plan that could better promotehabitat restoration and protection and remove fish passage barriers. The Gorst Subarea Plan would include policiesand plans also intended to operationalize BMPs of the watershed characterization.Mitigation MeasuresIncorporated Plan FeaturesThe Watershed Characterization & Framework Plan and Gorst Subarea Plan provide a common set of plans andpolicies to ensure consistent and coordinated planning between the City of Bremerton, Kitsap County, and theSuquamish Tribe.Applicable Regulations and Commitments• In order to ensure consistency with GMA requirements, the City of Bremerton and Kitsap County will submitthe Gorst plans to the Washington Department of Commerce or review and comment prior to adoption.• As a preferred plan is prepared, the City of Bremerton and County will prepare a land capacity analysis prior tolegislative adoption.Other Potential Mitigation Measures• The County and City of Bremerton could work with KRCC to reallocate population from undersized UGAs toGorst to match Alternatives 2 or 3 population levels. This could be accomplished prior to the County and Cityof Bremerton’s GMA required 2016 Comprehensive Plan Update. Until that time, the mineral resourcesdesignation could remain while the mine is still in active operation, thus not allowing residential growth untilpopulation targets are reallocated.• The final Subarea Plan prepared for the preferred alternative could include coordinated shoreline and criticalarea standards. See Draft EIS Appendix D Shoreline Buffer Comparison & Options for a description of options.Significant Unavoidable Adverse ImpactsWith implementation of mitigation measures, no significant unavoidable adverse impacts are anticipated withregards to future plan consistency under any of the alternatives.Draft | June 2013 3-262