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BACKGROUND <br />On June 18, 2019, City Council approved the Agreement with WRA, Inc., to provide <br />environmental review and initial permitting strategy guidance for maintenance <br />performed on certain waterbodies within City limits to preserve theirflood control and <br />stormwater treatment capacities. Routine maintenance work includes removal of debris, <br />sediment, and vegetation. On January 21, 2020, City Council approved an amendment <br />to this Agreement, adding funds necessaryto cover nine additional study areas <br />identified as falling underexisting easements forstorm water related entry, the <br />preparation and coordination of permitting application process with the regulatory <br />agencies, and extended the Agreement date to accommodate for the uncertainty of <br />permitting timelineswith the various regulatory agencies involved. <br />As part of the permitting agency coordination work, WRA, Inc., organized an <br />interagency meeting with the identified permitting agencies, which include the U.S. <br />Army Corps of Engineers (Corps), Regional Water Quality Control Board (RWQCB), <br />and California Departmentof Fish and Wildlife (CDFW), to review and discuss the <br />PSMP prior to releasing the Public Draft IS/MND and submitting permit applications. <br />Feedback received from the perspective permitting agencies included the necessity to <br />amend the project description, and furtherrefine the precise type of activities performed <br />within specific regions of each study area. This reassessment of each of the total <br />twenty-five study areas was unanticipated and required considerable effort, including <br />revisions to the BRA and Draft lS/MND. <br />This request for a second amendmentto the Agreement includes additional funding to <br />complete the PSMP and corresponding permitting coverage covers the original planned <br />projects for this Agreement. In addition, this request includes a twenty percent <br />contingencyto provide for additional flexibility forother potential unplanned requests <br />that may resultfrom responses received through the public review of the Draft IS/MND <br />and/or permit application submittal process, including Endangered SpeciesAct(ESA) <br />Section 7 consultation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife (USFW) as required as part of the <br />permit application process. <br />DISCUSSION <br />The currentwork underway by WRA, Inc. includes preparation of the Final Initial <br />Study/Mitigated Negative Declaration, as well as the accompanying Mitigation Monitory <br />and Reporting Program, and finalizing the Regional General Permit application for <br />submittal to the Corps. <br />The retention of subject -matter expertise and project management services to navigate <br />through the various application submittals and ESA Section 7 Formal Consultation, are <br />necessary to efficiently complete the PSMP and obtain the necessary permit coverage <br />for routine maintenance of streams and detention basins within the study areas covered <br />by the PSMP. <br />Page 2 of 3 <br />