12 - Laserfiche WebLink

BACKGROUND The purpose of the SMP is to maintain stormwater conveyance capacity in stream/channel segments and detention basins in the city (referred to as project sites). The City's former regulatory permit to conduct such maintenance activities expired in 2019 and the City conducted a new environmental review to assess potential impacts to obtain new permit coverage. In June 2019, City Council approved the authorization of the professional services agreement with an environmental firm to conduct the SMP environmental review in accordance with CEQA. This work culminated in the Initial Study/Mitigated Negative Declaration (ISMND), Pleasanton Stream Maintenance Project (Notice of Determination for the ISMND was filed October 9, 2020). The City, as the lead responsible for carrying out the SMP, is responsible for adhering to the Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Program (MMRP) prepared to satisfy the mitigation measures of the Mitigated Negative Declaration. Furthermore, the nature of the City's maintenance work within riparian areas was determined to fall under the jurisdictional authority of three regulatory agencies from which the City has sought permit coverage to conduct this work: the San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board (Regional Board), California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW), and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps). The City has obtained the following regulatory authorizations (collectively referred to as Permits): • Issued: Clean Water Act Section 401 Water Quality Certification and Order (by the Regional Board) • Issued: Streambed Alteration Agreement (by CDFW) • Pending: Section 404 Regional General Permit (by Corps) The above permits have a five-year term and include the requirement of implementing a Habitat Mitigation and Monitoring Plan (HMMP) to address SMP environmental impacts. The HMMP includes both invasive species management and a riparian planting plan within 6.81 acres of mitigation area identified along the Arroyo de la Laguna, adjacent to the Marilyn Murphy Kane Trail. Notably, the HMMP requires annual monitoring and reporting for six years following the riparian planting installation; with the determination of meeting established success criteria in the final year of the HMMP monitoring report as determined by the Regional Board upon report review. Additional long-term data collection necessary with respect to the permit conditions, also includes establishing photo documentation points across all project sites and the mitigation area, which are to be collected annually and included in annual reporting for vegetation coverage comparison, extending beyond the permits' five-year term. DISCUSSION Specialized environmental regulatory assistance is necessary to fulfill the permit and MMRP requirements for the City to conduct its necessary stream and detention pond maintenance activities. Staff completed a formal RFP process and received a total of five proposals. The selected firm is expected to provide the following services: • Programmatic environmental permit compliance over permit terms • CEQA compliance and documentation per the City's MMRP Page 2 of 3