INITIAL STUDY/MITIGATED NEGATIVE DECLARATION PACIFIC GAS & ELECTRIC COMPANY

R-687 L-215 SAN JOAQUIN RIVER CROSSING REPLACEMENT PROJECT

June 2020

Lead Agency: California State Lands Commission 100 Howe Avenue, Suite 100 South

Sacramento, California 95825

Applicant: Pacific Gas & Electric Company

4040 West Lane, Building #9 (113C) Stockton, California 95204

Geographic Location (Proposed River Crossing)

Latitude: 37°26’58.94” N Longitude: 121°1’44.42” W

WGS84 Datum

Cover Photo: (Photo courtesy of Google Earth)

MISSION STATEMENT The California State Lands Commission provides the people of California

with effective stewardship of the lands, waterways, and resources entrusted to its care through preservation, restoration, enhancement, responsible economic

development, and the promotion of public access.

CEQA DOCUMENT WEBSITE www.slc.ca.gov/ceqa/

June 2020 ES-1 PG&E R-687 L-215 San Joaquin River Crossing Replacement Project MND

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The California State Lands Commission (CSLC) is the lead agency under the California 1 Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) (Pub. Resources Code, § 21000 et seq.) and has 2 prepared this Initial Study (IS)/Mitigated Negative Declaration (MND) that analyzes and 3 discloses the environmental effects associated with the proposed Pacific Gas & Electric 4 Company R-687 L-215 San Joaquin River Crossing Replacement Project (Project). The 5 Project would authorize the Pacific Gas & Electric Company (PG&E or Applicant) to 6 decommission and replace Project-related facilities located (in part) within Lease 7 5438.1B. The Project is located approximately 4 miles southeast of Patterson, 8 California, and is adjacent to and extends across the San Joaquin River in Stanislaus 9 County (Figure ES-1). 10

The CSLC prepared an MND because it determined that, while the IS identifies 11 potentially significant impacts related to the Project, mitigation measures (MMs) 12 incorporated into the Project proposal and agreed to by the Applicant would avoid or 13 mitigate those impacts to a point where no significant impacts occur. 14

PROPOSED PROJECT 15

The Project would be conducted in two distinct phases, Phase 1 includes the following 16 primary components (Figure ES-2): 17

• Installing approximately 7,215 feet of replacement pipeline under the River using 18 HDD methods. This replacement pipeline segment would be installed using two 19 directional drilling rigs, each working from opposite sides of the River. 20

• Installing approximately 411 feet of replacement pipeline west of the River using 21 open trench methods, and installation of a valve set where the replacement 22 pipeline would connect to the existing L-215-1 pipeline at Prune Avenue (west of 23 the River). 24

• Decommissioning a short (750 foot) section of the existing L-215-1 pipeline near 25 the west tie-in point on Prune Avenue by pigging and flushing, filling with a 26 cement slurry, sealing with welded caps, and abandoning in place, which would 27 also effectively terminate the existing connection between the L-215-1 pipeline 28 and the L-215 pipeline. 29

• Installing approximately 365 feet of replacement pipeline east of the River using 30 open trench methods, and installing a valve set where the replacement pipeline 31 would connect to the existing station piping (herein referred to as the east station 32 piping connection), approximately 800 feet east of Carpenter Road. 33

Executive Summary

June 2020 PG&E R-687 L-215 San Joaquin River ES-2 Crossing Replacement Project MND

• Deactivating the existing L-215 pipeline within the Project area by purging with 1 inert gas and capping the ends adjacent to Paradise Avenue west of the River 2 and the L-215 pipeline’s connection to the east. A segment of the existing L-215 3 line along Prune Avenue up to Paradise Avenue would be left in place to facilitate 4 future customer service. 5

Under Phase 2, the existing L-215 pipeline that was deactivated in Phase 1 would be 6 decommissioned in Phase 2. Decommissioning would include pigging and flushing of 7 the pipeline to remove any potential contaminants, filling specific pipeline segments with 8 concrete slurry, and removing other pipeline segments, including the river crossing. The 9 existing L-215 pipeline to be decommissioned in Phase 2 would be approximately 10 6,800-feet long. Temporary construction easements would be acquired from affected 11 property owners for work outside existing pipeline easements. 12

ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS AND PROPOSED MITIGATION MEASURES 13

The environmental issues checked below in Table ES-1 would be potentially affected by 14 this Project; a checked box indicates that at least one impact would be a “potentially 15 significant impact.” The Applicant has agreed to Project revisions, including the 16 implementation of MMs, that would reduce the potential impacts to “less than significant 17 with mitigation,” as detailed in Section 3.0, Environmental Checklist and Analysis, of this 18 MND. Table ES-2 lists the proposed MMs designed to reduce or avoid potentially 19 significant impacts. With implementation of the proposed MMs, all Project-related 20 impacts would be reduced to less than significant levels. 21

Table ES-1. Environmental Issues and Potentially Significant Impacts Aesthetics Agriculture and Forestry

Resources Air Quality

Biological Resources Cultural Resources Cultural Resources – Tribal

Energy Geology, Soils, and Paleontological Resources

Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Hazards and Hazardous Materials

Hydrology and Water Quality

Land Use and Planning

Mineral Resources Noise Population and Housing

Public Services Recreation Transportation Utilities and Service Systems

Wildfire Mandatory Findings of Significance

Executive Summary

June 2020 ES-3 PG&E R-687 L-215 San Joaquin River Crossing Replacement Project MND

Table ES-2. Summary of Proposed Project Mitigation Measures Aesthetics

MM AES-1: Nighttime Illumination Limitations Biological Resources

MM BIO-1: Environmental Training Program MM BIO-2: In-River Work Period Restrictions MM BIO-3: Biological Monitoring MM BIO-4: Turbidity Monitoring Plan MM BIO-5: Western Pond Turtle Avoidance MM BIO-6: Burrowing Owl Avoidance MM BIO-7: Swainson’s Hawk and White-Tailed Kite Avoidance MM BIO-8: Breeding Bird Avoidance MM BIO-9: Wetlands and Riparian Habitat Restoration

Cultural Resources MM CUL-1/TCR-1: Cultural Resource Monitoring MM CUL-2/TCR-2: Discovery of Previously Unknown Cultural or Tribal Cultural Resources MM CUL-3/TCR-3: Unanticipated Discovery of Human Remains

Cultural Resources – Tribal MM CUL-1/TCR-1: Cultural Resource Monitoring MM CUL-1/TCR-2: Discovery of Previously Unknown Cultural or Tribal Cultural Resources MM CUL-2/TCR-3: Unanticipated Discovery of Human Remains

Hazards and Hazardous Materials APM-1: Project Work and Safety Plan APM-2: Inadvertent Release Contingency Plan APM-3: Utility Location Survey APM-4: Pre- and Post-Project Geophysical Debris Survey MM HAZ-1: Asbestos Handling Procedures

Hydrology and Water Quality MM HYDRO-1: Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan (SWPPP)

Recreation REC-1: Local In-Water Construction Notice

Executive Summary

June 2020 PG&E R-687 L-215 San Joaquin River ES-4 Crossing Replacement Project MND

Figure ES-1. Project Site Location Map

Executive Summary

June 2020 ES-5 PG&E R-687 L-215 San Joaquin River Crossing Replacement Project MND

Figure ES-2. Project Overview Map

Executive Summary

June 2020 PG&E R-687 L-215 San Joaquin River ES-6 Crossing Replacement Project MND

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