82 FR 42703 - Final Environmental Impact Statement for Vista Grande Drainage Basin Improvement Project, Golden Gate National Recreation Area, San Francisco and San Mateo Counties, California

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
National Park Service

Federal Register Volume 82, Issue 174 (September 11, 2017)

The National Park Service (NPS) announces the availability of the Final Environmental Impact Statement (Final EIS) for the proposed Vista Grande Drainage Basin Project (Project), prepared in cooperation with the City of Daly City (Daly City). The Final EIS incorporates the Final Environmental Impact Report (EIR) prepared by Daly City. Daly City is seeking a Special Use Permit from the NPS for construction activities proposed at Fort Funston, a possible Right of Way approval for outfall-related infrastructure on the beach below Fort Funston, and modernization of an existing easement to clarify the rights and obligations of the parties with regard to proposed structures within Fort Funston.

[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 174 (Monday, September 11, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 42703-42704]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2017-19085]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

National Park Service

[NPS-PWR-PWRO-23152; PPPWGOGAP0 PPMPSAS1Z.YP0000]


Final Environmental Impact Statement for Vista Grande Drainage 
Basin Improvement Project, Golden Gate National Recreation Area, San 
Francisco and San Mateo Counties, California

AGENCY: National Park Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability.

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SUMMARY: The National Park Service (NPS) announces the availability of 
the Final Environmental Impact Statement (Final EIS) for the proposed 
Vista Grande Drainage Basin Project (Project), prepared in cooperation 
with the City of Daly City (Daly City). The Final EIS incorporates the 
Final Environmental Impact Report (EIR) prepared by Daly City. Daly 
City is seeking a Special Use Permit from the NPS for construction 
activities proposed at Fort Funston, a possible Right of Way approval 
for outfall-related infrastructure on the beach below Fort Funston, and 
modernization of an existing easement to clarify the rights and 
obligations of the parties with regard to proposed structures within 
Fort Funston.

DATES: The NPS will execute a Record of Decision no sooner than 30 days 
after the date of publication by the Environmental Protection Agency 
(EPA) of the notice of filing and availability of the Final EIS in the 
Federal Register.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Please contact Steve Ortega at the 
Golden Gate National Recreation Area (GGNRA) Planning Division at (415) 
561-4930 or [email protected].

ADDRESSES: An electronic copy of the Final EIS is available on the 
project Web site (http://parkplanning.nps.gov/Vista_Grande). A limited 
number of printed copies of the Final EIS are available for public 
inspection, and may be requested by contacting the GGNRA Planning 
Division as noted above.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The purpose and need for the Project is to 
alleviate flooding in the Vista Grande Drainage Basin and Canal and 
provide a sustainable source of water for management of Lake Merced 
water levels and quality, and to ensure that the portion of the Project 
within federally managed lands, if authorized, is constructed, 
operated, and maintained in a manner that is consistent with the 
protection and enhancement of resources, values, and uses of lands and 
waters under federal jurisdiction. NPS's objectives for the Project 
include the following: (1) Avoid, minimize, or mitigate environmental 
impacts to Park natural and cultural resources; (2) during 
construction, ensure the health and safety of park visitors and staff, 
maintain access to and through Fort Funston, and minimize impacts to 
the visitor experience; (3) permanently improve public access along the 
beach; and (4) minimize impacts on park assets and sustain or restore 
all park assets (e.g., facilities, features, grounds) to pre-
construction or better conditions.
    Range of Alternatives: The Project would address storm-related 
flooding in the Vista Grande Drainage Basin, while providing the 
additional benefit of augmenting the level of Lake Merced. The project 
would also improve recreational access and reduce litter transfer and 
deposition along the beach below Fort Funston and maximize the use of 
existing rights-of-way, easements, and infrastructure to minimize 
construction-related costs, habitat disturbance, and disruption to 
recreational users. The Final EIS describes and analyzes the following 
four alternatives:
    No Project/No Action Alternative would result in no construction of 
the physical components of the proposed Project, and none of the 
proposed operational changes to stormwater routing or Lake Merced water 
management would be made. The NPS would not grant the Special Use 
Permit or amend the existing easement, and no construction could occur 
within NPS-managed lands. Annual Canal sediment removal activities 
would continue, as well as as-needed maintenance activities. Because 
Canal and Tunnel capacity would not be improved, occasional flooding of 
the Canal and associated flooding of John Muir Drive into Lake Merced 
and in local neighborhoods would continue. This alternative serves as 
the environmental baseline from which potential effects of the 
``action'' alternatives were compared.
    Proposed Project, identified as the NPS preferred alternative, 
would consist of the following: (1) Improvements within the Vista 
Grande Basin storm drain system upstream of the Vista Grande Canal; (2) 
Partial replacement of the existing Vista Grande Canal to incorporate a 
gross solid screening device, an approximately 2.6-acre constructed 
treatment wetland, and diversion and discharge structures to route some 
stormwater (and authorized non-stormwater) flows from the Vista Grande 
Canal to Lake Merced and to allow lake water to be used for summer 
treatment wetland maintenance; (3) Modification of the existing 
effluent gravity pipeline so that it may be used year round to convey 
treated effluent from the nearby North San Mateo County Sanitation 
District Wastewater Treatment Plant to the existing outlet and diffuser 
by gravity, and abandoning the force main pipeline; (4) Modification of 
the existing lake overflow structure to include an adjustable weir and 
siphon that allows water from the lake to flow into the Canal and 
Tunnel; (5) Replacement of the existing Vista Grande Tunnel to expand 
its hydraulic capacity and extend its operating lifetime and 
replacement of the Lake Merced Portal to the Tunnel; and (6) 
Replacement of the existing Ocean Outlet structure and a portion of the 
existing 33-inch submarine outfall pipeline that crosses the beach at 
Fort Funston.
    Tunnel Alignment Alternative would include the construction of a 
replacement tunnel south of the existing Tunnel. The new tunnel would 
run from a new east portal at the Canal to a new or rehabilitated Ocean 
Outlet structure at Fort Funston. The Tunnel would run beneath the 
Olympic Club, Highway 35, and the GGNRA lands. This alternative could 
be paired with either the proposed Canal improvements or the Canal 
Configuration Alternative.
    Canal Configuration Alternative would not construct the box culvert 
replacing the first 1,500 feet of the Canal; rather, the diversion 
structure described for the proposed Project

[[Page 42704]]

would be relocated to the southern (upstream) end of the Canal. The box 
culvert under John Muir Drive also would be relocated and would cross 
under John Muir Drive close to the southern end of Impound Lake. The 
design of the diversion structure, box culvert under John Muir Drive, 
and Lake Merced Outlet would be approximately the same as for the 
proposed Project, but located at the upstream (southern) end of the 
Canal. The diversion structure would replace the first approximately 
350 feet of the Canal, and the rest of the Canal would be unchanged 
except as needed for temporary construction access to the Lake Merced 
Tunnel Portal. Under the Canal Configuration Alternative, only one 
wetland cell of approximately 1.7 acres would be constructed. This 
alternative could be paired with either the proposed Tunnel 
improvements or the Tunnel Alignment Alternative.
    The EPA notice of filing and availability of the Draft EIS was 
published on April 29, 2016, which opened the 60 day public review and 
comment period. The draft document was posted online at http://parkplanning.nps.gov/Vista_Grande, and printed copies were available on 
request. Daly City conducted one public meeting in Daly City on May 26, 
2016. Following a review of agency and public comments on the Draft 
EIS, the NPS and Daly City prepared written responses to substantive 
comments relevant to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and 
California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) review of the Project. 
Responses to comments are provided in Chapter 3 of the Final EIS. 
Staff-initiated revisions to the text of the Draft EIS as well as 
revisions made in response to pertinent comments are provided in 
Chapter 4 of the Final EIS.
    The NPS will execute a Record of Decision no sooner than 30 days 
following EPA's notice published in the Federal Register announcing 
filing and release of the Final EIS. The official responsible for 
approval of the Vista Grande Drainage Basin Improvement Project is the 
Regional Director of the Pacific West Region, and subsequently the 
General Superintendent, GGNRA, will be responsible for NPS 
implementation.

    Authority: 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.

    Dated: July 25, 2017.
Martha J. Lee,
Acting Regional Director, Pacific West Region.
[FR Doc. 2017-19085 Filed 9-8-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4312-52-P