Lookout Slough Tidal Habitat Restoration and Flood Improvement Project

Lookout Slough Tidal Habitat Restoration and Flood Improvement Project

The Lookout Slough Tidal Habitat Restoration and Flood Improvement Project was originally developed to partially fulfill a requirement under the 2008 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) Delta Smelt Biological Opinion on the Coordinated Operations of the federal Central Valley Project and the State Water Project (2008 USFWS BiOp) to restore 8,000 acres of tidal habitat. Restoration of tidal habitat also would provide access for salmonid rearing at the Project Site and therefore was expected to be credited toward a restoration requirement in the 2009 National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) Biological Opinion and Conference Opinion on the Long-Term Operation of the Central Valley Project and the State Water Project (2009 NMFS BiOp). These restoration requirements in the 2008 USFWS BiOp and 2009 NMFS BiOp were carried forward as baseline conditions in the USFWS Biological Opinion for the Reinitiation of Consultation on the Coordinated Operations of the Central Valley Project and the State Water Project (2019 USFWS BiOp) and the NMFS Biological Opinion on Long Term Operation of the Central Valley Project and the State Water Project (2019 NMFS BiOp), which are the currently effective biological opinions governing coordinated operations of the Central Valley Project and State Water Project. The 8,000-acre tidal restoration requirement also is a condition (Condition 9.1.1) of the Incidental Take Permit for LongTerm Operation of the State Water Project in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta (2081-2019-066- 00) (2020 LTO ITP), issued by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife on March 31, 2020. The 2020 LTO ITP is DWR’s California Endangered Species Act authorization to carry out ongoing State Water Project operations. The Lookout Slough Tidal Habitat Restoration and Flood Improvement Project will create habitat that is beneficial to Delta Smelt and other fish and wildlife species and will also increase flood storage and conveyance, increase the resiliency of levees, and reduce flood risk within the Yolo Bypass. The Lookout Slough Tidal Habitat Restoration and Flood Improvement Project is part of the California EcoRestore Initiative, which seeks to restore and/or enhance 30,000 acres of habitat in the Delta and Suisun Marsh. The FEIR analyzed three alternatives, including the Lookout Slough Tidal Habitat Restoration and Flood Improvement Project, and the No Project Alternative. The Proposed Project was DWR’s Preferred Alternative during the DEIR process. After reviewing public comments and considering the impacts and benefits of the Alternatives, DWR is proceeding with the construction of the Preferred Alternative. When completed, the Proposed Project would provide habitat for Delta Smelt (Hypomesus transpacificus), Longfin Smelt (Spirinchus thaleichthys), Chinook Salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha), Green Sturgeon (Acipenser medirostris), Steelhead (Oncorhynchus mykiss), giant garter snake (Thamnophis gigas), and other species. The Proposed Project is also designed to meet regional flood protection objectives in a manner consistent with the 2017 DWR Sacramento Basin-wide Feasibility Study. The Proposed Project involves constructing a new setback levee along Duck Slough and Liberty Island Road. The existing levee at Shag Slough would be breached and partially degraded to provide tidal and flood connectivity between Duck Slough and Shag Slough. The existing Cache/Hass Slough Levee would be enhanced to increase stability and reduce long term maintenance cost. The Cache/Hass Slough Levee would continue to function to prevent increased water surface Lookout Slough Tidal Habitat Restoration and Flood Improvement Project (SCH#2019039136) elevations upstream of the Cache Slough Complex. Grading, placement of fill material, and revegetation would be used to restore and enhance upland, tidal, subtidal, and floodplain habitat. Since certification of the Lookout Slough Tidal Habitat Restoration and Flood Improvement Project EIR and Project approval, DWR and EIP, in consultation with Solano County, proposed to modify the approved Project to remove the Bridge structure because it is an unsafe structure that will be cut off from public land access due to the Project, and cannot be used for any purpose post-project. Solano County is requiring removal of the Bridge be a condition to vacating the segment of Liberty Island Road identified as part of the approved Project. Addendum #1 addressed the removal of the Bridge. Subsequent to the approval of Addendum #1 and DWR’s recertification of the Final EIR and reapproval of the Project in 2023, the Project has been further refined to remove both concrete abutments at either end of the Bridge, which were described as being left in place in Addendum #1. This refinement to the Project is evaluated in this Addendum (Addendum #2). In addition, Addendum #2 includes relevant Project information and analysis contained in the revised Section IV.J. Recreation included in the Revised Final EIR

Solano, Yolo

Northern California