Orick Community Services District (OCSD) Water System Improvements
2 Documents in Project
Summary
SCH Number
2020120306
Public Agency
Orick Community Services District
Document Title
Orick Community Services District (OCSD) Water System Improvements
Document Type
NOE - Notice of Exemption
Received
Posted
5/22/2025
Document Description
The project includes improvements to the OCSD water system that are required in order to replace aging infrastructure and equipment, maintain adequate fire flows, and ensure the health and safety of the community and the environment. The project will benefit residents and businesses within the OCSD’s service area.
Improvements include replacing a leaking 100,000-gallon redwood water tank with a ~100,000-gallon welded steel tank. The tank is located on OCSD-owned property ~150 feet south of Old State Highway ~2,000 feet west of its northern intersection with State Route 101. The existing tank would be demolished and removed from the site, and the new tank would be installed in the same footprint as the existing tank. The entire tank pad would be over- excavated approximately three feet below the existing grade. Electrical equipment, supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA), and a six-inch overflow pipe would be installed. In addition, three valves adjacent to the tank
would be replaced. A PG&E power pole upslope of the tank would be replaced with a taller pole (50 feet in height) to provide adequate clearance for the power lines, and a 40-foot-tall communications tower would be constructed at the water tank.
At the District office on Swan Road, electrical equipment and a 20-foot-tall communications tower would be constructed to support the SCADA system. A 90 KW, diesel-fired emergency generator equipped with a manual transfer switch would be acquired, and would be housed in a new cargo container outside the District office. Four distribution valves are inoperable and would be replaced. Two of the valves are located at 120779 Highway 101 next to Hagoods Hardware Store, and the other two are located at 121390 Highway 101 next to the Orick Presbyterian Church. A Caltrans Encroachment permit would be required to replace the valves.
The revised project includes the following modifications on the water tank site: a different alignment for the overhead powerline and installation of one additional 45-foot-tall PG&E power pole for the service drop to the tank; 18 spruce
trees ranging in size from 5 inches to 22 inches in diameter at breast height (DBH), one 5-inch DBH alder, one 7-inch DBH alder, one 12-inch DBH alder, and one 13-inch DBH hemlock would be removed to provide PG&E required fire clearance from the overhead electrical facilities.
Contact Information
Name
Trevor Hirah Avram
Agency Name
Orick Community Services District
Job Title
Operator/Water Operations Manager
Contact Types
Lead/Public Agency
Phone
Email
Location
Counties
Humboldt
Regions
Unincorporated
Cross Streets
Old State, Swan Rd, Hwy 101
Zip
95555
State Highways
Hwy 101
Township
10N11N
Range
1 East
Section
33,34
Other Location Info
Work would occur at four separate locations in sections 4, 5, 33 and 34
Notice of Exemption
Exempt Status
Categorical Exemption
Type, Section or Code
Title 14, Division 6, Chapter 3 (CEQA Guidlines) Class 1, 15301 (Existing Facilities)
Reasons for Exemption
Class 1 authorizes the operation, repair, maintenance, permitting, leasing, licensing, or minor alteration of existing public or private structures, facilities, mechanical equipment, or topographical features, involving negligible or no expansion of existing or former use. Class 2 authorizes replacement or reconstruction of existing utility systems and/or facilities where the new structure will be located on the same site as the structure being replaced and will have substantially the same purpose and capacity as the structure replaced. Class 3 authorizes construction of limited
numbers of new, small facilities or structures and installation of small new equipment and facilities in small structures. Class 4 authorizes minor alterations to the condition of the land (e.g., clearing, grading, trenching, and backfilling); §15304(i) specifically covers fire fuel management activities around structures to reduce the volume of flammable vegetation, provided that the activities will not impact endangered, rare, or threatened plant or animal species or result in significant erosion and sedimentation of surface waters.
The project is consistent with the categorical exemptions noted above because work would not expand the District’s water service capacity; only minor earth disturbance would be required to accommodate the proposed improvements;
the ground surface would be restored following construction; no special-status species, wetlands, or other surface waters would be affected; and new construction would be limited to small structures. It should be noted that the California Department of Public Health recognizes water tanks up to 100,000 gallons in size as small structures.
As documented in Attachment A, the proposed project would not have a significant effect on the environment due to unusual circumstances; would not result in damage to scenic resources within a Scenic Highway; is not located on a hazardous waste site pursuant to §65962.5 of the Government Code; would not cause a substantial adverse change in the significance of a historical resource; and would not result in cumulatively significant impacts.
County Clerk
Humboldt
Attachments
Notice of Exemption
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