Pala Fuels Reduction Project
Summary
SCH Number
2021060304
Public Agency
California State Coastal Conservancy
(SCC)
Document Title
Pala Fuels Reduction Project
Document Type
NOE - Notice of Exemption
Received
Posted
6/15/2021
Document Description
Board authorized to disburse up to two hundred and fifty thousand dollars ($250,000) to the Pala Band of Mission Indians to implement a hazardous fuels reduction project within a wildland urban interface on the Pala Band of Mission Indians’ Reservation in San Diego County. This project includes a Hazardous Fuels Reduction and Wildland Urban Interface (WUI) project which assists in protecting commercial and residential units, infrastructure, facilities, and natural resources of the Pala Band of Mission Indian lands. Treatment activities consist of thinning, hand piling, chipping, and pile burning for the Pala Reservation Fuels Project which will assist in reducing the potential loss of human life and damage to property and natural resources on the Pala Band of Mission Indians’ Reservation, and they will be meeting several goals in the Pala Forest Management Plan. Conservancy funds will be used to hire staff to increase fuel employee capacity, purchase and service equipment including: personal protection equipment, field gear, hand tools, and service maintenance on a chipper. The total treatment area for the project will be across approximately 65 acres along roads and in targeted high fire severity areas throughout the Reservation.
Contact Information
Name
Pala Band of Mission Indians
Agency Name
Tribe
Contact Types
Project Applicant
Phone
Email
Location
Coordinates
Cities
Pala
Counties
San Diego
Regions
Southern California, Unincorporated
Zip
92059
Total Acres
65
Township
9S
Range
2W
Section
4
Other Location Info
Pala Reservation, GPS points are at Reservation Trust Land Center
Notice of Exemption
Exempt Status
Other
Type, Section or Code
Public Resources Code Section 4799.05, subdivision (d)
Reasons for Exemption
An Environmental Assessment was performed on the Plan in 2012 and was reviewed by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA). The BIA issued a Finding of No Significant Impact under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) in 2013 covering fuels reduction work on the Pala Reservation as a part of the Forest Woodland Management Plan for the Pala Reservation. Public Resources Code Section 4799.05, subdivision (d), exempts from the requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) state funding for projects involving prescribed fire, thinning or fuel reduction undertaken on federal lands that reduce the risk of high-severity wildfire if those projects have been reviewed under NEPA. This exemption is applicable only if the Secretary for Natural Resources has certified that NEPA and laws that affect management of federal forest lands in California have not been substantially amended since August 31, 2018. The Secretary of Natural Resources has provided that certification on April 12, 2021 (https://resources.ca.gov/-/media/CNRA-Website/Files/Programs-and-Projects/Forestry/SB-901-Certification.docx).