Santa Ana River Mouth Monitoring Project
Summary
SCH Number
2021100096
Public Agency
California State Coastal Conservancy
(SCC)
Document Title
Santa Ana River Mouth Monitoring Project
Document Type
NOE - Notice of Exemption
Received
Posted
10/6/2021
Document Description
The Santa Ana River Mouth Monitoring project will conduct passive monitoring surveys to understand how the Santa Ana River Mouth in the cities of Newport Beach and Huntington Beach is being utilized including recreation, enforcement, and maintenance activities, and presence of birds and dogs. The data and observations gathered through surveys will be reported on a quarterly and annual basis, and will be posted on Orange County Coast Keeper's website and distributed to the City, the County of Orange, the California Coastal Commission, the Coastal Conservancy, and the public. In addition, a community outreach program will be implemented and led by Coastkeeper staff and trained volunteer docents to educate and provide resources for recreational beachgoers. This program will engage and educate members of the public on the jurisdictional regulations and actions that can be taken to protect and avoid negatively impacting water quality and sensitive species and habitat within the area.
Contact Information
Name
Meghan Martinez
Agency Name
California State Coastal Conservancy
Contact Types
Lead/Public Agency
Phone
Location
Coordinates
Cities
Huntington Beach, Newport Beach
Counties
Orange
Zip
92663
Total Acres
13
Other Location Info
The project site straddles the boundary between the cities of Huntington Beach and Newport Beach, and its parts are owned and managed by the City of Newport Beach, the County of Orange, California State Parks, and the California State Lands Commission (Exhibit 2). The project site is approximately thirteen acres of sandy beach and granite riprap that reinforces the river mouth and directs water from the Santa Ana River to the Pacific Ocean. The western boundary of the site is a chain-link fence with barbed wire that denotes the beginning of the California Least Tern preserve on Huntington State Beach, the northern boundary is the Pacific Coast Highway bridge over the Santa Ana River, the eastern boundary is Olive Street and Lifeguard Tower 74 in the City of Newport Beach, and the southern boundary is the Pacific Ocean
Notice of Exemption
Exempt Status
Categorical Exemption
Type, Section or Code
15306
Reasons for Exemption
The Santa Ana River Mouth Monitoring project is categorically exempt from environmental review under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to 14 California Code of Regulations, section 15306, which exempts basic data collection, research, and resource evaluation that will not result in a serious or major disturbance to an environmental resource. The project will conduct passive monitoring surveys to collect data pertaining to human activities and nesting bird populations and will not result in a serious or major disturbance to an environmental resource.