Tomlin Pipeline Replacement
Summary
SCH Number
2024120643
Public Agency
Elsinore Valley Municipal Water District
Document Title
Tomlin Pipeline Replacement
Document Type
NOE - Notice of Exemption
Received
Posted
12/16/2024
Document Description
The Project is proposed to replace and relocate approximately 5,100 linear feet of 6-inch diameter potable water pipe that is partially located within an existing utility easement. The Project will also reestablish maintenance access for all segments of the pipeline, as well as install conduit for ancillary communications equipment, to facilitate potable water services and fire flow within Pressure Zone PZ1871 of the Elsinore Valley Municipal Water District’s Water System.
The existing pipe is partially within a 20-foot-wide utility easement owned by Elsinore Valley Municipal Water District (District) and was partially exposed due to erosion of supporting soils during recent storms. The Project will install permanent erosion control and will relocate and upsize the existing pipeline from 6-inch to 8-inch diameter to provide adequate fire flow. The Project will relocate the new pipeline entirely within the exiting utility easement and will rehabilitate the existing maintenance access to establish reliable, perpetual access for maintenance and uninterrupted water service to all customers, both during construction and on a permanent basis.
Field surveys at the Project Location document no special status plants or wildlife species found within the proposed construction footprint. Plans for the Project indicate approximately 1.1 acres of vegetation removal will occur during construction along the edge of the existing dirt utility access roads. Vegetation removal is proposed of scrub habitat dominated by California buckwheat and deerweed, that has been damaged in previous fire events and is currently not highly suitable as California gnatcatcher (CAGN) habitat. (Kidd Biological, July 2023). Best Management Practices (BMPs) have been incorporated into the Contract Documents for the Project to avoid impacts to sensitive biological resources documented near the Project Location per USFWS consultation. These BMPs are also required to comply with theProgrammatic Agreement among the U.S.D.A Forest Service Pacific Southwest Region 5 and the various cultural entities and regulatory agencies and with state water quality requirements.
Project construction will begin within the fourth quarter of 2024 and last for approximately 10 months. Construction activities include vegetation removal, grading portions of a new access road, trenching and establishment of the pipe bed, installation, testing and disinfection of the new pipeline, backfill and connections to the existing water system. The existing 6-inch diameter water main will be abandoned in-place in portions where it does not conflict with the new water main. Staging areas will be located within existing disturbed or developed areas of the utility easement, requiring no vegetation removal. The entire existing pipeline will be abandoned in place, including the area that is exposed. Construction access is anticipated to occur via Ortega Highway and the Tomlin 1 Booster Pump Station at Lancashire Road.
Contact Information
Name
Parag Kalaria
Agency Name
Elsinore Valley Municipal Water District
Job Title
Director of Engineering and Water Resources
Contact Types
Lead/Public Agency
Phone
Email
Location
Cities
within Unincorporated Riverside County, approximately 0.8 miles
Counties
Riverside
Regions
Countywide
Other Location Info
Sections 9 and 10 of Township 6 South, Range 5 West of the Alberhill, CA Quadrangles, California U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) 7.5-minute topographic quadrangle map. The Project is located within southwestern Riverside County and territory of the United States Forest Service (USFS), within Unincorporated Riverside County, approximately 0.8 miles east of the City of Lake Elsinore.
Notice of Exemption
Exempt Status
Categorical Exemption
Type, Section or Code
Class I (Sec. 15301)- Existing Facilities (b)
Reasons for Exemption
The Project is not of a type or at a scale that would result in significant changes to the environment. The Project does not involve substantive upsizing that will induce growth either directly or indirectly. The Project will replace an existing utility and will not result in direct or indirect impacts with the implementation of BMPs. No impacts to scenic resources, cultural, historical, or tribal resources, or sensitive biological resources will result from the Project, and the Project is not located on a hazardous waste site according to Envirostor and Geotracker. Surfaces will be restored to preconstruction conditions or better and no permanent changes to a scenic vista or contribution to any cumulative impacts are anticipated. The Contract Documents for the Project include Best Management Practices (BMPs) which avoid direct and indirect impacts under CEQA and NEPA Guidelines, including impacts on sensitive resources protected under the Endangered Species Acts, Migratory Bird Treaty Act, Section 106 of the Historic Preservation Act, and the Clean Water Act.
Elsinore Valley Municipal Water District has made findings for Project compliance with CEQA Exemptions under CEQA Guidelines Sections 15301 (Class I), 15302 (Class II) and 15304 (Class IV). Likewise, USFS has issued a “Findings of No Significant Impacts” under NEPA. The “Finding of No Significant Impact” under NEPA has been issued by United States Forest Service based on both the formal Section 106 concurrence and Tribal Consultations pursuant to AB52 and the incorporation of BMPs into the Contract Documents for the Project implementing the Programmatic Agreement among the U.S.D.A Forest Service Pacific Southwest Region 5, and other third-party resource agencies.
The Project is categorically exempt from requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Statute and Guidelines pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Sections 15301 (Existing Facilities), 15302 (Replacement or Reconstruction), and 15304 (Minor Alterations of Land) as described above.
Exempt Status
Categorical Exemption
Type, Section or Code
Class II (Sec. 15302)—Replacement or Reconstruction (c)
Reasons for Exemption
The Project is not of a type or at a scale that would result in significant changes to the environment. The Project does not involve substantive upsizing that will induce growth either directly or indirectly. The Project will replace an existing utility and will not result in direct or indirect impacts with the implementation of BMPs. No impacts to scenic resources, cultural, historical, or tribal resources, or sensitive biological resources will result from the Project, and the Project is not located on a hazardous waste site according to Envirostor and Geotracker. Surfaces will be restored to preconstruction conditions or better and no permanent changes to a scenic vista or contribution to any cumulative impacts are anticipated. The Contract Documents for the Project include Best Management Practices (BMPs) which avoid direct and indirect impacts under CEQA and NEPA Guidelines, including impacts on sensitive resources protected under the Endangered Species Acts, Migratory Bird Treaty Act, Section 106 of the Historic Preservation Act, and the Clean Water Act.
Elsinore Valley Municipal Water District has made findings for Project compliance with CEQA Exemptions under CEQA Guidelines Sections 15301 (Class I), 15302 (Class II) and 15304 (Class IV). Likewise, USFS has issued a “Findings of No Significant Impacts” under NEPA. The “Finding of No Significant Impact” under NEPA has been issued by United States Forest Service based on both the formal Section 106 concurrence and Tribal Consultations pursuant to AB52 and the incorporation of BMPs into the Contract Documents for the Project implementing the Programmatic Agreement among the U.S.D.A Forest Service Pacific Southwest Region 5, and other third-party resource agencies.
The Project is categorically exempt from requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Statute and Guidelines pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Sections 15301 (Existing Facilities), 15302 (Replacement or Reconstruction), and 15304 (Minor Alterations of Land) as described above.
Exempt Status
Categorical Exemption
Type, Section or Code
Class IV (Sec. 15304)—Minor Alterations of Land (d) & (f)
Reasons for Exemption
The Project is not of a type or at a scale that would result in significant changes to the environment. The Project does not involve substantive upsizing that will induce growth either directly or indirectly. The Project will replace an existing utility and will not result in direct or indirect impacts with the implementation of BMPs. No impacts to scenic resources, cultural, historical, or tribal resources, or sensitive biological resources will result from the Project, and the Project is not located on a hazardous waste site according to Envirostor and Geotracker. Surfaces will be restored to preconstruction conditions or better and no permanent changes to a scenic vista or contribution to any cumulative impacts are anticipated. The Contract Documents for the Project include Best Management Practices (BMPs) which avoid direct and indirect impacts under CEQA and NEPA Guidelines, including impacts on sensitive resources protected under the Endangered Species Acts, Migratory Bird Treaty Act, Section 106 of the Historic Preservation Act, and the Clean Water Act.
Elsinore Valley Municipal Water District has made findings for Project compliance with CEQA Exemptions under CEQA Guidelines Sections 15301 (Class I), 15302 (Class II) and 15304 (Class IV). Likewise, USFS has issued a “Findings of No Significant Impacts” under NEPA. The “Finding of No Significant Impact” under NEPA has been issued by United States Forest Service based on both the formal Section 106 concurrence and Tribal Consultations pursuant to AB52 and the incorporation of BMPs into the Contract Documents for the Project implementing the Programmatic Agreement among the U.S.D.A Forest Service Pacific Southwest Region 5, and other third-party resource agencies.
The Project is categorically exempt from requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Statute and Guidelines pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Sections 15301 (Existing Facilities), 15302 (Replacement or Reconstruction), and 15304 (Minor Alterations of Land) as described above.
County Clerk
Riverside
Attachments
Notice of Exemption
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