Agenda Item AGENDA STAFF REPORT ASR Control 22-000186
MEETING DATE:	01/24/23
legal entity taking action:	Orange County Flood Control District
board of supervisors district(s):	4
SUBMITTING Agency/Department:	OC Public Works (Approved)
Department contact person(s):	Nardy Khan (714) 647-3906
	Giles Matthews (714) 647-3933

Subject: Approve Soquel Canyon Mitigation Bank Credit Purchase for Carbon Canyon

ceo CONCUR

County Counsel Review

Clerk of the Board

Concur

Approved Agreement to Form

Consent Calendar

3 Votes Board Majority

Budgeted: Yes

Current Year Cost: $500,000

Annual Cost: N/A

Staffing Impact:

No

# of Positions:

Sole Source: N/A

Current Fiscal Year Revenue: N/A

Funding Source: Fund 400: 100%

County Audit in last 3 years: No

Prior Board Action: 6/28/2016 #36, 6/23/2015 #66, 5/21/2013 #45

RECOMMENDED ACTION(S):

Approve the Purchase and Sale Agreement with Land Veritas Corp. for the Carbon Canyon Diversion Channel Project in an amount not to exceed $500,000, upon fully executed agreement.

SUMMARY:

Approval of the Purchase and Sale Agreement with Land Veritas Corp. for mitigation credits at the Soquel Canyon Mitigation Plan for the Carbon Canyon Diversion Channel Project will help meet the goal of increased flood protection to residences and businesses in Orange County.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION:

Significant erosion has been identified within the Carbon Canyon Diversion Channel south of Orangethorpe Avenue and east of the Miller Basin in the City of Anaheim and a short reach south of East Miraloma Avenue. This channelized flood control drainage is designated as “E02” under the Countywide drainage identification system. This erosion threatens the adjacent roadway and nearby infrastructure. The Soquel Canyon Mitigation Plan for the Carbon Canyon Diversion Channel Project (Project) will repair the identified erosion and safeguard against future erosion.

The Project will provide protection to the channel slope and prevent potential significant washouts that could undermine structures of adjacent privately-owned properties. The Project will also involve installation of rock riprap along both banks of the channel to protect against future erosion. Some portions of these discrete channel segments are already partially or completely riprap lined.

Sections 401 and 404 of the Federal Clean Water Act administered by the U.S. Army Corps Engineers (USACE), the Porter Cologne Act administered by the Regional Water Quality Control Board, and Section 1602 of the California Fish and Game Code administered by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW), require the Orange County Flood Control District (District) to compensate for permanent impacts to Waters of the U.S. and Waters of the State of California (also known as jurisdictional waters). Compensatory mitigation can be accomplished by either purchasing credits from an approved mitigation bank or by the permittee conducting other mitigation efforts that they are responsible for (permittee responsible compensatory mitigation). Permittee responsible compensatory mitigation requires identifying land to conduct restoration, typically, five years of monitoring and reporting and potential in perpetuity maintenance. In most cases, this option is more expensive than purchasing credits from an approved mitigation bank. OC Public Works makes an effort to modify a project when possible, to reduce or eliminate the requirement for compensatory mitigation when planning for flood control projects.

The Soquel Canyon Mitigation Bank (Bank), owned by Land Veritas Corp. (Land Veritas), is the only mitigation bank available to Orange County that is approved by the USACE, the Santa Ana Regional Water Quality Control Board and the CDFW. Attachment A contains information regarding the Bank, located in Chino Hills in Riverside County.

The Section 404 permit from USACE requires the District to compensate for impacts to Waters of the United States caused by the Project. In order to mitigate for these impacts, two acres of Ephemeral Stream Combination Credits must be purchased from the Bank. The Bank is the only mitigation bank that possesses appropriate types of mitigation credits approved for acceptance by USACE. The total cost to purchase the mitigation credits is $500,000. If the District were to perform a compensatory mitigation project, it would be more expensive than purchasing mitigation credits from the Bank.

Prior Board of Supervisors (Board) actions regarding purchase agreements with Land Veritas for the purchase of compensatory mitigation credits are summarized in the table below.

Board Date	Project	Amount
6/23/2015	Compensatory mitigation to convert the Greenville Banning Channel between California Avenue and I-405 from rock riprap to concrete	$253,750
6/28/2016	Compensatory mitigation to construct a concrete pad in front of the Villa Park Dam to facilitate maintenance.	$170,000

The mitigation requirement for the Project is higher in price than both of the previous Board actions due to the larger impacted area for which mitigation is required when compared to the previous projects.

OC Public Works recommends District approval of the Purchase and Sale Agreement (MA-080-23010747) with Land Veritas for the Project for $500,000 of mitigation credits in the current fiscal year. The District has confirmed that the required credits are available for purchase upon District approval.

Compliance with CEQA: This Project is a necessarily included element of the Project considered in Final IS/MND IP No. 11-444 Countywide Long-Term Routine Maintenance Permitting Program prepared for OC Public Works and the District previously approved by the Board on May 21, 2013, and the OC Public Works OC Engineering Countywide Routine Maintenance Manual (October 2012) included as part of IS/MND IP No. 11-444, which collectively adequately addressed the effects of the proposed Project. No substantial changes have been made in the Project, no substantial changes have occurred in the circumstances under which the Project is being undertaken and no new information of substantial importance to the Project that was not known or could not have been known when the Final IS/MND IP No. 11-444 was approved has become known; therefore, no further environmental review is required.

FINANCIAL IMPACT:

Appropriations for this agreement are included OC Flood, Fund 400 FY 2022-23 Budget for Maintenance Improvement Projects that require the payment of compensatory mitigation. In the event these agreements are not encumbered before fiscal year end, OC Flood will request a budget adjustment in FY 2023-24.

STAFFING IMPACT:

N/A

ATTACHMENT(S):

Attachment A - Soquel Canyon Mitigation Bank Brochure
Attachment B - Purchase and Sale Agreement MA-080-23010747 for Carbon Canyon Diversion Channel Project with Land Veritas Corp
Attachment C - Sections 401 and 404 of the Clean Water Act
Attachment D - Section 1602 of the California Fish and Game Code