140P8621R0016_-_SPN-2019-00430_NWP_letter_0001.pdf

DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY

SAN FRANCISCO DISTRICT, U.S. ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS

450 GOLDEN GATE AVENUE

SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA 94102

February 18, 2021

Regulatory Division

Subject: File Number SPN-2019-00430S

Mr. David Brouillette San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park National Park Service 2 Marina Blvd, Lower Fort Mason Center- Building E San Francisco, California 64123 SAFR_superintendent@nps.gov

Dear Mr. Brouillette:

This correspondence is in reference to your submittal of November 9, 2020, concerning Department of the Army (DA) authorization for the Alma Dock Replacement project. This project will remove and replace the existing Scow Schooner Alma Floating Dock with a concrete float, public access ramp, boarding gangway, and vessel access gangway located at the end of Hyde Street Pier on the eastern side of Aquatic Park in the City and County of San Francisco, California (Lat 37°48'37.15"N, Long 122°25'21.93"W).

Work within U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ (Corps) jurisdiction will include removing the northwest float dock, 4 piles, and the small floating connector dock. These will be replaced with an 80-foot by 6-foot, 4-inch aluminum float gangway that will be installed between the remaining existing dock and the new replacement dock. A new 5-foot by 5-foot dock will provide access to the Alma and new support piles will be installed. Work will require placement of 8.5 cubic yards of fill and 1,406 square feet of floating structures within 1,417 square feet of San Francisco Bay. All work shall be completed in accordance with the plans and drawings titled “USACE File #SPN-2019-00439, Alma Dock Replacement, Figure 1 to 7,” provided as enclosure 1.

Section 404 of the Clean Water Act (CWA) generally regulates the discharge of dredged or fill material below the plane of ordinary high water in non-tidal waters of the United States, below the high tide line in tidal waters of the United States, and within the lateral extent of wetlands adjacent to these waters. Section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act (RHA) generally regulates construction of structures and work, including excavation, dredging, and discharges of dredged or fill material occurring below the plane of mean high water in tidal waters of the United States; in former diked baylands currently below mean high water; outside the limits of mean high water but affecting the navigable capacity of tidal waters; or below the plane of ordinary high water in non-tidal waters designated as navigable waters of the United States.

Navigable waters of the United States generally include all waters subject to the ebb and flow of

- 2 -the tide; and/or all waters presently used, or have been used in the past, or may be susceptible for future use to transport interstate or foreign commerce.

Based on a review of the information in your submittal, the project qualifies for authorization under Department of the Army Nationwide Permit (NWP) 3 for Maintenance (82 Fed. Reg.

1860, January 6, 2017), pursuant to Section 10 of the RHA of 1899, as amended (33 U.S.C. § 403 et seq.). The project must be in compliance with the terms of the NWP cited on our website (www.spn.usace.army.mil/Portals/68/docs/regulatory/NWP/NWP17_03.pdf), the general conditions of the Nationwide Permit Program (www.spn.usace.army.mil/Portals/68/docs/regulatory/NWP/NWP17_GC.pdf), and the San Francisco District regional conditions (www.spn.usace.army.mil/Portals/68/docs/regulatory/NWP/NWP17_RC.pdf). You must also be in compliance with any special conditions specified in this letter for the NWP authorization to remain valid. Non-compliance with any term or condition could result in the revocation of the NWP authorization for your project, thereby requiring you to obtain an Individual Permit from the Corps. This NWP authorization does not obviate the need to obtain other State or local approvals required by law.

This verification will remain valid until March 18, 2022, unless the NWP authorization is modified, suspended, or revoked. Activities which have commenced (i.e., are under construction) or are under contract to commence in reliance upon a NWP will remain authorized provided the activity is completed within 12 months of the date of a NWP’s expiration, modification, or revocation, unless discretionary authority has been exercised on a case-by-case basis to modify, suspend, or revoke the authorization in accordance with 33 C.F.R. § 330.4(e) and 33 C.F.R. § 330.5(c) or (d). This verification will remain valid if, during the time period between now and March 18, 2022, the activity complies with any subsequent modification of the NWP authorization. The Chief of Engineers will periodically review NWPs and their conditions and will decide to modify, reissue, or revoke the permits. If a NWP is not modified or reissued within five years of its effective date, it automatically expires and becomes null and void. It is incumbent upon you to remain informed of any changes to the NWPs. Changes to the NWPs would be announced by Public Notice posted on our website (www.spn.usace.army.mil/Missions/Regulatory/Public-Notices.aspx). Upon completion of the project and all associated mitigation requirements, you shall sign and return the Certification of Compliance, enclosure 2, verifying that you have complied with the terms and conditions of the permit.

This authorization will not be effective until you have obtained a Section 401 water quality certification from the San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board (RWQCB). If the RWQCB fails to act on a valid request for certification within 60 days after receipt of a complete application, the Corps will presume a waiver of water quality certification has been

- 3 -obtained. You shall submit a copy of the certification to the Corps prior to the commencement of work.

This authorization will not be effective until you have obtained a concurrence from the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission that your project will comply with California’s Coastal Zone Management Act. If the Commission fails to act on a valid request for concurrence with your certification within six months after receipt, the Corps will presume a concurrence has been obtained. You shall submit a copy of the concurrence to the Corps prior to the commencement of work.

General Condition 18 stipulates that project authorization under a NWP does not allow for the incidental take of any federally-listed species in the absence of a biological opinion with incidental take provisions. As the principal federal lead agency for this project, the National Parks Service (NPS) initiated consultation with the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) to address project related impacts to listed species, pursuant to Section 7(a) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended, 16 U.S.C. § 1531 et seq. By letter of January 25, 2021, cited in enclosure 3, NMFS concurred with the determination that the project was not likely to adversely affect North American green sturgeon (Acipenser medirostris) (southern DPS), steelhead (Oncorhynchus mykiss) (Central California Coast and California Central Valley DPS), Chinook salmon (O. tshawytscha) (Sacramento River winter-run ESA, Central Valley spring-run ESU) and their designated critical habitats. The NPS also initiated consultation with the NMFS to address project related impacts to Essential Fish Habitat (EFH) for various life stages of fish species managed with the Pacific Groundfish Fishery Management Plan, the Coastal Pelagics Fishery Management Plan, and the Pacific Coast Salmon Fishery Management Plan, pursuant to the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act of 1996, as amended, 16 U.S.C. § 1801 et seq. The NMFS did not issue any conservation recommendations in their January 25, 2021 correspondence, cited in enclosure 3.

General Condition 20 stipulates that any project affecting a historic property may not commence construction until the provisions of 33 C.F.R. § 325, Appendix C, have been satisfied.

As the Federal lead agency for this project, the NPS initiated consultation with the State Historic Preservation Officer (SHPO) to address project related impacts to the Scow Schooner Alma listed in the National Register of Historic Places. By letter of October 2, 2020, the SHPO did not object to the finding of no adverse effect for this project, cited in enclosure 4.

In order to ensure compliance with this NWP authorization, the following special condition shall be implemented:

1. The NMFS concurred with the determination that the project was not likely to adversely affect North American green sturgeon (Acipenser medirostris), Central California coast and central valley steelhead (O. mykiss), Sacramento River and Central Valley Chinook

- 4 -salmon (O. tshawytscha) and designated critical habitat for this species. This concurrence was premised, in part, on project work restrictions and the description of the proposed action outlined in enclosure 3. These work restrictions are incorporated as special conditions to the NWP authorization for your project to ensure unauthorized incidental take of species and loss of critical habitat does not occur.

2. Incidents where any individuals of Chinook salmon, steelhead, or green surgeon listed by NOAA Fisheries under the Endangered Species Act appear to be injured or killed as a result of discharges of dredged or fill material into waters of the United States or structures or work in navigable waters of the United States authorized by this NWP shall be reported to NOAA Fisheries, Office of Protected Resources, at (301) 713-1401 and the Regulatory Office of the San Francisco District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers at

(415) 503-6795. The finder should leave the plant or animal alone, make note of any circumstances likely causing the death or injury, note the location and number of individuals involved, and, if possible, take photographs. Adult animals should not be disturbed unless circumstances arise where they are obviously injured or killed by discharge exposure or some unnatural cause. The finder may be asked to carry out instructions provided by NOAA Fisheries, Office of Protected Resources, to collect specimens or take other measures to ensure that evidence intrinsic to the specimen is preserved

3. If future operations by the United States require the removal, relocation, or other alteration of the work herein authorized, or if, in the opinion of the Secretary of the Army or his authorized representative, said structure or work shall cause unreasonable obstruction to the free navigation of the navigable waters, you will be required, upon due notice from the U. S Army Corps of Engineers, to remove, relocate, or alter the structural work or obstructions caused thereby, without expense to the United States. No claim shall be made against the United States on account of any such removal or alteration.

You may refer any questions on this matter to Elise Piazza of my Regulatory staff by e-mail at elise.h.piazza@usace.army.mil. All correspondence should be addressed to the Regulatory Division, South Branch, referencing the file number at the head of this letter.

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The San Francisco District is committed to improving service to our customers. My Regulatory staff seeks to achieve the goals of the Regulatory Program in an efficient and cooperative manner while preserving and protecting our nation’s aquatic resources. If you would like to provide comments on our Regulatory Program, please complete the Customer Service Survey Form available on our website: http://www.spn.usace.army.mil/Missions/ Regulatory.aspx

Sincerely, Katerina Galacatos, Ph.D.

South Branch Chief, Regulatory Division

Enclosures

Electronic Copies Furnished (w/ encls):

Anchor QEA, San Francisco, CA (Attn: Nicolas Duffort, nduffort@anchorqea.com)

San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park (Attn: Jeffery Morris, Jeffrey_morris@nps.gov;

Justin DeSantis, justin_desantis@nps.com; Bert Ho, bert_ho@nps.gov)

Copy Furnished (w/ encl 1 only):

CA RWQCB, Oakland, CA (Attn: Elizabeth Morrison, Elizabeth.Morrison@waterboards.ca.gov)

BCDC, San Francisco, CA (Attn: Brad McCrea, bradm@bcdc.ca.gov) mailto:nduffort@anchorqea.com mailto:Jeffrey_morris@nps.gov mailto:justin_desantis@nps.com