ATT - 5 - Aquatic Conservation Measures.pdf

1.3.2 General Aquatic Conservation Measures

The following conservation measures are incorporated as a part of this contract as highlighted below.

Yellow Sections – are the primary responsibility of the contractor.

Blue sections – responsibility is shared between the contractor and the FS as defined in other sections of the contract.

Green Sections – are primarily the responsibility of the FS, however the contractor is required to cooperate in the process and may be required to provide pumps and generators as necessary to complete the work.

13. Fish Passage – Fish passage will be provided for any adult or juvenile fish likely to be present in the action area during construction, unless passage did not exist before construction, stream isolation and dewatering is required during project implementation, or where the stream reach is naturally impassible at the time of construction. After construction, adult and juvenile passage that meets NMFS’s fish passage criteria (NMFS 2011e) will be provided for the life of the structure.

15. Pollution and Erosion Control Measures – Implement the following pollution and erosion control measures:

a. Project Contact: Identify a project contact (name, phone number, an address) that will be responsible for implementing pollution and erosion control measures.

b. List and describe any hazardous material that would be used at the project site, including procedures for inventory, storage, handling, and monitoring;

notification procedures; specific clean-up and disposal instructions for different products available on the site; proposed methods for disposal of spilled material;

and employee training for spill containment.

c. Temporarily store any waste liquids generated at the staging areas under cover on an impervious surface, such as tarpaulins, until such time they can be properly transported to and treated at an approved facility for treatment of hazardous materials.

d. Procedures based on best management practices to confine, remove, and dispose of construction waste, including every type of debris, discharge water, concrete, cement, grout, washout facility, welding slag, petroleum product, or other hazardous materials generated, used, or stored on-site.

e. Procedures to contain and control a spill of any hazardous material generated, used or stored on-site, including notification of proper authorities. Ensure that materials for emergency erosion and hazardous materials control are onsite (e.g., silt fence, straw bales, oil-absorbing floating boom whenever surface water is present).

f. Best management practices to confine vegetation and soil disturbance to the minimum area, and minimum length of time, as necessary to complete the action, revent or minimize erosion associated with the action area.

g. No uncured concrete or form materials will be allowed to enter the active stream channel.

h. Steps to cease work under high flows, except for efforts to avoid or minimize resource damage.

16. Site Preparation

a. Flagging sensitive areas – Prior to construction, clearly mark critical riparian vegetation areas, wetlands, and other sensitive sites to minimize ground disturbance.

b. Staging area – Establish staging areas for storage of vehicles, equipment, and fuels to minimize erosion into or contamination of streams and floodplains.

i. No Topographical Restrictions – place staging area 150 feet or more from any natural water body or wetland in areas where topography does not restrict such a distance.

ii. Topographical Restrictions –place staging area away from any natural water body or wetland to the greatest extent possible in areas with high topographical restriction, such as constricted valley types.

c. Temporary erosion controls – Place sediment barriers prior to construction around sites where significant levels of erosion may enter the stream directly or through road ditches. Temporary erosion controls will be in place before any significant alteration of the action site and will be removed once the site has been stabilized following construction activities.

d. Stockpile materials – Minimize clearing and grubbing activities when preparing staging, project, and or stockpile areas. Any LW, topsoil, and native channel material displaced by construction will be stockpiled for use during site restoration. Materials used for implementation of aquatic restoration categories (e.g., LW, boulders, fencing material) may be staged within the 100-year floodplain.

e. Hazard trees – Where appropriate, include hazard tree removal (amount and type) in project design. Fell hazard trees when they pose a safety risk. If possible, fell hazard trees within riparian areas towards a stream. Keep felled trees on site when needed to meet coarse LW objectives.

17. Heavy Equipment Use

a. Choice of equipment – Heavy equipment will be commensurate with the project and operated in a manner that minimizes adverse effects to the environment (e.g., minimally-sized, low pressure tires, minimal hard turn paths for tracked vehicles, temporary mats or plates within wet areas or sensitive soils).

b. Fueling and cleaning and inspection for petroleum products and invasive weeds

i. All equipment used for instream work will be cleaned for petroleum accumulations, dirt, plant material (to prevent the spread of noxious weeds), and leaks repaired prior to entering the project area.

Such equipment includes large machinery, stationary power equipment (e.g., generators, canes), and gas-powered equipment with tanks larger than five gallons.

ii. Store and fuel equipment in staging areas after daily use.

iii. Inspect daily for fluid leaks before leaving the vehicle staging area for operation.

iv. Thoroughly clean equipment before operation below ordinary high water or within 50 feet of any natural water body or areas that drain directly to streams or wetlands and as often as necessary during operation to remain grease free.

c. Temporary access roads – Existing roadways will be used whenever possible.

Minimize the number of temporary access roads and travel paths to lessen soil disturbance and compaction and impacts to vegetation. Temporary access roads will not be built on slopes where grade, soil, or other features suggest a likelihood of excessive erosion or failure. When necessary, temporary access roads will be obliterated or revegetated. Temporary roads in wet or flooded areas will be restored by the end of the applicable in-water work period. Construction of new permanent roads is not permitted.

d. Stream crossings – Minimize number and length of stream crossings. Such crossings will be at right angles and avoid potential spawning areas to the greatest extent possible. Stream crossings shall not increase the risk of channel re-routing at low and high water conditions. After project completion, temporary stream crossings will be abandoned and the stream channel and banks restored.

e. Work from top of bank – To the extent feasible, heavy equipment will work from the top of the bank, unless work instream would result in less damage to the aquatic ecosystem.

f. Timely completion – Minimize time in which heavy equipment is in stream channels, riparian areas, and wetlands. Complete earthwork (including drilling, excavation, dredging, filling and compacting) as quickly as possible. During excavation, stockpile native streambed materials above the bankfull elevation, where it cannot reenter the stream, for later use.

18. Site Restoration

a. Initiate rehabilitation – Upon project completion, rehabilitate all disturbed areas in a manner that results in similar or better than pre-work conditions through removal of project related waste, spreading of stockpiled materials (soil, LW, trees, etc.) seeding, or planting with local native seed mixes or plants.

b. Short-term stabilization – Measures may include the use of non-native sterile seed mix (when native seeds are not available), weed-free certified straw, jute matting, and other similar techniques. Short-term stabilization measures will be maintained until permanent erosion control measures are effective. Stabilization measures will be instigated within three days of construction completion.

c. Revegetation – Replant each area requiring revegetation prior to or at the beginning of the first growing season following construction. Achieve reestablishment of vegetation in disturbed areas to at least 70% of pre-project levels within three years. Use an appropriate mix of species that will achieve establishment and erosion control objectives, preferably forb, grass, shrub, or tree species native to the project area or region and appropriate to the site. Barriers will be installed as necessary to prevent access to revegetated sites by livestock or unauthorized persons.

d. Planting manuals – All riparian plantings shall follow Forest Service direction described in the Regional letter to Units, Use of Native and Nonnative Plants on National Forests and Grasslands May 2006 (Final Draft), and or BLM Instruction Memorandum No. OR-2001-014, Policy on the Use of Native Species Plant Material.

e. Decompact soils – Decompact soil by scarifying the soil surface of roads and paths, stream crossings, staging, and stockpile areas so that seeds and plantings can root.

20. Work Area Isolation, Surface Water Withdrawals, and Fish Capture and Release – Isolate the construction area and remove fish from a project site for projects that include concentrated and major excavation at a single location within the stream channel. This condition will typically apply to the following aquatic restoration categories: Fish Passage Restoration; Dam, Tidegate, and Legacy Structure Removal; Channel Reconstruction/Relocation.

a. Isolate capture area – Install block nets at up and downstream locations outside of the construction zone to exclude fish from entering the project area. Leave nets secured to the stream channel bed and banks until construction activities within the stream channel are complete. If block nets or traps remain in place more than one day, monitor the nets and or traps at least on a daily basis to ensure they are secured to the banks and free of organic accumulation and to minimize fish predation in the trap.

b. Capture and release – Fish trapped within the isolated work area will be captured and released as prudent to minimize the risk of injury, then released at a safe release site, preferably upstream of the isolated reach in a pool or other area that provides cover and flow refuge. Collect fish in the best manner to minimize potential stranding and stress by seine or dip nets as the area is slowly dewatered, baited minnow traps placed overnight, or electrofishing (if other options are ineffective). Fish must be handled with extreme care and kept in water the maximum extent possible during transfer procedures. A healthy environment for the stressed fish shall be provided—large buckets (five-gallon minimum to prevent overcrowding) and minimal handling of fish. Place large fish in buckets separate from smaller prey-sized fish. Monitor water temperature in buckets and well-being of captured fish. If buckets are not being immediately transported, use aerators to maintain water quality. As rapidly as possible, but after fish have recovered, release fish. In cases where the stream is intermittent upstream, release fish in downstream areas and away from the influence of the construction.

Capture and release will be supervised by a fishery biologist experienced with work area isolation and safe handling of all fish.

c. Electrofishing – Use electrofishing only where other means of fish capture may not be feasible or effective. If electrofishing will be used to capture fish for salvage, NMFS’s electrofishing guidelines will be followed (NMFS 2000).11

i. Reasonable effort should be made to avoid handling fish in warm water temperatures, such as conducting fish evacuation first thing in the morning, when the water temperature would likely be coolest. No electrofishing should occur when water temperatures are above 18ºC or are expected to rise above this temperature prior to concluding the fish capture.

ii. If fish are observed spawning during the in-water work period, electrofishing shall not be conducted in the vicinity of spawning fish or active redds.

iii. Only Direct Current (DC) or Pulsed Direct Current shall be used.

iv. Conductivity <100, use voltage ranges from 900 to 1100. Conductivity from 100 to 300, use voltage ranges from 500 to 800. Conductivity greater than 300, use voltage to 400.

v. Begin electrofishing with minimum pulse width and recommended voltage and then gradually increase to the point where fish are immobilized and captured. Turn off current once fish are immobilized.

vi. Do not allow fish to come into contact with anode. Do not electrofish an area for an extended period of time. Remove fish immediately from water and handle as described above (PDC 20b). Dark bands on the fish indicate injury, suggesting a reduction in voltage and pulse width and longer recovery time.

vii. If mortality is occurring during salvage, immediately discontinue salvage operations (unless this would result in additional fish mortality), reevaluate the current procedures, and adjust or postpone procedures to reduce mortality.

d. Dewater construction site –When dewatering is necessary to protect species or critical habitat, divert flow around the construction site with a coffer dam (built with non-erosive materials), taking care to not dewater downstream channels during dewatering. Pass flow and fish downstream with a by-pass culvert or a water-proof lined diversion ditch. Diversion sandbags can be filled with material mined from the floodplain as long as such material is replaced at end of project.

Small amounts of instream material can be moved to help seal and secure diversion structures. If ESA listed-fish may be present and pumps are required to dewater, the intake must have a fish screen(s) and be operated in accordance with NMFS fish screen criteria described below (in part e.iv) of this section. Dissipate flow energy at the bypass outflow to prevent damage to riparian vegetation or stream channel. If diversion allows for downstream fish passage, place diversion outlet in a location to promote safe reentry of fish into the stream channel, preferably into pool habitat with cover. Pump seepage water from the de-watered work area to a temporary storage and treatment site or into upland areas and allow water to filter through vegetation prior to reentering the stream channel. To the extent possible, incorporate measures to protect lamprey. For instructions on how to dewater areas occupied by lamprey, see Best Management Practices to Minimize Adverse Effects to Pacific Lamprey, Entosphenus tridentatus (2010).

e. Surface water withdrawals

i. Surface water may be diverted to meet construction needs, but only if developed sources are unavailable or inadequate. Where ESA-listed fish may be present, diversions may not exceed 10% of the available flow and fish screen(s) will be installed, operated, and maintained according to NMFS’s fish screen criteria (NMFS 2011e).

ii. For the dewatering of a work site to remove or install culverts, bridge abutments etc., if ESA-listed fish may be present, a fish screen that meets criteria specified by NMFS (2011e) must be used on the intake to avoid juvenile fish entrainment. If ESA-listed salmon, steelhead, eulachon, or green sturgeon may be present, the Action Agencies will ensure that the fish screen design is reviewed and approved by NMFS for consistency with NMFS (2011e) criteria if the diversion (gravity or pump) is at a rate greater than 3 cfs. NMFS approved fish screens have the following specifications: a) An automated cleaning device with a minimum effective surface area of 2.5 square feet per cfs, and a nominal maximum approach velocity of 0.4 feet per second (fps), or no automated cleaning device, a minimum effective surface area of 1 square foot per cfs, and a nominal maximum approach rate of 0.2 fps; and b) a round or square screen mesh that is no larger than 2.38 mm (0.094 inches) in the narrow dimension, or any other shape that is no larger than 1.75 mm (0.069 inches) in the narrow dimension.

f. Stream re-watering – Upon project completion, slowly re-water the construction site to prevent loss of surface water downstream as the construction site streambed absorbs water and to prevent a sudden release of suspended sediment.

Monitor downstream during re-watering to prevent stranding of aquatic organisms below the construction site.

1.3.2 General Aquatic Conservation Measures