Title
HEARING - Department of Transportation recommending the Board take the following actions related to the Bucks Bar Road at the North Fork Cosumnes River - Bridge Replacement Project, Capital Improvement Program project number 36105003:
1) Approve Resolution 181-2024 certifying the Final Environmental Impact Report pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act, comprised of the Draft Environmental Impact Report dated July 2024 and the Final Environmental Impact Report dated October 2024; adopting the Findings of Fact and Statement of Overriding Considerations that includes the Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Plan; concluding Assembly Bill 52 consultation with Native American tribes; and approving the Project as described in the Final Environmental Impact Report;
2) Authorize Department of Transportation staff to proceed with filing the Notice of Determination, final design, rights-of-way acquisition, permitting, and other activities for Project construction; and
3) Conduct a hearing on the feasibility of providing public access to North Fork Cosumnes River at Bucks Bar Road for recreational purposes; and
4) Based on the hearing and the report and study prepared by the Department of Transportation, determine that public access to North Fork Cosumnes River at Bucks Bar Road is not feasible and shall not be provided.
(District 2)
FUNDING: Highway Bridge Program (86% - Federal), Traffic Impact Fees (12% - Local), and Regional Surface Transportation Program (2% - State).
Body
DISCUSSION / BACKGROUND
Project Description
The Department of Transportation (Transportation) received federal funds from the Federal Highway Association Highway Bridge Program (HBP) to replace the existing Bucks Bar Road at North Fork Cosumnes River Bridge located in south El Dorado County. The existing bridge can accommodate a single lane of traffic and is located approximately 1.2 miles down Bucks Bar Road from its intersection with Mt. Aukum Road. Bucks Bar Road carries about 4,200 vehicles per day between Pleasant Valley Road and Mt. Aukum Road, and it is an important major collector road in south El Dorado County.
The Environmental Impact Report (EIR) considers three project alternatives: A 30-mph alternative (along the existing alignment of Bucks Bar Road), a 35-mph alternative (just upstream from the existing alignment), and a 40-mph alternative (further upstream from the existing alignment). The EIR presents the Proposed Project as a bridge replacement project that utilizes the existing alignment of Bucks Bar Road (30-mph alternative). The primary Proposed Project objectives include:
• Provide a modern bridge that will allow for river flows/volumes under it that comply with current design standards
• Provide a modern bridge that will support two lanes of traffic
• Minimize impacts on archaeological and cultural resources to the extent feasible while meeting all other project goals
The Proposed Project would replace the existing 70-foot long concrete arch bridge with a 130-foot steel girder simple span bridge built along the existing alignment of Bucks Bar Road. The proposed new bridge would provide two 12-foot lanes and two 3-foot shoulders. A temporary bridge at the site was determined to be infeasible, so construction of the new bridge will require a full closure of Bucks Bar Road for approximately 10 months. During the closure, Bucks Bar would be closed at the bridge site, and traffic would be detoured to Pleasant Valley Road and Mt. Aukum Road. Although the road would be closed at the bridge site, residents on Bucks Bar Road would be able to access their property from either Pleasant Valley Road or Mt. Aukum Road during the closure.
The Proposed Project would require approximately 0.9 acre of right-of-way acquisition over five privately owned parcels for the roadway approach cut and fill, retaining walls, drainage culverts, and the bridge elements. Approximately 1.0 acre would be required beyond the permanent right-of-way for temporary construction easements during construction staging to provide access to the bridge and room for material and equipment staging.
Environmental Impact Report
Pursuant to California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines Section 15123, the environmental impact report (EIR) was prepared by El Dorado County Department of Transportation for the proposed replacement of the Bucks Bar Road Bridge.
The County distributed a Notice of Preparation (NOP) of a Draft EIR for the Proposed Project on June 21, 2018. The NOP was distributed for a public comment period from June 25, 2018 through July 25, 2018. During that time, a public meeting was held at Pioneer Park in Somerset, California on July 9, 2018 to gather public input on the scope of the EIR presented in the NOP. Additional public meetings related to the project were held at Pioneer Park on January 6, 2010, January 30, 2014 and July 16, 2024. Transportation staff also presented the Proposed Project (including the need for the long term closure of Bucks Bar Road) to the Fairplay Winery Association on August 22, 2022 and to the El Dorado Winery Association on October 12, 2022.
In addition to the public outreach described above, Transportation spent nine (9) years consulting with Native American tribes as prescribed by Assembly Bill 52 (AB 52). The primary tribe that participated in AB 52 consultation was United Auburn Indian Community (UAIC). Shingle Springs Band of Miwok Indians (SSBMI) also participated in consultation, as did Wilton Rancheria. Transportation consulted with UAIC on all aspects of the EIR for which UAIC requested consultation, including but not limited to project alternatives, impacts from the Proposed Project on tribal cultural resources, and mitigation measures for the Proposed Project. Since AB 52 relates to CEQA, Transportation is recommending that the Board close AB 52 consultation should the Board chose to certify the EIR and approve the Proposed Project. Although many questions have been resolved through the extensive consultation process, there are some proposed mitigation issues for which the County, having acted in good faith with reasonable effort, has concluded mutual agreement cannot be reached. These are detailed in the response to comments. Consultation with UAIC will continue under Section 106 of the National Environment Protection Act (NEPA), and Transportation will continue to coordinate with UAIC and SSBMI as the project moves through the right of way, design, and construction phases.
The EIR contemplates a 30-mph alternative (along the existing alignment of Bucks Bar Road), a 35-mph alternative (just upstream from the existing alignment), and a 40-mph alternative (further upstream from the existing alignment). Between 2010 and 2014, Transportation advanced the 30-mph alignment as the preferred alignment, which required a long term closure of Bucks Bar Road. Public sentiment at the time (especially from South County wineries) preferred the 35-mph or 40-mph alternative, since neither of those alternatives required a long term closure of Bucks Bar Road at the bridge site. Transportation came to the Board in early 2014 to request the Board adopt an alignment for the project, and the Board selected the 40-mph alternative. With this direction from the Board, Transportation began the CEQA process. Transportation initiated AB 52 consultation with tribes that are traditionally and culturally affiliated with the project area, including UAIC and SSBMI. As the AB 52 consultation progressed through several years, Transportation concluded that tribal cultural resources would be significantly impacted if the 40-mph alternative was implemented. UAIC told the County that they would only support a project that added a stop sign or traffic signal to the existing condition. Since neither of these proposals would meet the project objectives of improving the hydraulic capacity of the crossing and providing two lanes on the bridge, Transportation decided not to pursue them. After discussing with the Board on February 23, 2021, Transportation changed the preferred alignment from the 40-mph alignment to the 30-mph alignment. This change to the 30-mph alignment is reflected as the Proposed Project in the EIR.
Since the Proposed Project now required a long term closure of Bucks Bar Road, Transportation began working with the Office of Emergency Services (OES) at the El Dorado County Sheriff’s Office to mitigate impacts to any emergency evacuation that might require the use of Bucks Bar Road when it is closed for construction of the new bridge. In spring 2022, Transportation met with OES, CAL FIRE, El Dorado County Fire, and Pioneer Fire both in Placerville and out at several sites along the Bucks Bar Corridor. After these meetings, the public safety attendees concluded that there were adequate evacuation routes and refuge areas that allow for the development of a comprehensive evacuation and sheltering plan to be implemented if the bridge closure were to impact evacuations during a wildfire event. To further mitigate this impact, Transportation plans to minimize the duration of the closure during fire season by starting the long term closure of Bucks Bar Road on the Monday after Thanksgiving, when the river is flowing very low and fire season is ending. Transportation is planning for a 10-month closure of Bucks Bar Road, but will work with the contractor building the bridge to attempt to decrease that planned closure time.
Significant and Unavoidable Impacts
While nearly all environmental impacts were either reduced or eliminated with Transportation’s decision to adopt the 30-mph alignment as the Proposed Project, the draft EIR concludes there are two significant and unavoidable impacts: The removal of the existing bridge, and the potential disturbance of tribal cultural resources that are currently unidentified.
The existing bridge was placed on the California Register of Historic Resources (CRHR) in August 2020. Removal of a resource on the CRHR is a significant and unavoidable impact. Mitigation for this impact requires Transportation to create a Historic American Engineering Record for the existing bridge.
During AB 52 consultation, UAIC revealed to Transportation that the existing bridge is a tribal cultural resource. Removal of this tribal cultural resource is a significant and unavoidable impact. Even though the project has been redesigned to avoid nearly all known tribal cultural resources, there may be such resources that are currently unknown that would be discovered during construction. This also comprises a significant and unavoidable impact. Mitigation for these impacts to tribal cultural resources include buying parcel 093-131-034 and transferring the property to a conservancy; or, if that is not possible, buying a conservation easement over a portion of parcel 093-131-034. If neither the outright purchase of the parcel nor the purchase of the conservation easement over the parcel is possible, then Transportation will fund an endowment if the Native American Land Conservancy is able to buy the parcel or the conservation easement. If none of these aforementioned mitigations are possible, then Transportation will prepare an ethnographic study related to the resources at this and similar sites.
Public Comments and Responses
The draft EIR was circulated for public comment from July 17, 2024 through September 6, 2024. The Notice of Availability was published in the July 17, 2024 edition of the Mountain Democrat. The draft EIR was circulated to state agencies through the State Clearinghouse. Over 150 Notices of Availability were mailed to local residents and other government agencies. The draft EIR was available for review on Transportation’s website and at the Placerville Branch of the El Dorado County Library.
A total of eight comments were received, as shown in the “Comments and Responses” section of the EIR. Three of the comments supported the Proposed Project, two of the comments were from State agencies with generally boilerplate content, and the 3 other comments cited concerns to emergency response time, evacuation routes, and tribal cultural resources that have been addressed in the final EIR. All of the comments and Transportation’s responses are available for review in the final EIR.
Findings of Fact
Transportation’s recommendations to the Board are based on the attached CEQA Findings of Fact and findings by Transportation, acting on behalf of the County as the CEQA lead agency for this Project, including the following:
1) The Final Environmental Impact Report (EIR), which incorporates the 2024 Draft EIR, was prepared pursuant to Public Resources Code § 21000 et seq., and CEQA Guidelines.
2) There is substantial evidence that most impacts from the Proposed Project, as mitigated through mitigation measures identified in the Final EIR and the Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Plan, will not have a significant effect on the environment.
3) There is substantial evidence that significant and unavoidable impacts would result from the Proposed Project, including the removal of the existing bridge and the disturbance of currently unidentified tribal cultural resources.
4) There is substantial evidence that the benefits from the Proposed Project outweigh the significant and unavoidable impacts.
5) The Final EIR reflects the lead agency's independent judgment and analysis.
6) The Proposed Project is consistent with the El Dorado County General Plan and County Capital Improvement Program (CIP).
7) The Final EIR and Draft EIR are on file with the Clerk of the Board and are also available at the Transportation website at <https://www.edcgov.us/government/dot/pages/CEQA.aspx>.
Public Access at River
Section 991 of the California Streets and Highways Code requires the Board to perform a study and a public hearing on the feasibility of providing public access to the river for recreational purposes at the site before constructing the new bridge. Transportation performed the required study and concluded that the combination of land acquisition, topographic limitations, dangerous conditions outside the roadway, environmental impacts, funding constraints, and construction costs all combine to make the existing bridge site impractical for new public river access facilities.
ALTERNATIVES
1) The Board could choose not to certify the Final EIR. Transportation would make changes as directed by the Board and return for Board certification at a later date. This would delay delivery of the Proposed Project.
2) The Board could cancel the Proposed Project. Potentially, HBP funding already expended would have to be paid back by the County.
PRIOR BOARD ACTION
See Discussion / Background section.
OTHER DEPARTMENT / AGENCY INVOLVEMENT
County Counsel has reviewed and approved the Draft EIR, Final EIR, Findings of Fact, and the Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Plan.
CAO RECOMMENDATION / COMMENTS
Approve as recommended.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
There is currently no change to net County costs associated with this item. Funding for the Project is included in Transportation’s 2024 CIP, which was approved by the Board on June 18, 2024, Legistar 24-0838, Item 25.
CLERK OF THE BOARD FOLLOW UP ACTIONS
N/A
STRATEGIC PLAN COMPONENT
N/A
CONTACT
Rafael Martinez, Director