Carmel River Floodplain Restoration and Environmental Enhancement

The County of Monterey Resource Management Agency contracted DD&A to work closely with the Big Sur Land Trust (BSLT), the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), and Caltrans District 5 in the preparation a combined EIR/EA for the Carmel River Floodplain and Environmental Enhancement Project, located in the Carmel area of Monterey County. The project will restore the historic floodplain function that has been isolated via levees and the highway for at least 90 years. As part of the project, a portion of the Highway 1 roadway embankment will be replaced with an elevated causeway section that will convey floodwater under the highway to reduce potential flood hazards and improve site connectivity with the adjacent floodplain and the Carmel Lagoon to the west. The project will restore historic riparian habitat on existing agricultural land, provide additional habitat to the lower Carmel River ecosystem, and create an agricultural preserve to achieve the goal of preserving the agricultural heritage of the project area in a manner that is compatible with adjacent habitat.

Key issues evaluated include complex hydro-engineering issues associated with removing the levees and reconnecting the project area with the recently restored south arm of the Carmel Lagoon, reducing and avoiding impacts to the federally-listed California red-legged frog and south-central California coast steelhead, visual impacts from a scenic highway, and sensitive cultural resources within and adjacent to the project area. The EIR was unanimously approved by the Monterey County Board of Supervisors in January 2020.

The County of Monterey Resource Management Agency also contracted DD&A to prepare technical biological reports, including a combined state and federal wetland delineation, Biological Assessment (BA), and Natural Environment Study (NES), and facilitate acquisition of all regulatory permits, including a Section 7 incidental take permit from the National Marine Fisheries Service and USFWS, Section 401 and 404 Clean Water Act permits from the Regional Water Quality Control Board (RWQCB) and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (ACOE), and a Coastal Development Permit from the California Coastal Commission.