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HomeMy WebLinkAboutEx 27_Mitigation Bank Request.pdf' enton SCHOOL DISTRICT Business Services SERVICE I EXCELLENCE I EQUITY March 7, 2019 Vanessa Dolbee Planning Manager 1055 South Grady Way Renton, WA 98057 RE: Request for Participation in Renton's Springbrook Creek Wetland Mitigation Bank Program Dear Vanessa: This letter is a formal request to the City to allow the District to participate in the City's 126- acre Springbrook Creek Wetland Mitigation Bank. Background The Springbrook bank was approved the for credit release for all projects authorized to use credits under sections 404 and 401 of the Clean Water Act, as well as Ecology's Water Quality Authority, in 2006. Springbrook included significant areas of wetland re-establishment, rehabilitation, and enhancement in addition to riparian and upland enhancement areas. Approval signatories include the US Army Corps of Engineers, Environmental Protection Agency Region 10, Washington Department of Ecology, US Fish and Wildlife Service, Federal Highway Administration, City of Renton (Mayor Kathy Keolker), and the Washington State Department of Transportation. Additional details on the bank can be found on Ecology's wetland mitigation banking summary page for the bank, currently accessed at the following website address: https://ecology.wa.gov/Water-Shorelines/Wetlands/Mitigation/Wetland-mitigation- banking/Mitigation-bank-projects/Springbrook-Creek Renton School District has identified a public need in building a new elementary school on property located in the vicinity of Duvall Ave NE between NE loth and NE 12th Streets. The selection of this site follows an exhaustive search of properties in the service area of the school. Based on a variety of factors, the School District has concluded these sites are best suited to meet the project needs. The District has purchased some of the parcels in the block and are working on acquiring others. The property contains two wetlands that constrain the full use of the property as an elementary school. One of the wetlands is located along the west side of the property (Wetland C) and is a Category III with a required 75-100 foot buffer. The other wetland is located along the east side of the property (Wetland B) and is a Category IV wetland with a likely 50-foot buffer. The wetlands are depicted in Figure 1 below. While it appears wetlands on the west side of the property can largely be preserved, development of the property as an elementary school site will require that we eliminate Wetland B in order to meet school size and layout objectives. We have evaluated our options for relocating/mitigating the wetland in accordance with City code and other state and federal agency requirements. 300 Southwest 7th Street, Renton, Washington 98057-2307 1 p.425.204.2388 I f.425.204.2383 www.rentonschools.us We- nton SCHOOL DISTRICT SERVICE I EXCELLENCE I EQUITY p, Note: Field sketch only_ Features depicted are approximate and not to scale_ Wetland boundary is marked with pink- and black -striped flags. Data points are marked with yellow- and black -striped flags. Figure 1- Wetland Exhibit Page IofI Mitigation Options We have evaluated several options to mitigate for the loss of Wetland B. One option we evaluated is to create a new wetland (replacement) on the Sierra Heights Elementary School 300 Southwest 7th Street, Renton, Washington 98057-2307 1 p.425.204.2340 I f.425.204.2456 www.rentonschools.us 2 �NO O role: nton SCHOOL DISTRICT SERVICE I EXCELLENCE I EQUITY property in the field where it is adjacent to an existing wetland. The site soils and groundwater conditions were evaluated by Associated Earth Sciences, who excavated at four locations and found a mix of existing fill at approximately 1.75 to 3.5 feet that was relatively loose, granular, and moist. Initially, it was speculated that an adequate amount of groundwater could be seasonally present near the base of the fill. During the investigation, a layer of Vashon-age lodgement till was encountered. Unfortunately, only a limited amount of groundwater was observed in one boring (EB-2) and is interpreted to represent a perched groundwater condition where downward infiltration of surface water (mainly rainfall) is impeded by low permeability soils. In EB-2 wet soil conditions were observed atop the Vashon lodgement sediments below a depth of 3.25 feet. A copy of the AESI report is enclosed. In consultation with AESI's findings and The Watershed Company, the design team is not confident the limited groundwater and contributing basin will provide enough water at the necessary time of year to reliably support a sufficiently -sized replacement wetland at Sierra Heights. Another option we explored involves expanding and/or enhancing the onsite Wetland C. However, given site constraints and requirements for adequately -sized buffers, it is not evident that enough area could be realized to offset all of the envisioned wetland impacts. Combining mitigation at this location with another site would likely be needed to meet requirements of all permitting agencies involved. Either of the above wetland replacement options represent a long and risky federal permit process. The City's Critical Areas Code establishes priorities for mitigation that differ from the Federal Mitigation Rule, which prioritizes the use of established and approved mitigation banks and in -lieu fee (ILF) programs over permittee-responsible mitigation. King County's fee in lieu program, the Mitigation Reserves Program, is not an option as it is administered by King County and there are currently no identified mitigation sites located within the city and/or within the basin. When banks and ILF sites are not available, on -site and permittee-responsible mitigation can be approved. The District strives to produce viable projects and this obligation extends to their mitigation sites. A site with a high -risk of failure represents a poor choice from both an environmental and economic stewardship perspective. Additionally, it is unlikely the state and federal agencies would authorize use of such a mitigation site. Participation in the City's Mitigation Bank program would, therefore, be preferred by State and Federal agencies and, due to the reduction in risk involved, also the District. RMC 4-3- 050.G.9.e.iii describes the City's mitigation bank program as follows: e, Cooperative Wet/and Compensation; Mitigation Banks, In -Lieu Fee Programs, or Special Area Management Programs (SA MP).' L Applicability; The City encourages and will facilitate and approve cooperative projects wherein a single applicant or other organization with demonstrated capability may undertake a compensation project under the following circumstances.- 300 Southwest 7th Street, Renton, Washington 98057-23071 p.425.204.2340 I f.425.204.2456 www.rentonschools.us 3 �� rtle:nton SCHOOL DISTRICT SERVICE I EXCELLENCE I EQUITY (a) Restoration or creation on site may not be feasible due to problems with hydrology, soils, or other factors; or (b) Where the cooperative plan is shown to better meet established regional goals for flood storage, flood conveyance, habitat or other wetland functions. %%% Mitigation Banks; Mitigation banks are defined as sites which may be used for restoration, creation and/or mitigation of wetland alternatives from a different piece of property than the property to be altered within the same drainage basin. The City of Renton maintains a mitigation bank. A list of City mitigation bank sites is maintained by the Public Works Department. With the approval of Administrator and the Public Works Department, non -City -controlled mitigation banks may be established and utilized. If credits are from a mitigation bank are to be used for Federal or State permits, the bank must be certified under State rules. If approved, compensation payments received as part of a mitigation or creation bank must be received prior to the issuance of an occupancy permit Request for Participation In our conversations with you and Ron Straka we have learned that the Springbrook bank has available credit capacity. It has been explained to us, however, that the City has not developed a policy to define which project types or applicants are eligible to receive credits. Additionally, no per -credit pricing or pricing schedule has been developed. As with any publically funded/sponsored project, it seems reasonable the bank was established to serve projects that have public and city benefit, or otherwise have an economic development benefit, and/or generates tax revenue. The elementary school project currently under development would meet all of these criteria, however, in order to allow for District participation a policy change may be required. This letter is to request that the City consider including the District as a participant in the mitigation bank for the following reasons: (1) The Federal Mitigation rule governing replacement of wetland losses under the Clean Water Act requires applicants first seek out mitigation banks and in -lieu fee programs due to their lower risk of failure. Ecology has similar rules in effect as well. When such programs are not available, on -site, permittee-responsible mitigation can be approved. However, agencies requires strong evidence that the selected site is viable and has a low risk of failure. (2) We have evaluated other areas in the basin, the most promising of which is the Sierra Heights site, for wetland replacement. The soils in the only potential location on the property are problematic in that they do not support the required hydrology for wetland creation. This finding represents a significant risk that, after a significant economic and time investment, agency approval would not be secured. Alternatively, should approval be secured, but the site realize failure, additional time and expense would be needed to rectify deficiencies. (3) The federal process requires we proceed with a defined mitigation approach. The approach may include a combination of on -site and banking credits, but it cannot be vague on how the credits are proportioned. (4) Our alternatives for school locations are limited by both available land and the need to be in the vicinity of growth in order to equitably serve the neighborhood public school 300 Southwest 7th Street, Renton, Washington 98057-2307 1 p.425.204.2340 I f.425.204.2456 www.rentonschools.us LI enton SCHOOL DISTRICT SERVICE 1 EXCELLENCE I EQUITY students. Large parcels of unconstrained developable land are no longer available. The site we have selected is ideally located where the growth in the City is occurring. (5) This project represents an opportunity for the City to capitalize on its past investment in the Springbrook Creek Mitigation Bank. This project would set forth a defined pathway that future projects with mitigation obligations could follow. Thank you for your consideration. If you have any questions or there is any additional information needed, please let me know. Sincerely, Susan ' h L /a4-���' Interim Assistant Superintendent, Finance and Operations Supporting documents emailed on March 7, 2019: Wetland Delineation Report prepared by The Watershed Company dated Oct. 12, 2018 Subsurface Exploration and Limited Geotechnical Report prepared by Associated Earth Sciences dated February 14, 2019 Cc: Ronald J. Straka, P.E., Public Works Department Matt Herrera, Senior Planner, Community & Economic Development 300 Southwest 7th Street, Renton, Washington 98057-23071 p.425.204.23401 f.425.204.2456 www.rentonschools.us