HomeMy WebLinkAboutC_Request_Wetland_Mit_Bank_20190307_v1 (2).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.
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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
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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.-
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(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
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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
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