California Department of Transportation (Caltrans): Counties of San Bernardino, Riverside, and Ventura

SERVICES USED ON THIS PROJECT INCLUDE:
	Environmental Compliance		Resource Management

Since 1999, Sapphos Environmental, Inc. has served the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans), Districts 7 and 8, as the on-call services provider to conduct specialized biological studies and associated reporting on three on-call services contracts within the counties of San Bernardino, Riverside, and Ventura.

The services provided by the firm were required for project environmental compliance under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA); the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA); the federal Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended; Sections 401 and 404 of the Clean Water Act; the California Endangered Species Act; and all other applicable statutes, regulations, and policies. During this time, Sapphos Environmental, Inc. successfully responded to and completed over 111 task orders that have routinely utilized the firm’s geographic information system (GIS) functions to conduct spatial analyses not only for the determination of project impacts but also for the development of pragmatic mitigation measures in coordination and consultation with all appropriate agencies to support various state highway infrastructure projects. Task orders have included Biological Assessments in support of Biological Opinions and California Incidental Take Permits pursuant to Sections 2080/2081(b) of the California Fish and Game Code; Lake and Streambed Alteration Agreements pursuant to Sections 1602/1603 of the California Fish and Game Code; Natural Environment Study (NES) reports, including reports in which impacts were minimal (NESMI), pursuant to NEPA/CEQA; rare, threatened, and endangered species surveys pursuant to the federal and California Endangered Species Acts; and construction monitoring in support of implementation of Mitigation Monitoring Plans.

Sapphos Environmental, Inc. also assisted Caltrans and the Federal Highway Administration with a yearlong wildlife-movement corridor study along the State Route 71 and State Route 91 interchange. Additionally, multiple delineations of areas subject to the jurisdiction of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers were successfully completed receiving concurrence from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, including one that Caltrans had be negotiating for fifteen years.