Owens Lake: Inyo County, California

SERVICES USED ON THIS PROJECT INCLUDE:
	Environmental Compliance		Resource Management

Owens Lake is the largest single source of particulate matter (PM10) emissions in the United States. Sapphos Environmental, Inc. has prepared all environmental documents required pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) to support the Great Basin Unified Air Pollution Control District’s (District) decision-making process related to the Owens Valley PM10 Planning Area Demonstration of Attainment State Implementation Plan (SIP), including the original Environmental Impact Report (EIR) prepared in 1997, Addendum EIR prepared in 1998, and two subsequent EIRs in 2003 and 2007 to address an expanded project area. The SIP specifies the dust control measures to be employed by the City of Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) to reduce PM10 emissions caused by water diversions that lowered the water surface elevation of Owens Lake and exposed the lake sediments to wind erosion. The SIP is designed to reduce PM10 emissions from Owens Lake consistent with the requirements of the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS), promulgated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) pursuant to the federal Clean Air Act Amendment of 1990. It is anticipated that up to 43 square miles (27,520 acres) will be treated with dust control measures.

Preparation of the environmental documents has included noticing; agency scoping and consultation; jurisdictional delineation of federal and state waters; surveys for approximately 270 plant and wildlife species, including directed surveys for 25 federally and state-designated sensitive species; Phase I and Phase II surveys for cultural resources, including paleontological, archaeological, and historic resources; and air quality modeling and analysis, including analysis of greenhouse gas emissions.

In the preparation of the first EIR on the Owens Valley PM10 Planning Area Demonstration of Attainment SIP, the firm’s primary responsibility was related to a year-long assessment of wildlife resources. More than 270 species of wildlife were identified as having the potential to occur at Owens Lake. General surveys were conducted for terrestrial mammals, bats, birds, herpetofauna, and terrestrial invertebrates.

Other services and documentation have included the preparation of the Addendum EIR No. 1 to the Final EIR in support of the revised Owens Valley PM10 Planning Area Demonstration of Attainment SIP in 1997, EIR in support of the 2003 Owens Valley PM10 Planning Area Demonstration of Attainment SIP, Initial Study in support of the 2008 Owens Valley PM10 Planning Area Demonstration of Attainment SIP, Draft EIR in support of the 2008 Owens Valley PM10 Planning Area Demonstration of Attainment SIP, cultural resource consulting compliance and monitoring services in support of the environmental quality assurance program, wildlife resources inventory, mitigation monitoring, and open-end environmental compliance and regulatory monitoring oversight.

The purpose of preparing the Addendum to the certified Final EIR was to comply with provisions set forth in the Memorandum of Agreement between the District and the City of Los Angeles, which resolves disputes between the City and the District concerning the City’s challenge of the District’s proposed 1997 SIP and associated Order controlling PM10 air pollution from Owens Lake. The Addendum EIR was approved by the District’s Board, and dust control efforts have been moving forward since 1997.

During the preparation of the EIR in support of the 2003 Owens Valley PM10 Planning Area Demonstration of Attainment SIP, the District worked cooperatively with LADWP to identify the next 3,000 acres of the lake bed where the application of dust control measures would most likely achieve the dust control standard. The project area was analyzed at the project level of detail pursuant to CEQA. The EIR was the third environmental document prepared by or with significant input from Sapphos Environmental, Inc. for the District. Subsequently, an additional 29.8 square miles on the Owens Lake bed designated in the 2003 SIP and 2003 EIR were added to ensure necessary dust control; these areas were operational by the end of 2006. In addition, a supplement to the 2003 SIP proposed additional dust control areas of 14.6 square miles beyond the 29.8 square miles. Sapphos Environmental, Inc. is currently analyzing the impacts from the construction of supplemental dust control measures on this additional 14.6 square miles of potentially emissive lake bed and has already issued biological and cultural resources technical reports.

The City of Los Angeles filed CEQA litigation on the 1998 EIR. On July 28, 1998, the Superior Court upheld the adequacy of EIR. The City of Los Angeles did not file CEQA litigation on the 2003 EIR. This project was successfully completed in 2003.