DATE: January 21, 2020
TO: Board of Supervisors
SUBMITTED BY: Steven E. White, Director
Department of Public Works and Planning
SUBJECT: Addendum to Agreement with Panoche Valley Solar, LLC
RECOMMENDED ACTION(S):
TITLE
1. Approve and authorize the Chairman to execute Addendum I to Infrastructure Improvement, Maintenance, Protection, and Repair Agreement No. 17-045 (acquisition of Little Panoche Creek Jumper Bridge) with Panoche Valley Solar, LLC ($0); and,
2. Determine that the foregoing action is exempt from further review under the California Environmental Quality Act, Public Resources Code, section 21000.
REPORT
Approval of the recommended actions will allow the transfer of ownership of a temporary bridge (jumper bridge) from Panoche Valley Solar, LLC (Developer) to the County. The jumper bridge, or Acrow Bridge Drawing Number AB 1856, was installed over the County’s Little Panoche Creek Bridge to accommodate increased truck traffic during construction of the Panoche Valley Solar Farm Project (Project). This item pertains to a location in District 1.
ALTERNATIVE ACTION(S):
If your Board does not approve the recommended actions, ownership of the jumper bridge will remain with the Developer and it will be decommissioned as per Agreement No. 17-045. The underlying structurally deficient bridge will remain in place and might deteriorate faster without the “protection” of the jumper bridge until the permanent structure can be replaced in next five to seven years.
FISCAL IMPACT:
There is no Net County Cost associated with the recommended actions. The estimated value of the jumper bridge is $2,800,000. It is being given to the County by the Developer at no monetary cost in lieu of the County not requiring the Developer to pay costs of decommissioning (removing) the bridge and restoring the road approaches to their original elevations, which are valued at $1,060,080.
DISCUSSION:
On February 17, 2017, the Board approved Agreement No. 17-045 with the Developer for improvements to Little Panoche Road and Little Panoche Creek Bridge located12 miles west of Interstate 5 and 31miles east of the City of Mendota, as part of the development of the Project located in San Benito County. The agreement detailed the required infrastructure improvements, maintenance, protection and repairs required to be implemented by the Developer at no cost to Fresno County.
As part of the agreement, the Developer installed a temporary steel jumper bridge over the timber Little Panoche Creek Bridge to accommodate the increased truck traffic during construction of the Project. Jumper bridges are installed on top of permanent highway bridges of inadequate load carrying capacity to accommodate heavier loads. The jumper bridge was originally devised as a temporary solution that could be installed quickly with minimal impacts to the environment. As such, the agreement required the Developer to decommission or remove the jumper bridge upon completion of the Project. However, in recognition that the jumper bridge is serving the important function of preventing further deterioration of the underlying structure caused by traffic, the Department of Public Works and Planning staff now recommend that the jumper bridge remain in place and ownership be transferred to the County until the permanent structure can be replaced. In anticipation of the transfer of ownership, the Developer made minor repairs to the jumper bridge. Department staff inspected the bridge and approved the repairs.
With your Board’s approval of the recommended addendum, the Developer will no longer be responsible for decommissioning the jumper bridge.
The Little Panoche Creek Bridge, constructed in 1935, is structurally deficient and is eligible for replacement with Federal funds under the Highway Bridge Program. Department staff recommend leaving the jumper bridge in place for the next five to seven years while the permanent bridge is funded, designed, and constructed. It is not recommended that the jumper bridge function as a permanent replacement, as it does not address any scour (sediment removal) issues associated with the underlying bridge that could be exacerbated in an extreme flood event. When the bridge is replaced, the jumper bridge can be removed and placed on another bridge of similar length or stored for future use.
Compliance with California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA):
The first recommended action is exempt from further review under CEQA, pursuant to Section 15162(a) of the CEQA Guidelines, which provide that no further environmental review is necessary where the lead agency previously certified an environmental impact report. In this instance, on November 18, 2016 an addendum to the Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Report (FSEIR), certified on May 19, 2015 by the County of San Benito as the Lead Agency, was prepared to assess the potential impacts of the installation of the temporary jumper bridge. The Lead Agency determined on the basis of the Addendum that the installation of the jumper bridge would not change the Lead Agency’s findings regarding the FSEIR for the solar project and confirmed that the level of significance of impacts identified in the FSEIR would not change. On February 7, 2017 the Board approved Resolution No. 17-1721 concurring in the Lead Agency’s findings. The Department has assessed the potential impacts of relieving Developer of the decommissioning obligation and has determined that the changed circumstances will not require major revisions of the previous EIR due to the involvement of new significant environmental effects or a substantial increase in the severity of previously identified significant effects. Therefore, no further review under CEQA is necessary.
REFERENCE MATERIAL:
BAI #32, February 7, 2017
ATTACHMENTS INCLUDED AND/OR ON FILE:
Location Map
On file with Clerk - Addendum to Agreement No. 17-045
On file with Clerk - Agreement No. 17-045
CAO ANALYST:
Sonia M. De La Rosa