The Placer Vineyards Specific Plan Project (Project) in Placer County, CA, encompasses over 5,000 acres split between more than 20 individually owned parcels. The Placer Vineyards Development Group retained ECORP to provide comprehensive environmental resource assessment, impact and alternatives analysis, geographic information mapping services, regulatory permitting, and mitigation planning for biological and cultural resources.
During the Project, ECORP’s environmental scientists conducted biological surveys, ranging from preliminary habitat identification to wetland delineation. These scientists also completed complex presence/absence determinations for special-status species according to agency-promulgated protocols. Concerning cultural resources, in addition to conducting literature searches, field surveys, and eligibility evaluations, ECORP developed a Programmatic Agreement and Historic Property Management Plan to support compliance with the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA), provided technical support to agency consultation with the State Historic Preservation Officer (SHPO), and liaison with local Native American tribes.
The ECORP Geographic Information System team coordinated and integrated data sets with ten years of information from each of the 20+ individually owned parcels, providing a comprehensive look at the Project’s resources. These technical studies were utilized in the development of significant broad-scope environmental documents; i.e., an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) and an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), respectively.
Once biological surveys and baseline data were finalized ECORP’s regulatory permitting experts prepared and processed U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Clean Water Act Section 404 Permits, Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board (CVRWQCB) Clean Water Section 401 Water Quality Certifications, Section 7 Consultations with U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), Lake and Streambed Alteration Agreements with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW), and Placer County Conservation Program (PCCP) preliminary Certificates of Authorization.
For some properties and infrastructure that have gone to construction, ECORP’s construction compliance team has provided a variety of support services including: Worker Environmental Awareness Training (WEAP), Pre-construction surveys, biological and cultural construction monitoring, and permit required reporting.
Environmental Consulting Services Provided
- Biological Resources Management
- Threatened, Endangered, and Special-Status Species Surveys
- Wetlands and Waters Assessment and Delineation
- Threatened and Endangered Species Permits
- CEQA and NEPA Review, Documentation, and Processing
- Geographic Information Systems and Mapping
- Habitat Restoration, Conservation, and Land Management
- Cultural Resources Management
- Native American Consultation Support
- Architectural History
