MUCKLESHOOT INDIAN TRIBE Fisheries Division nd Avenue SE Auburn, Washington

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1 MUCKLESHOOT INDIAN TRIBE Fisheries Division nd Avenue SE Auburn, Washington Phone: (253) Fax: (253) Scott Sissons Pierce County Planning and Land Services 2401 South 35th Street, Suite 2 Tacoma, Washington May 26, 2016 RE. Wetland Analysis & Habitat Assessment Study: Knutson Farms (# & ) Dear Mr. Sissons: Our Habitat Program staff have reviewed the report for the Knutson Farms Industrial Park, and associated documents. The project area lies to the south of Sumner along the left bank of the Puyallup River approximately 10 miles upstream of Commencement Bay. The applicant proposes to construct a Level 8 warehouse/distribution and freight movement center consisting of over 3 million square feet of warehouses, ~2,159 parking stalls, retail, and other development on lands currently used for farming. We recommend that the proposal be modified to avoid development within the CMZ and retain feasibility for a levee setback that allows for broader river processes and restoration of salmon habitat. We offer the comments below in support of our recommendation, and in the interest of protecting and restoring the Tribe's treaty-protected fisheries resources. The site partially lies in the 100-year flood plain and a Channel Migration Zone (CMZ) (Pierce County Public Works and Utilities Surface Water Management Division 2012). The Tribe and others, including Pierce County, discourage development in the flood plain and CMZ, and support levee setbacks to protect salmon habitat, reduce flood risks, and promote other benefits such as preservation of farmland. In fact, there is a proposed levee setback for this site as described in Pierce County s 2014 Levee Setback Feasibility Study. If allowed as proposed, this development will foreclose opportunity for a levee setback. The Wetland Analysis & Habitat Assessment Study fails to consider the long-term impacts to habitat by development of the CMZ and the potential setback site. The Puyallup River Basin supports fisheries resources of cultural, subsistence, and economic importance to the Muckleshoot Indian Tribe. Chinook, coho, chum, and pink salmon, steelhead and other trout use the basin for spawning, rearing, holding, and migration. The basin is part of the Tribe s larger Usual and Accustomed Fishing Area (U&A) as defined in U.S. v. Washington, 384 F. Supp. 312,367 (W.D. Wash. 1974). Within the U&A, the Tribe retains commercial subsistence, and ceremonial treaty fishing rights, as well as the authority and responsibility to co-manage shared natural resources with the State of Washington. Due to recent low runs, NOAA Fisheries has listed Puget Sound Chinook and Puget Sound Steelhead as threatened species under the Endangered Species Act (6/28/05-70FR37160 and 5/11/07-72FR26722, respectively).

2 Compliance with the FEMA BiOp The National Marine Fisheries Service issued a Biological Opinion for FEMA s National Flood Insurance Program in 2008 (FEMA BiOp). The Wetland Analysis & Habitat Assessment Study does not adequately consider the adverse effects upon salmon habitat in addressing compliance with the Endangered Species Act, specifically pertaining to the FEMA BiOp. According to the FEMA BiOp, there shall be no development within the Protected Areas as defined by the Riparian Buffer Zone (RBZ) for all watercourses including off channel areas (areas outside this zone but within the Special Flood Hazard Area) to provide necessary protection to the RBZ. The RBZ is the greater of the following: 250 feet measured perpendicularly from ordinary high water for Type S (Shorelines of the State) streams, 200 feet for Type F streams (fish bearing streams) greater than 5 feet wide, 150 feet for Type F streams less than 5 feet wide, and 150 feet for N (non-salmonid-bearing) streams, lakes and marine shorelines. the Channel Migration Zone plus 50 feet; and the mapped Floodway. The FEMA BiOp considers the CMZ vital for salmonids, and describes the important functions provided by the CMZ. The NMFS writes, A confined river can no longer move across the floodplain and support natural processes of channel migration that create the side channels and off-channel areas that shelter juvenile salmon (Montgomery, 2003). In contrast, functioning CMZs are capable of meandering and braiding, leading to increased side and off channel habitat which supports rearing juvenile salmonids. By nature, the CMZ is important habitat, and where a CMZ exists, it provides or has the potential to offer processes and function to which salmon depend. Pierce County s Flood Hazard Management Plan (2012) mapped three tiers of CMZ for the Puyallup River based on likelihood of migration. The County defines the CMZ as, The area within the lateral extent of likely stream channel movement due to stream bank destabilization and erosion, rapid stream incision, and shifts in location of stream channels. The CMZ is approximated by evidence of channel locations in the last 100 years, but is not be strictly bounded by that criterion alone. The area within which a river channel is likely to move over a period of time is referred to as the channel migration zone. The FEMA BiOp does not differentiate levels of protections based on tiers of CMZ as regulated by Pierce County; the river is merely in or out, and by definition of the designation, susceptible to migrate. Figure 1 illustrates the mapped CMZ and the proposed development site (excluding the phased retail areas). The outer boundary of the Protected Area in Figure 1 is drawn relative to the planned warehouses in Figure 2 to provide additional perspective.

3 Figure 1. The Pierce County mapped CMZ relative to the proposed development site. Data Source: Flood Hazard Management Plan (2012) GIS layer.

4 Figure 2. The proposed warehouse locations relevant to the outer extent of the CMZ as bounded by the FEMA BiOp required 50-ft. CMZ buffer.

5 With regard to ESA-listed species, the Wetland Analysis & Habitat Assessment Study (Soundview Consultants LLC 2016) concluded that the proposed project actions May Affect, but not likely to adversely affect. That conclusion is not supported based on the FEMA BiOp, the importance of the CMZ to salmon, and the proposed industrial development within the CMZ and Protected Area. The findings by Soundview Consultants LLC fail to consider the long-term adverse impacts associated with the permanent loss of CMZ and floodplain. The development of these facilities will put humans and habitat at risk to flooding, and likely demand greater and costly flood protection that further limits the potential for creating or re-establishing complex and diverse habitats that are important for juvenile salmon rearing and refuge, such as side channels, oxbows, and floodplain wetlands. Permanently constraining natural river channel dynamics and reduction or elimination of the ecological function of riparian habitat is an adverse effect. It should also be noted that projects requiring a federal permit under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act would likely need a consultation process through the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Regulatory Branch. The Section 404 permit process includes consultation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), and/or NMFS. Such consultation is required under Section 7 of the ESA. Proposed Levee Setback Site The Wetland Analysis & Habitat Assessment Study also does not address the long-term adverse impacts associated with the preclusion of an identified levee setback site. Levee setbacks provide increased flood storage that reduces flood risk, refuge areas for juvenile salmon during floods, area to establish riparian areas and shade, and supports the suite of channel process as described above. The proposed development partially overlays a proposed levee setback site (Project #5 Sumner Levee Setback -P. Co. Levee Setback Feasibility Study, 2014) (Figure 3). As proposed, this development would eliminate the opportunity to implement this setback. Extensive development in the floodplain has largely precluded some opportunities for levee setbacks in the lower White and Puyallup Rivers (Figure 4). Remaining opportunities for levee setbacks, including portions of the proposed development site, are vitally important for recovery of commercial salmon runs. Levee setbacks in the Puyallup River basin are supported by multiple agencies, salmon recovery plans, restoration strategies, and are even proposed as mitigation for levee impacts. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife recommended that, Flood management proposals should include large scale property acquisitions that will support natural stream processes such as channel migration and riparian and floodplain reconnection (Appendix G of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers General Investigation Report for the Puyallup watershed, 2016). They also note that Approved plans to control development within the watersheds are needed because Extensive new development continues within the floodplains that further constricts the rivers and increases flooding potential. The Puget Sound Partnership s (PSP) Action Agenda identifies key programs, prioritizes local actions for the various areas of the Sound, and specifies actions that must be implemented over the next 2 years to

6 Figure 3. Location of Project #5- Sumner Levee Setback in proximity to the development site. Data Source: -P. Co. Levee Setback Feasibility Study, 2014.

7 Figure 4. The extent of development throughout the lower White and Puyallup Rivers. The Knutson Farm (visible in the mid-lower right indicated by the red arrow), is one of the last large undeveloped parcels potentially facilitating a levee setback project.

8 stay on track toward salmon recovery. One of the top priorities in this effort is to accelerate efforts to protect and restore natural river processes, identifying levee setbacks as a means to increase natural resiliency and protect vulnerable communities from flooding while protecting and maintaining salmon habitat. Within the PSP, a Sub-strategy is to remove armoring and set levees back during redevelopment. Pierce County, as the Lead Entity for the Salmon Habitat Protection and Restoration Strategy for WRIA (2012), identifies levee setbacks as a priority action in WRIA 10 (Puyallup Watershed), as are one of the most beneficial types of actions needed for recovery of Chinook in WRIA 10. As noted in this strategy, In the Puyallup River Watershed the type of actions as a group that produced the greatest increases in abundance and productivity for Chinook were levee setbacks, because these projects create side channels, backwater, and off-channel habitat essential for juvenile colonization, rearing and protection from flood events. The same group produced the greatest increase in abundance for coho. The strategy cites this recommendation based on steelhead biology and behavior, emphasizing the importance on restoring mainstem and large fluvial processes such as channel meandering/side channel formation afforded by levee setbacks. The Shared Strategy s Puget Sound Chinook Salmon Recovery Plan (2007) also cites the benefits of levee setbacks: Levee setbacks, dike breaching and other restoration actions will reconnect these habitats and by replicating the natural hydrological functions of a floodplain, will also help control flooding on people s properties and will allow river channels to shift from side to side, increasing the amount of off-channel habitat available for juvenile fish while still protecting farms, homes and businesses from flood events. The Shared Strategy reports that setback opportunities from critical areas and floodways are lost as new developments proceed in Orting, Sumner, Puyallup, and other areas, and state that it is critical to protect remaining habitat and preserve options for restoration, especially in areas pressured by growth and development in the lower river, floodplain and estuary. The Plan notes some successes, but reports that they are not on pace to meet 10-year goals. NOAA Fisheries, in a letter to Pierce County (2012), also recognizing the vital importance of levee setbacks by writing, It is very clear that the benefits of setback levees far outweigh those of gravel removal and are the number one preferred strategy in recovery of ESA-listed fish in the Puyallup River. Pierce County policies and plans also support levee setbacks. The County s Flood Hazard Management Plan (2012) cite levee setbacks as an important tool to reduce flooding, provide sediment storage, and protect salmon habitat. In this plan, a principal recommendation is that Pierce County should pursue levee setback projects as the preferred means to manage downstream sediment transport (PR #1/ WR #1 / CR #1 Sediment Management and Gravel Removal), noting that levee setbacks promote sediment deposition by allowing channel migration, increasing channel length, decreasing gradient and promoting braiding of the river, thereby minimizing or eliminating adverse biological impacts. In this plan, the 32 potential levee setback projects (Pierce County Levee Setback Feasibility Study 2014), which includes the

9 Sumner Setback at the Knutson Farm site, are expected to be key components of the capital program for the Pierce County Rivers Flood Hazard Management Plan. Clearly, levee setbacks are vital to salmon recovery, restoration of river processes, will reduce flood risk in the flood plains, and is broadly supported. The long-term impact of precluding this opportunity has not been adequately assessed in the Wetland Analysis & Habitat Assessment Study. We recommend modifying the proposed development in a manner that will, at a minimum, facilitate the Sumner Setback. Thank you for this opportunity to provide comments on the ADR for the Knutson Farms Industrial Park. If you have any questions or need assistance, please do not hesitate to contact us. Sincerely, Martin Fox, Ph.D. Fisheries Biologist References Federal Emergency Management Agency-Region Regional guidance for floodplain habitat assessment and mitigation in the Puget Sound Basin. Federal Regional Center, Bothell, WA NOAA-NMFS Letter from Jeff Fisher and Tim Rymer to Adonais Clark, Pierce County Planning and Land Services Department. Final Environmental Impact Statement for the Pierce County Rivers Flood Hazard Management Plan. Pierce County Public Works and Utilities surface Water Management Division, Tacoma, WA. Pierce County (Lead Entity) Salmon habitat protection and restoration strategy for WRIA Shared Strategy Development Committee Puget Sound Salmon Recovery Plan. Adopted by the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS). nook/pugetsoundchinookrecoveryplan.pdf