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2.0 ENVIRONMENTAL CHECKLIST Regional Park, includes two alternative pipeline alignments that are both adjacent to San Leandro Slough (the Northern Pipeline Route and Southern Pipeline Route). The slough supports northern coastal salt marsh, a sensitive plant community that provide habitat for several special-status wildlife species. The Northern Pipeline Route would cross under a potentially jurisdictionals drainage channel and run adjacent to jurisdictional wetlands. A discussion of biological resources occulting or potentially occurring in and adjacent to the Project alignments is presented below. DISCUSSION a) The Project is not expected to impact any special status plant species. The following plant species are listed by the California Natural Diversity Database (CNDDB) (CDFG, 2004) as occurring in the general vicinity of the Project area: alkali milk-vetch, Congdon's tarplant, robust spineflower, Point Reyes birds-beak, Kellogg's horkelia, Contra Costa goldfields, and California seablite. However, all of these occurrences are historical, with the most recent documented in the late 1950s. One species is thought to have been extirpated6 from the area and, for the other six, habitat either never occurred, no longer occurs (due primarily to development), or has been highly altered from its original state within the Project area. Occupied habitat for monarch butterflies is present in the vicinity of the Monarch Bay Golf Complex. This species is known to overwinter in large numbers at the Monarch Bay Golf Complex from October through January. Potential nesting habitat for special-status, as well as common, bird species is also present throughout the Phase 1 Project area. For example, white- tailed kite, American kestrel, red-tailed hawk, and red-shouldered hawk may use the lazge eucalyptus and conifers scattered throughout the golf course for nesting. Construction of Phase 2 of the Project has the potential to impact northern coastal salt marsh, a sensitive community (CDFG, 2004). This plant community, in addition to the ruderal and urban plant communities along the Phase 2 alignment, provides potential nesting and/or foraging habitat for the following special-status wildlife species: California black rail, California clapper rail, burrowing owl, Alameda song sparrow, northern harrier, white-tailed kite, American kestrel, red- tailed hawk, red-shouldered hawk, loggerhead shrike, brawn pelican, salt marsh harvest mouse, and salt marsh wandering shrew. Monarch butterflies overwinter in eucalyptus trees located at the eastern end of the Monazch Bay Golf Complex near the intersection of Aurora and Fairway Drives. The proposed site for the water recycling plant and associated pipeline construction is near this location (see Figure 1-1 in Section 1.0). Roosting monarch butterflies can be disturbed by vibrations resulting from noise originating near their roost trees. However, the roost trees are far enough away from the Project site (approximately one-quarter mile) that no disturbance to these special-status insects is expected and thus no mitigation is necessary. Northern coastal salt marsh dominated by non-native cordgrass lies in between the Northern and Southern Pipeline Routes proposed for Phase 2. There is little to no upper marsh pickleweed habitat along the slough because the channel banks have been rip-rapped. There is a high ambient level of noise and other disturbance in this area as there is a rifle range at the eastern end of San Leandro Slough, and the Davis Street Transfer Station is directly to the south. There is ~ This drainage may be regulated under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act (i.e., its under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which is the federal agency responsible for regulating wetlands and other waters protected under Section 404). 6 A species is said to be extirpated from an area when it no longer occurs in a portion of its historical range but persists in other parts of its range. SanLcandroRecycledwatorProject 2-12 FSA!?A3193 Drag tSIMND