Surfer's Point

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7_BEACON Tech Report (FINAL)

the kelp bed for extended periods, the rate of placement of sand will be modified so that

large, long lasting turbidity plumes are no longer created. The criterion will be that

turbidity plumes that extend to the kelp beds approximately 1,000 ft. offshore should

not persist for a period of more than 6 days. Because of this monitoring and response

plan, turbidity created by beach fill will not have a significant effect on biological

resources.

Turbidity plumes may interfere with the foraging of seabirds including the California

brown pelican, elegant tern, and double-crested cormorant. Turbidity plumes would

affect temporarily a relatively small portion of the foraging area for these species.

Impacts of turbidity on seabird foraging would be adverse but insignificant.

Oil Piers is not known as an important beach for grunion spawning. However, grunion

may at times spawn on any sandy beach. If beach fill occurs during the summer,

grunion could potentially suffer an adverse impact from burial of their eggs by sand

placement or damage to the eggs by project equipment. To avoid impacts to grunion,

grunion spawning will be monitored immediately prior to and during beach fill operations

if the project is conducted during the grunion spawning season of March to August. If

grunion are observed to spawn during the nighttime spring high tides immediately prior

to the proposed sand placement or during sand placement operations, all beach fill

activities will be curtailed until after the next spring high tide series when the grunion

eggs will have hatched and been carried into the ocean. In addition, sand berms will be

placed around the spawning area, if possible. The buffer zone would be kept in place

until the next predicted grunion run (about 14 days) to allow for the eggs to hatch and

surveys to show that no subsequent spawning occurred in the area. With these

measures in place, impacts to grunion spawning will be insignificant.

3.3.4 Surfer's Point

The intertidal and subtidal substrate at Surfer's Point consists primarily of cobble. In the

shallow subtidal, patches of sand are interspersed with the cobble. The small rocks and

cobble at Surfer's Point support a sparse growth of opportunistic algae. Benthic

communities appear to be disturbed frequently by the movement of the rocks and

periodic scour and burial by sand. Because of the depauperate benthic community

supported by the cobble at Surfer's Point, burial by sand would have an adverse but

insignificant impact. There are no kelp beds or surfgrass or eelgrass meadows in the

vicinity of Surfer's Point. Therefore, turbidity created by beach enhancement in this

area would not have a significant adverse impact on sensitive habitats.

Turbidity plumes may interfere with the foraging of seabirds including the California

brown pelican, elegant tern, and double-crested cormorant. Turbidity plumes would

affect temporarily a relatively small portion of the foraging area for these species.

Impacts of turbidity on seabird foraging would be adverse but insignificant.

3208 Bio Report

06/12/02