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City will be faced with finding an alternative disposal site by 2002. The proposed project would extend the life of the permitted landfill to 2053. The purpose of realigning Littlejohns Creek would be to maximize the area available for landfilling, reduce the overall cost of project design and implementation, and increase the habitat values of the creek corridor. The landfill expansion project could be implemented without relocating the stream channel, but with less than 50% of the proposed landfill expansion capacity and at a substantially higher cost. More importantly, the habitat values of the relocated channel would be much higher than they would be if the stream were maintained in its present location and constrained on both sides by high levees and the surrounding landfill. 1... R i li t: W + currentlyThe existing Austin Road Landfill is located north of Littlejohns Creek (Figure 2) and is permitted to operate on 184 acres, with a maximum fill height of 90 feet above mean sea level (msl). Included in the 184 acres we 123.3 acres for solid -waste landfill, 42.6 acres for a soil borrow area (south of the creek), 16.5 acres for a flood control easement along Littlejohns Creek, and 1.5 acres for " the Newcastle road right-of-way. The area southeast of the creek is t foragriculture. The City proposes to expand the landfill by 222 acres and to increase the final grade height (Figure 3). The 222 acres comprise three parcels: 84.6 acres southeast of the current landfill that will be t for solid-wastef •.4 acres north of 1 • be used for equipment areas, and a soil borrow area for landfill operations; and 11.0 acres northeast of the current landfill that will be used for a floodplain area. In addition, the current 42.6 -acre borrow area will be converted into a landfill area. Once horizontal expansion is completed and the existing landfill properly • .t the landfill• will have a final a•c; height of 1 feet msl. Expanding • to south, asproposed, • t.significantlydegrade the habitat of the existing stream corridor; therefore, the applicant proposes to realign the channel of Littlejoh Creek, changing its location from the south side of the existing landfill to the north side of the existi landfill, and to fill approximately 7,600 linear feet of the existing Littlejohns Creek channel (Fi 4). This fill • f result in the • of •. acres ofwaters•:the United States, including 0.859 Jac- ofwetlandsoccurring along The Littlejohns Creek mitigation plan would compensate for project impacts on the creek ` corridor by creating a new channel with characteristics similar to those of the existing stream channel and adding 39.4 acres of riparian habitat (Figure 5). The created channel has been designed to emulate the existing stream channel, having a similar channel length, slope, and meander -belt average width. The San Joaquin County Flood Control District requires that the floodplain be enlarged to accommodate 100 -year fl ows; the wider floodplain will be planted with riparian trees and shrubs. The addition of riparian habitat will substantially increase the habitat value of the creek corridor by creating new plant and wildlife habitat and establishing a buffer between the landfill and the stream channel. The long-term replacement ratio for the stream channel and associated wetlands will be slightly m }re than 1:1. Cin• of Stockton rernut Appucanon dor me Ausnn AU"U April J. 1996 2 Landfill Expansion Project