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V S J 1 Analysis Background On September 4, 1997, the Planning Commission certified Environmental Impact Report No. ER-96-3 and approved Quarry Excavation No: QX-96-1 to remove 29,750,000 tons of material over a 56-year period. This action was appealed by the applicant due to traffic related issues. The Board of Supervisors upheld the appeal on October 30, 1997. The Planning Commission approved a one-year Time Extension on April 15, 1999. Reason for Revisions In the initial application,the processing plant was to be located in the northeast comer of the site. Access was to be obtained by either Koster Road or via Blewett Road along the Delta-Mendota Canal. Improvements to Koster Road proved to be too costly,and the applicant was unable to obtain an easement for access along the canal. The applicant was able to obtain an access easement to Blewett Road along the west side of the property located to the north of the site. To decrease the hauling distance,the applicant has relocated the plant to the northwest corner of the site. The sedimentation ponds,formerly located at the northwest corner,are to be relocated to the northeast corner. As excavation progresses to the next phase, the ponds will be relocated into the bottom of the previously excavated phase. Proposed Revisions Community Development Department Condition of Approval 1.n. Condition 1.n. currently requires that only one phase may be excavated while the previous phase is being reclaimed. This condition reads,"The reclamation plan shall show the phases of excavation. Reclamation of one phase of an excavation shall be initiated prior to the start of the next excavation phase. The final reclamation of any phase of excavation shall be completed within two years of the commencement of the reclamation process. Excavation shall be limited so that at any time a maximum of one phase is being reclaimed while one phase is being excavated." The revision would result in one phase being excavated, one phase being used for settling ponds, and a third phase being reclaimed. The Community Development Department has concluded that the sedimentation ponds are an integral component of the processing of the mined material and, as such, can be considered part of the processing plant. Therefore, the operation will comply with this condition. A single phase will be undergoing reclamation as a single phase is being excavated. No revision is necessary. Community Development Department Condition of Approval 1.u. Condition 1.u. requires that pond water level not exceed the elevation of the invert of the Delta-Mendota Canal to prevent damage to the canal lining from pond-water seepage. The revision would permit the water level to exceed the elevation of the invert of the canal if monitoring wells were established between the pond and the canal to monitor water seepage from the ponds to the canal. The installation of the monitoring wells was identified in the EIR as a mitigation measure if pond water levels would exceed the elevation of the invert of the canal. The revised condition would read: San Joaquin County QX-96-11Traina Community Development -8-