CITY OF FRESNO
CATEGORICAL EXEMPTION
ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT NO. 5984-240627
THE PROJECT DESCRIBED HEREIN IS DETEMINED TO BE CATEGORICALLY
EXEMPT FROM THE PREPARATION OF ENVIRONMENTAL DOCUMENTS
PURSUANT TO ARTICLE 19 OF THE STATE CEQA GUIDELINES.
CONTACT: Sarah Aguila, Project Manager
City of Fresno – Department of Public Utilities
1626 E Street
Fresno, CA 93706
Phone: 559-621-1615
Email: [email protected]
PROJECT TITLE: Emergency Repair of the South Fruit Avenue Sewer Trunk Main
PROJECT LOCATIONS: Fruit Avenue between Cesar Chavez Boulevard (formerly California Avenue) and Florence Avenue
Alignment in Fresno, California
PROJECT DESCRIPTION: The Project entails the removal and replacement of the existing sewer trunk main and appurtenances in Fruit
Avenue between Cesar Chavez Boulevard and Florence
Avenue.
The Project is exempt under Section 15301/Class 1 of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines.
Under Section 15301/Class 1, projects are exempt from CEQA requirements when they consist of the operation, repair, maintenance, permitting, leasing, licensing, or minor alteration of existing public or private structures, facilities, mechanical equipment, or topographical features, involving negligible or no expansion of existing or former use. The subsection relevant to this Project are (b) and (d), which are listed below:
(b) Existing facilities of both investor and publicly -owned utilities used to provide electric power, natural gas, sewerage, or other public utility services;
(d) Restoration or rehabilitation of deteriorated or damaged structures, facilities, or mechanical equipment to meet current standards of public health and safety, unless it is determined that the damage was substantial and resulted from an environmental hazard such as earthquake, landslide, or flood;
The Project described herein represents the necessary emergency repair to an existing public owned sewer main, as described in subsection (b), to re habilitate deteriorated structures to allow continued use of the sewer system to meet standards for public health, as described in subsection (d). The specific work tasks may include the following:
• Installing bypass pumps to carry sewage around the deteriorate sewer line, thereby allowing repairs to take place with no interruption in service to wastewater customers
• Open cutting the road to access the underlying sewer, the trench for which may encompass the width of the road
• Making point repairs to sewer main, manholes, and appurtenances, as needed • Removing and replacing segments of the sewer main, manholes, and appurtenances, as needed
• Slip-lining segments of the sewer line as needed, which entails inserting a slightly smaller diameter pipe within the larger, deteriorated pipe to restore the structural integrity of the existing pipe
• Reconstructing and repaving the road in the areas disturbed for the purposes of the Project
All work will occur within existing improved roadways to existing publicly-owned sewerage facilities. The Project will not expand the use of the existing facility, nor will it relocate any existing facilities or structures. The Project is merely to repair and rehabilitate an existing damaged sewer line and appurtenances. As su ch, the work is exempt under Section 15301/Class 1 (b/d).
None of the exceptions to Categorical Exemptions set forth in the CEQA Guidelines, Section 15300.2, apply:
(a) Location The Project is not located in a sensitive environment or an environmental resource of hazardous or critical
concern as designated by federal, state, or local
agencies. The work is entirely located in an existing
roadway.
(b) Cumulative Impact The Project will not have a cumulative negative impact over time that is significant. The Project
merely entails repair to existing facilities.
(c) Significant Effect The Project will not have a significant effect on the environment due to unusual circumstances. All work
will be limited to the existing road and sewer lines.
(d) Scenic Highways The Project will not result in damage to scenic resources, including but not limited to, trees, historic buildings, rock outcroppings, or similar resources,
within a highway officially designated as a state
scenic highway. The Project is not located near
scenic highways.
(e) Hazardous Waste Sites The Project is not located on a hazardous waste site which is included on any list compiled pursuant to
Section 65962.5 of the Government Code.
(f) Historical Resources The Project will not cause a substantial adverse change in the significance of a historical resource.
The roadway where the emergency repair is
occurring is not considered historical resources.
Furthermore, the proposed project is not expected to have a significant effect on the environment. Accordingly, a categorical exemption, as noted above, has been prepared for the project.
Date: June 27, 2024
Prepared by: Peter Maraccini