San Rafael, CA – The draft environmental impact report for the Corte Madera Creek Flood Risk Management Project, which addresses flood mitigation in Ross Valley, has been released by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE).
This fish ladder in the concrete channel may be removed as part of the potential Corte Madera Creek flood control project.
The key report presents detailed analysis of the environmental impacts for five potential flood mitigation project alternatives. The project alternatives are intended to improve public safety and protect residential and business properties along Corte Madera Creek in Ross and Kentfield.
The project is led by USACE with the Marin County Flood Control and Water Conservation District as the local sponsor, and it is independent of the recently certified San Anselmo Flood Risk Reduction Project. The Corte Madera Creek project addresses a different flood risk area in Ross and Kentfield that requires a separate and distinct flood mitigation strategy from the San Anselmo project.
The draft report is available for review online as well as in hardcopy at local libraries in Fairfax, Larkspur, Ross, and San Rafael. The public is encouraged to review the draft report during the 45-day public comment period, which runs through November 27.
Ross Valley has been hit by significant flooding events for decades. To alleviate this, USACE and the Flood Control District have been working with the Town of Ross and the Ross Valley community since 2016 to develop and design a flood mitigation strategy intended to complete an unfinished portion of, and potentially improve a previous project built by USACE in Ross Valley during the 1970s.
Over the past two years, USACE has been developing the draft environmental impact statement/environmental impact report (EIS/EIR) in a coordinated effort with the district. Extensive analysis of potential mitigation projects was conducted in conjunction with program adjustments that were based on community input received at public scoping meetings.
USACE and the district will host four community meetings during the public comment period:
• Town of Ross residents - October 23, 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., Ross Town Hall, 31 Sir Francis Drake Boulevard, Ross. Focus on project elements that may be of most concern to residents within the affected project area in the Town of Ross.
• Commercial businesses - October 24, 10 a,m. to 11:30 a.m., Ross Town Hall, 31 Sir Francis Drake Boulevard, Ross: Focus on project elements that may concern commercial businesses within the affected project area in the Town of Ross.
• Kentfield and unincorporated county - October 25, 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., Ross Town Hall, 31 Sir Francis Drake Boulevard, Ross: Focus on project elements that may concern residents and businesses within the affected project area in Kentfield and along lower Corte Madera Creek in unincorporated Marin County.
• Ross Valley Watershed - to be scheduled in November: Focus will be on a broader view of the Ross Valley community and is open to all residents.
• Please note that residents should check the Ross Valley Watershed program website to confirm meeting information, as times and locations may change.
Additionally, a public hearing to present the draft EIS/EIR will be held November 13 at the District’s Board of Supervisors meeting. The hearing will take place at 5:30 p.m. at the Marin County Civic Center, in Suite 330 in San Rafael. The staff report for the public hearing is available online.
Feedback received during the public comment period will be addressed in the subsequent final EIS/EIR. The final report is expected to be brought before USACE and the District Board of Supervisors in September 2019 for certification and, potentially, a project recommendation.
The Corte Madera Creek project is a component of the Ross Valley Flood Protection and Watershed Program, which looks at broader flood mitigation measures within the 28 square-mile watershed. An EIR for the entire program is underway in parallel with the project EIS/EIR.