HomeMy WebLinkAbout2020_11_18 Chevron Tank Farm Remediation - Dra805) 316-0101
895 Napa Avenue, Suite A-6, Morro Bay, CA 93442
MEMORANDUM
Date: November 18, 2020
To: David Grimm, County of San Luis Obispo
Luke Schwartz, City of San Luis Obispo
Jenna Schudson, Caltrans
From: Michelle Matson and Joe Fernandez, CCTC
Subject: Chevron Tank Farm Remediation – Draft Updated Traffic Analysis
This memorandum evaluates transportation issues associated with the proposed revisions to the remediation
phase of the Chevron Tank Farm Remediation and Development Project located at 276 Tank Farm Road in
the unincorporated area of San Luis Obispo County adjacent to the City of San Luis Obispo. The revised
project description including the existing Traffic Management Plan (TMP) is included as Attachment A.
The revised remediation phase would export approximately 81,000 additional cubic yards of non-hazardous
hydrocarbon impacted soils (NHIS) than were evaluated in the Final Environmental Impact Report (FEIR)
and extend the duration of the NHIS removal until 2023 or 2024. The revised remediation phase will produce
fewer daily trips than were evaluated in the FEIR. In addition, the soil haul routes are proposed to be modified
to allow disposal at the Cold Canyon Landfill south of the City of San Luis Obispo.
Current CEQA Guidelines for vehicle miles traveled (VMT) refers to automobile travel including cars and light
trucks. Larger trucks, such as the proposed soil transport trucks, would not be considered in the evaluation of
VMT impacts under the requirements of CEQA Guidelines. Therefore, no VMT analysis is proposed.
We recommend the TMP be updated including the following:
Revise approved route to Cold Canyon Landfill via State Route (SR) 227 and Tank Farm Road to
allow NHIS disposal. This truck route is currently in the TMP but not for NHIS disposal.
Consider payment of SR 227 Road Improvement Fee.
Update scheduling plan showing hours of operation to minimize traffic congestion during peak hour
and special events.
Update County of San Luis Obispo Pavement Monitoring Program as needed.
Update City of San Luis Obispo fee of $1.50 per truck round trip as needed.
Please review and provide comments on additional traffic analysis needed or proposed TMP revisions.
BACKGROUND
The site is approximately 332 acres and was a former tank farm owned and operated by Union Oil until it was
decommissioned in the 1990s. In 2005, the Chevron Environmental Management Company (CEMC)
purchased the property. In 2014, the FEIR and the Conditional Use Permit (CUP) was approved allowing
CEMC to move forward with remediation and development of the site.
The FEIR evaluated the removal of Non-Hazardous Impacted Soils (NHIS) and the truck haul routes for
disposal. At the time of the FEIR, it was estimated that up to 196,250 cubic yards (~13,125 truck trips) would
2ChevronTankFarmRemediation –Draft Updated Traffic Analysis
Central Coast Transportation Consulting November 18, 2020
be transported from the project site to the Santa Maria Regional Landfill (SMRL) the closest NHIS approved
facility located approximately 36 miles south of the project site in Santa Barbara County. In 2016, the Cold
Canyon Landfill, located approximately 6 miles south of the project site, was approved by the Regional Water
Quality Control Board (RWQCB) to receive NHIS. In addition, the SMRL is currently in the process of closing
its NHIS program and is expected to stop receiving waste by 2025.
The FEIR conservatively evaluated a maximum of 177 daily heavy truck round trips during the most intense
remediation period. Currently, the remediation phase generates a maximum of 60 heavy truck trips per day,
with an average of 20 heavy truck trips per day under typical conditions.
The revised remediation phase proposes to transport up to 650 tons per day to the Cold Canyon Landfill, which
would result in approximately 25-30 truck trips (round trip) per day, averaging four trucks per hour.
HAUL ROUTES
The Traffic Management Plan (TMP) was prepared and approved by the County of San Luis Obispo in August
2016. The Project has two approved haul routes to the SMRL, two routes to Cold Canyon Landfill, and a route
to the Buttonwillow and Kettleman Hills Landfill. When the TMP was prepared, the City of San Luis Obispo
requested that the Los Osos Valley Road interchange not be used a part of the haul route.
The revised remediation project is proposing the same route to/from Cold Canyon Landfill as well as two
additional inbound routes from Cold Canyon via US 101 and Price Canyon Road or Buckley Road. The existing
and proposed haul routes are summarized in Table 1. The existing Trucking Route Map from the approved
TMP is included in Attachment A on Page 175 of the .pdf.
Table 1: Existing and Proposed Haul Routes
Trip Route Destination
Distance
miles)
In/Out Tank Farm Rd, Higuera St, US 101 Santa Maria Regional Landfill 35.9
In/Out SR-227, Price Canyon Rd, Price St, US 101 Santa Maria Regional Landfill 31.7
In/Out Tank Farm Rd and SR 227 Cold Canyon Landfill 6.1
In/Out Tank Farm Rd, Higuera St, Vachell Ln, Buckley Rd, SR 227 Cold Canyon Landfill 8.2
In/Out Tank Farm Rd, Higuera St, Prado Rd, US 101 Buttonwillow/Kettleman Hills -
In/Out Tank Farm Rd and SR 227 (consistent with TMP) Cold Canyon Landfill 6.1
Inbound SR-227, Buckley Rd, Higuera St, Tank Farm Rd Cold Canyon Landfill 8.2
Inbound
SR-227, Price Canyon Rd, Bello St, US 101, Higuera St,
Tank Farm Rd
Cold Canyon Landfill 17.0
Haul Routes
Source: Padre Associates, 2016; CCTC, 2020. Distances shown are one-way.
Traffic Management Plan (TMP) Haul Routes
Proposed Haul Routes
3ChevronTankFarmRemediation –Draft Updated Traffic Analysis
Central Coast Transportation Consulting November 18, 2020
Currently the haul route to SMRL via SR 227 (Broad Street) is approximately four miles shorter than the
route via Higuera Street. SR 227 is currently an approved route to both SMRL and the Cold Canyon Landfill.
The alternative routes to Cold Canyon Landfill via US 101 and Price Canyon Road or Buckley Road are longer
than the existing approved route and are not recommended based on travel time and additional roadways
affected by trucks.
The City of San Luis Obispo has established a fee-based road program for roads under its jurisdiction, including
its portions of Tank Farm Road. The fee is paid in lieu of inspections, monitoring and repairs by Chevron on
any City-maintained roads. During permit processing, Chevron estimates the anticipated number of truck round
trips and the fee is paid prior to construction permit issuance by the County. The current fee in the TMP is
1.50 per round trip. City may request that the fee be updated.
The County of San Luis Obispo has established a Pavement Monitoring Program for the County-maintained
portion of Tank Farm Road. The program is detailed in the TMP and includes pre-construction inspection and
marking, pre-construction videotaping, daily debris monitoring, bi-weekly visual pavement condition
monitoring, post-construction inspection and videotaping, and damage repair. The County may request updates
to the program.
CEQA ANALYSIS
CEQA Guidelines §15064.3 covers the evaluation of a project’s transportation impacts and requires that the
transportation impact analysis consider vehicle miles traveled (VMT). This was added to the CEQA
requirements at part of the December 2018 CEQA updates, and is a substantial change from the requirements
at the time of the FEIR. The City of San Luis Obispo has adopted Transportation Impact Study Guidelines
relying exclusively on VMT for CEQA transportation impact determination. The County of San Luis Obispo
does not have VMT thresholds and LOS thresholds remain in planning documents.
CEQA Guidelines §15064.3(a), states, “For the purposes of this section, ‘vehicle miles traveled’ refers to the
amount and distance of automobile travel attributable to a project.” Here, the term “automobile” refers to on-
road passenger vehicles, specifically cars and light trucks (Governor’s Office of Planning and Research,
Technical Advisory on Evaluating Transportation Impact in CEQA (2018). Heavy duty trucks, such as the
proposed soil transport trucks, would not be considered in the evaluation of VMT impacts under the
requirements of CEQA Guidelines §15064.3.
TRAFFIC VOLUMES
Traffic volume information from the FEIR was compared to available recent counts to determine the change
and potential impacts. Table 2 summarizes the peak hour vehicle volumes entering the intersection under
existing (2018/19) and EIR existing plus project conditions. Note that project truck trips are currently included
in the baseline 2018/19 counts.
4ChevronTankFarmRemediation –Draft Updated Traffic Analysis
Central Coast Transportation Consulting November 18, 2020
Table 2: EIR and Existing Intersection Volumes
Existing volumes at Higuera Street/Tank Farm Road and Higuera Street/Los Osos Valley Road are generally
lower than the EIR existing plus project conditions except for Higuera Street/Los Osos Valley Road in the AM
peak hour. With the proposed modification of sending NHIS soil to Cold Canyon Landfill versus SMRL fewer
trips would be using the Higuera Street corridor and no additional impacts would occur.
Existing volumes at SR 227 (Broad Street)/Tank Farm Road and SR 227 (Broad St)/Buckley Road are equal
to or greater than the EIR existing plus project conditions. Although volumes increased at SR 227 (Broad
Street)/Tank Farm Road it is expected to operate at LOS C in the AM peak hour and LOS D in the PM peak
hour with the 2018 data. In addition, the SR 227 (Broad Street)/Buckley Road intersection would operate
acceptably using 2019 data.
SR 227 is the shortest route to SMRL and the existing trucking due to soil remediation would likely be captured
in the 2018 and 2019 intersection counts. Payment of the SR 227 Corridor Road Improvement Fee could be
considered to mitigate any potential impacts to the SR 227 (Broad Street) corridor south of the City of San Luis
Obispo.
We recommend minimizing truck trips during peak hours and special events.
SR 227 CORRIDOR ROAD IMPROVEMENT FEE
The County administers the SR 227 Corridor Road Improvement Fee program. Any project generating traffic
on the SR 227 corridor is required to make a fair share contribution towards the program to mitigate cumulative
impacts to the corridor. The fee is calculated based on PM peak hour trips added to the SR 227 intersections
of Farmhouse Lane, Kendall Road, Buckley Road, Crestmont Drive, and Los Ranchos Road.
A new roundabout is currently in design for the Los Ranchos Road intersection. It is estimated that the design
phase will be completed in Summer 2022 with construction complete in 2024.
The fee was adopted after the previous project was approved. The revised remediation phase proposes an
average of four peak hour trips with work to be completed in complete in 2024. A pro-rated fee payment based
on the project life could be considered to mitigate potential project impacts.
ID Intersection TEV 1 LOS TEV 1 % EIR
AM 2504 D 2201 -12%
PM 3280 D 2751 -16%
AM 2223 B 2330 5%
PM 2637 C 2478 -6%
AM 3235 E 3378 4%
PM 4211 E 4211 0%
AM 1848 C 2100 14%
PM 1886 B 1950 3%
1. TEV=Total Entering Volume
Source: Padre Associates, 2016; CCTC, 2020.
10 Higuera St/LOVR
14 SR 227 (Broad St)/Tank Farm Rd
17 SR 227 (Broad St)/Buckley Rd
Peak
Hour
Existing + Project
2013 EIR E+P)
7 Higuera St/Tank Farm Rd
Intersection Volumes
Existing(2018/19)3
5ChevronTankFarmRemediation –Draft Updated Traffic Analysis
Central Coast Transportation Consulting November 18, 2020
RECOMMENDATIONS
We recommend modifying the TMP in coordination with the County Public Works Department as currently
proposed by CEMC. We recommend that the current approved route to Cold Canyon Landfill be modified to
allow for NHIS disposal. The alternative routes to Cold Canyon Landfill via US 101 or Buckley Road are not
recommended because they would increase truck travel distance.
Please let us know if you have any questions.
ATTACHMENTS
Attachment A: Revised Project Description For Proposed Revisions To The Chevron Tank Farm Remediation
And Development Project Final Environmental Impact Report (FEIR)