Upper Newport Back Bay Drive Maintenance Project (Notification of Streambed Alteration, No. EPIMS -ORA-64918-R5)

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife has executed Streambed Alteration Agreement EPIMS-ORA-64918-R5 with the City of Newport Beach, represented by Casey Parks, pursuant to Section 1602 of the Fish and Game Code. This project focuses on routine maintenance activities to ensure flood control and stormwater management along Back Bay Drive, extending from Shellmaker Road to Eastbluff Drive, as well as at Bayview Way at Bayview Place and Bayview Way at Jamboree Road. The scope of work includes the removal of native, nonnative, and invasive vegetation, such as willows, cattails, and pepper trees, and the removal of sediment within stormwater and flood control facilities. Project activities specifically involve clearing culverts and associated inlet and outlet structures, as well as vegetation clearing and trimming. Work is primarily restricted to the narrow stream channel between the road and the slope, with the exception of maintenance for 38 storm drain culvert structures located on the bay side of Back Bay Drive. In areas with natural earthen bottom channels and native vegetation, management is limited to trimming understory vegetation to preserve low-flow function. The project is classified under a CEQA Class 1 Categorical Exemption, as it involves routine maintenance without the expansion of existing use.