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Big Tujunga Wash Mitigation Area

The Big Tujunga Mitigation Area is owned and managed by the Los Angeles County Department of Public Works (LACDPW) to offset impacts to habitats and vegetation communities at other LACDPW-owned facilities. Chambers Group has had a long history with this project, preparing the original Master Mitigation Plan for the Mitigation Bank in 1999 and then implemented these services through 2006.

Years later in 2017, Chambers Group had the opportunity to return and be part of the project team again where they implemented the Master Mitigation Plan (MMP) Programs at the Big Tujunga Wash Mitigation Area (Mitigation Area) near the community of Sunland, Los Angeles County.

The following services were conducted:

Brown-headed cowbird trapping program

Exotic Plant Eradication and Maintenance Program

Water Lettuce Control Program

Exotic Wildlife Removal Program

Trails Monitoring Program

Annual Water Quality Monitoring, Analysis, and Report

 

Big Tujunga Wash Mitigation Area Cleanup Day

9001 Whittier

Chambers Group worked closely with the Dynamic Development Corporation to manage and prepare an Initial Study/Mitigated Negative Declaration. This expedited permitting enabled Dynamic Development to quickly move forward on the demolition and development of the property at 9001 Whittier, in Los Angeles.

In the high-pressure world of Los Angeles development, high costs can meet with modest delays and render projects dead before a construction crew ever reports to a site. Chambers Group’s quick turnaround time allowed Dynamic Development to begin moving forward with demolition of the property in less than two months.

Dynamic Development Corporation received their Notice to Proceed on the demolition of the 12,126 square foot drive thru building, currently occupied by Bank of the West. Their goal was to redevelop the busy Los Angeles property as a Chick Fil-A and additional retail space.

With each month of downtime rapidly building up against the ultimate viability of the effort, in just two months, Chambers Group was able to develop and finalize both a Parking Analysis and Traffic Impact Study, as well as receive certification in time for the Planning Commission Meeting.

Chambers Group understands how difficult and tiresome the permitting process can be to developers moving forward with ambitious projects. We pride ourselves on our ability to not only deliver comprehensive and sound documentation, but to also successfully complete whatever is needed according to the project timeline.

Tehachapi Renewable Transmission

The Tehachapi Renewable Transmission Project (TRTP) from SCE included new and upgraded transmission infrastructure along approximately 173 miles of new and existing right-of-way (ROW) from the Tehachapi Wind Resource Area (TWRA), in southern Kern County south, through Los Angeles County and the Angeles National Forest, and east to the Mira Loma Substation in Ontario, San Bernardino County, California.  TRTP delivers electricity from  wind farms in the Tehachapi area to SCE customers and the California transmission grid. During construction, the Project created new and upgraded electric transmission lines and substations between eastern Kern County and San Bernardino County. TRTP played a vital role in meeting California’s renewable energy goal of 33 percent by the year 2020 (SCE 2015 plan).

Chambers Group provided a comprehensive suite of environmental and site-specific safety compliance measures for an approximately 3.5-mile segment of existing ROW in the cities of Chino and Chino Hills between the west end of Eucalyptus Avenue and the Chino Valley Freeway (State Route 71).

Chambers Group prepared the Environmental Compliance Plan, Site Specific Safety Plan, the Health Illness Prevention Plan, and assisted the team in gathering and preparing additional plans required for approval. Upon approval of the Project required documents, Chambers Group provided environmental monitoring and lead support. Environmental monitoring measures included: visiting active work locations, identifying environmental concerns and communicating those concerns to the team, recommending solutions to issues arising from regular activities, and documenting environmental compliance. Daily monitoring duties focused on documenting compliance with air quality measures, dust control, trash abatement, track-out, weed control, Storm Water Pollution Prevention Program, environmental sensitive areas, hazardous waste management, and more.

Chambers Group took on the Environmental Lead support role which included: the responsibility of identifying the Contractor’s environmental requirements, assisting in their compliance, and tracking and reporting on compliance status. The lead support role also meant ensuring that Chambers Group onsite monitors were provided with and understood the Project-specific environmental measures and procedures. Finally, environmental reporting included: weekly spill logs, spill reports, assisting in gathering monthly environmental submittals, uploading approved environmental logs in SCE’s Field Reporting Environmental Database (FRED), submitting nest removal request, buffer reduction requests, and preparation and submittal of the Project closeout letters.

San Gabriel River Sediment Management Plan

Located in the eastern portion of Los Angeles County, the San Gabriel River watershed is a heavily burdened nexus: it drains into the San Gabriel River with major tributaries to the river including Walnut Creek, San Jose Creek, Coyote Creek, as well as numerous storm drains entering from the 19 cities through which the San Gabriel River passes; its channel flow diverts from the riverbed into four distinct spreading grounds held behind several rubber dams; and it is controlled through 10 miles of concrete channel bottom from below Whittier Narrows Dam to past Coyote Creek. All told, The San Gabriel River experiences huge influxes of multiple pollutants of concern. As such, the Los Angeles County Public Works Department (LACPWD) is committed to an array of monitoring and mitigation measures.

Chambers Group has a long history with the LACPWD working on comprehensive biological surveying and monitoring in addition to water analysis and general environmental permitting. Briefly, biological surveying and monitoring has included: vegetation, fish, macroinvertebrates, birds, amphibians, reptiles, large mammals, stream characterization, and topography. As for water, Chambers Group conducted sampling for water quality analysis, and prepared annual reports to convey the results of the functional analysis to California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW), U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE).

In addition to ongoing work, weather events and site discoveries have led to emergency Chambers Group services as well. For example, removal of sediment is required to increase the carrying capacity of the San Gabriel Reservoir and protect the environment within the river. At a time when construction crews were mobilized, sediment removal activities were placed on hold by the agencies because thousands of federally-listed Santa Ana sucker fish and California Species of Special Concern (SSC) including Santa Ana speckled dace, arroyo chub, and rainbow trout could not be netted for relocation prior to construction. Idle construction crews would cost LACDPW an estimated $100,000 per day.

Chambers Group worked with the contractor to develop a plan to construct a stream flow dissipation area just upstream of the sediment dredging work site to allow the water flow to slow significantly to control the wildlife with nets without harm. On an emergency basis and within a few days, Chambers Group coordinated a meeting onsite with the CDFW and successfully obtained the necessary permits to relocate the wildlife and monitor construction under this plan, thus saving LACPWD millions of dollars of construction equipment stand-by time.

It’s this type of emergency problem solving combined with our legacy of staid service that defines the Chambers Group client experience.

Newport Boulevard Improvement

Newport Boulevard is the major artery leading into iconic Newport Beach. It experiences huge influxes of traffic especially at the 32nd Street and Newport Intersection. The City of Newport set out to improve and widen the 32nd/Newport Intersection by placing additional northbound and southbound lanes along Newport Boulevard, 6-foot-wide bike lanes along both sides of Newport Boulevard and putting in a public parking lot for 26 spaces on the west side of Newport Boulevard between 32nd Street and Finley Avenue.

Chambers Group worked closely both with the City’s Public Works Departments and an engineering consultant to prepare an Initial Study/Mitigated Negative Declaration (IS/MND) for the project. The IS/MND analyzed potential impacts associated with construction and operation of the proposed project, including consistency with the Newport Beach Coastal Land Use Plan. Chambers Group attended the City Council meeting to support the approval of the IS/MND. Chambers Group and the City of Newport Beach prepared a coastal development permit for submission to the California Coastal Commission as a condition of project approval. The coastal permit demonstrated that the project would not disrupt coastal access or impact coastal resources.

Ultimately, Chambers Group delivered the California Coastal Commission permit on time and on budget.

Orange County Streets

Southern California is notorious for street and highway traffic. As the heavily populated area continues to grow, many municipalities are eager to improve their streets and highways. Chambers Group has been supporting cities and private companies for decades as they continue to move private transportation in Southern California forward.

While Chambers Group has worked on dozens of streets and highway (link to 405 Project) improvement/widening projects, a highly trafficked project was recently completed for the City of Irvine.

Jamboree Road in the City of Irvine is an eight-lane major arterial roadway that runs parallel to State Route 55 (SR-55) freeway and major north-south connector to the City’s east-west major arterial roadways. In addition, Jamboree Road is a significant roadway to the City’s Irvine Business Complex (IBC) which is a major employment hub both for the City of Irvine and Orange County.  Stemming from the IBC Vision Plan, the City of Irvine sought to make numerous improvements to a 2,200 foot (0.4 mile) stretch of Jamboree including widening to provide additional travel lanes (primarily at the intersection of Jamboree Road and Main Street), traffic signal modifications, center median modifications, construction of a new retaining wall, utility modifications, parkway improvements, flood control channel widening, and private property modifications. Additionally, the City sought to mitigate a deficient traffic flow Level of Service through the intersection of Jamboree and Main by adding a fifth northbound and a fifth southbound lane on Jamboree Road between Interstate 405 northbound ramps and Kelvin Avenue.

To support this effort, Chambers Group prepared a Mitigated Negative Declaration (MND) for the environmental clearance and was responsible for the environmental technical reports/studies used in the preparation of the MND, which included aesthetics, air quality, biological resources, cultural resources, greenhouse gas emissions, land use/planning, noise, and public services and utilities. Chambers Group also produced The Project Report which included traffic flow analysis, construction staging, and environmental clearance.

Since completing this initial improvement project, the City of Irvine has since expanded its efforts to include a stretch of Jamboree extending 2,000 feet south of Main Street to approximately 2,000 feet north of Barranca Parkway. As with the previous improvement, this work was multifaceted with specific goals including construction of new pavement, curb and gutter, curb ramps, sidewalk, modified channelized island and driveway improvements.  Scope of work included a street improvement plan and profile, right-of-way engineering (mapping and legal descriptions), earthwork grading plans, landscape planting/irrigation plans, construction details, traffic striping plans, traffic control plans, utility coordination/mapping, and specifications and construction cost estimates. Chambers Group is currently preparing the MND for this project.

High Speed Rail

The highly ambitious and highly visible CHSR was officially funded in 2008 with the long-awaited Construction Package 1 (CP1) beginning in 2015. This $60+ billion-dollar project has been the subject of intense scrutiny both from the public and an array of agencies alike.

Chambers Group delivered the environmental documentation and permitting for the 32-mile stretch between Avenue 19 in Madera County to East American Avenue in Fresno County. This area includes 12 grade separations, 2 viaducts, 1 tunnel and a major river crossing over the San Joaquin River. Working with numerous agencies, construction providers and engineers, Chambers Group analyzed all relevant environmental documents and project actions for compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), National Environmental Protection Act (NEPA) and Section 106 of the National Historic Protection Act (NHPA) standards, as well as adherence to the guidelines prescribed in the Programmatic Agreement. Documents reviewed by Chambers Group include Archaeological Survey Reports, Historic Architecture Survey Reports, Conditions Assessment Reports, Historic American Engineering Records and Monthly Compliance Reports as well as both Archaeological and Built Environment Treatment Plans. Given the scale of the CP1 package, coordination with the signatories such as the State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO), the Federal Rail Authority (FRA) and local governments are implemented.

County of Imperial Renewable Energy PEIR

Imperial County, California has become one of the hotbeds of renewable energy development in not only the US but all the Western Hemisphere. The rush of geothermal, solar, and wind energy developers resulted in the need for an update to the Renewable Energy and Transmission Element. Chambers Group both updated the Renewable Energy and Transmission Element in addition to preparing a Programmatic Environmental Impact Report.

The updated Geothermal and Alternative Energy Element was based on the constraints and opportunities identified in an environmental baseline analysis covering the entire County, which was completed as the first phase of the update. Information was obtained in GIS format from a variety of local, state, and federal agencies and mapped for use in determining the most suitable locations within the County for the generation and transmission of energy from renewable resources.

Key issues that Chambers Group addressed included eliminating potential conflicts between the various renewable energy generation technologies and existing urban and community-developed areas, agricultural resources, protection of high-quality park and recreation areas, and conservation of sensitive cultural and biological resources. The task also included any required revisions to other General Plan Elements to assure internal consistency. The Element update also included a consistency analysis with the Land Use, Agricultural, Conservation and Open Space, Water, and the Seismic and Public Safety Elements. In addition, special attention was given to potential conflicts with adopted or proposed Natural Community Conservation Planning (NCCP) and Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP) programs, specifically the Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan (DRECP).

Finally, Chambers Group prepared a Programmatic EIR (PEIR) to accommodate the implementation of future renewable energy projects found to be in conformance with the Element. Individual future energy generation projects will be able to tier from the PEIR in a manner that will encourage the project to be located in suitable areas and will expedite approval for appropriately sited projects.

Chambers Group received awards at the state and local level from the Association of Environmental Professionals and American Planning Association.

I-405 Sepulveda Pass Widening

There is no more a central artery, or more trafficked freeway, than the 405 freeway in Southern California. Because of this, any attempt to repair or upgrade the 405 makes it a highly visible and scrutinized project. So, the Sepulveda Pass Widening was major news in California, being referred to as Carmageddon.

Chambers Group not only delivered environmental compliance monitoring for multiple construction crews on day and night shifts for this design-build contract, but we also developed a contractor education brochure to sensitize construction workers to environmental issues on the project. Staff conducted a formal jurisdictional delineation of the site in support of Clean Water Act (CWA) Sections 401, 402, and 404; and Division 2, Chapter 6, Sections 1600-1602 of the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) Code for U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) and Regional Water Quality Control Board (RWQCB) permits. Chambers Group conducted biological species monitoring, including sensitive plants, vegetation communities, native trees, nesting birds, bats (day/night), and sensitive species constraints mapping. Right-of-way for this project was on both sides of the freeway along the 10-mile segment. Chambers Group conducted a native tree survey and mapped native trees that may be impacted during construction (trees were replaced at a ratio of 5:1.) In addition, Chambers Group surveyed potential areas for nesting birds and bats, rating potential areas for the upcoming spring; helped maintain the construction schedule by recommending to perform a constraints analysis to provide data on areas with moderate to high potential for nesting birds and/or bats; installed exclusionary devices to prevent nesting during the nesting season; scheduled the vegetation removal in these areas and designated areas for geotechnical boring outside the nesting season to prevent future potential delays in the schedule. This was a robust scope as intended, but it wasn’t until nearly two years into the project that the Chambers Group role expanded dramatically.

At that time, CDFW ordered an immediate stop work on this project. This meant that the enormous efforts of so many different agencies and companies would meet a likely stall of several months, resulting in millions of dollars lost in stagnancy, not to mention any potential implications for the project itself.

In just four working days, Chambers Group coordinated agencies to develop a workaround. Responding with multiple senior staff working literally around the clock, a Habitat Mitigation/ Monitoring Plan (HMMP) was developed. In response, CDFW released the stop work order and allowed project-wide work to continue under the conditions outlined in the HMMP. All told, in a stretch of less than one working week, the massive Sepulveda Overpass Widening project went from regular operations to full stoppage and back to full resume. The work that Chambers Group provided saved the client several months of delayed construction and millions of dollars.

While Chambers Group knows that stopping a project is never planned, one of the pledges we are proud to make to our clients is to keep your project moving forward. Under the most time impacted and pressurized of circumstances; Chambers Group was able to keep this project moving ahead.

AT&T Victorville

Originally installed in 1988, the Fiber Optic Cable line route running from Victorville, CA to Las Vegas, NV crosses land owned and/or managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), the U.S. National Park Service (NPS), San Bernardino County (SBC), the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP), the Southern California Public Power Authority (SCPPA), the Intermountain Power Agency (IPA), the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway (ATSF), Union Pacific Railroad (UPRR), Caltrans Division of Right of Way and Land Surveys (Caltrans ROW), as well as private individuals and entities.

As AT&T tackled the monumental task of upgrading and replacing the line, and as any builder or telecom provider knows when they read that list, AT&T knew that every organization, agency, and individual had a host of interests and regulations unique to each. Failing at meeting one single regulation meant facing a grinding halt to the entire project.

To support the massive project, Chambers Group provided NEPA/CEQA services, compliance monitoring, wetlands delineations, construction monitoring and numerous mitigation services for both biological and cultural resources.

This meant that the effort to upgrade and replace segments of the 240-mile cable would mean satisfying a myriad of agencies: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW), Mojave Desert Air Quality Management District (MDAQMD), Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act(ESA), Sections 404 and 401 of the Clean Water Act (CWA), Porter-Cologne Clean Water Act, Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), Section 106 of National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA), and many more.

Chambers Group delivered on every environmental permit, survey, and monitoring item across the entire 200+ mile project. There were no stoppages, no inquiries, no delays.

Any project with such vast a project area is a test of on-the-ground field workers understanding of extraordinarily complicated regulations and their abilities to make decisions on the fly. While there is an extensive list of specific activities Chambers Group staff and management undertook in playing their part in keeping the Fiber Optic Cable Project moving forward, the story of this project is one of intricate project understanding and decisive problem solving at every level of Chambers Group staff.