City of Beaumont Stream Gage Installation Project
Summary
SCH Number
2026060004
Public Agency
City of Beaumont
Document Title
City of Beaumont Stream Gage Installation Project
Document Type
NOE - Notice of Exemption
Received
Posted
6/1/2026
Document Description
The City of Beaumont seeks to increase the beneficial use of its treated wastewater that is currently being discharged to Cooper’s Creek. To support this effort, the City prepared the Cooper’s Creek and San Timoteo Creek (CCSTC) Habitat Characterization and Sustainability Report. The purpose of the report was to inform strategies for reducing recycled water discharges and to prepare an Adaptive Management and Mitigation Plan (AMMP) for riparian habitat along Cooper’s Creek and San Timoteo Creek that could be impacted by reduced flows.
The City is presently pursuing analysis and implementation of reducing its discharge of treated wastewater (i.e. recycled water) from the Beaumont wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) to Cooper’s Creek, and divert that water for other beneficial uses discussed below.
The CCSTC Habitat Characterization and Sustainability Report (Phase 1 Report) identified the need for a baseline monitoring program for information gathering purposes, and the need for surface water monitoring (stage, flow, temperature, and specific conductance [SC]) was identified. The high-frequency flow, temperature, and SC data will provide a more comprehensive understanding of the long-term and short-term trends in surface water flow downstream of the WWTP and help understand surface water conditions in response to storms and discharges from the Beaumont WWTP. The high-frequency data will also help discern groundwater and surface water interactions downstream of the WWTP. The project proposes a total of 4 new stream gages located at the locations described under project locations, above.
Contact Information
Name
Thaxton Van Belle
Agency Name
City of Beaumont
Job Title
Director of Water Reclamation
Contact Types
Lead/Public Agency / Parties Undertaking Project
Phone
Email
Location
Coordinates
Cities
Beaumont
Counties
Riverside
Regions
Southern California
Parcel #
424010007, 413380004
Railways
Union Pacific
Waterways
Cooper's Creek, San Timoteo Creek
Other Location Info
STC-01: 33.972931º, -117.085200º
STC-02: 33.941267º, -117.017003º
YVWD-A: 33.986681º, -117.134239º
Notice of Exemption
Exempt Status
Categorical Exemption
Type, Section or Code
15306
Reasons for Exemption
The proposed City of Beaumont Stream Gage Installation Project meets the criteria for a Class 6 Categorical Exemption (15306). Class 6 consists of “Information Collection,” outlined under Section 15306 of the State CEQA Guidelines. Class 6 exemptions consist of “basic data collection, research, experimental management, and resource evaluation activities which do not result in a serious or major disturbance to an environmental resource. These may be strictly for information gathering purposes, or as part of a study leading to an action which a public agency has not yet approved, adopted, or funded.” The Class 6 Criteria that is met by this project is that the proposed project would consist of data collection that would not result in serious or major disturbance to an environmental resource, and the data collected from this project would be used as part of a study leading to an action which a public agency has not yet approved, adopted, or funded. The City of Beaumont Stream Gage Installation Project has been evaluated against the Categorical Exemption exceptions, and does not fall under any exception based on the lack of historical, archaeological, and scenic resources within the stream gage sites, and that no hazardous waste sites are located in the vicinity of the project, and no cumulative or significant effects are anticipated to occur as a result of project implementation. The project activities have been determined not to have a potential to cause significant adverse environmental effects. Therefore, this proposed project is not expected to result in significant adverse environmental impacts and meets the criteria for a Class 6 Categorical Exemption (15306).
County Clerk
Riverside
Attachments
Notice of Exemption
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