San Francisco Bay Sand Mining Resource Evaluation and Impact Analysis

This paper presents results of the evaluation of potential future sand resources within certain Central San Francisco Bay (Central Bay) sand mining lease areas, as well as the potential impacts of further mining these areas for a ten-year period. The study consisted of morphological analysis using field measurements and hydrodynamic modeling, and covered a wide spectrum of physical processes including tidal and river circulation, salinity, sediment transport, and morphology. The study was conducted within the framework of an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) prepared by the California State Lands Commission (CSLC) as part of the discretionary approval process for issuing new mining leases. The results of the morphological analysis indicate a measurable depletion of sand resources in the Central Bay lease areas during the period 1997-2008, and that for the purposes of the proposed ten-year mining lease renewal, sand mining resources in Central Bay are largely limited to material already in place. The morphological analysis results also indicate that the proposed additional ten years of sand mining in the Central Bay lease areas are not likely to cause a significant impact on sediment transport and budgets in areas outside the vicinity of the lease areas, such as the San Francisco Bar, Ocean Beach, etc. Numerical modeling results, including particle tracking exercises, do indicate a net seaward transport of sand, and that a linkage exists between the mining areas and offshore areas (San Francisco Bar, Ocean Beach, etc). However, the modeling results demonstrate that the linkage is weak, and that any measurable changes in hydrodynamics, salinity and sediment transport/morphology caused by the mining activities are likely to be confined to the vicinity of the mining areas.