UC MERCED AND MERCED COUNTY SUBMIT DRAFT COMPREHENSIVE ANALYSIS OF PROJECT CONFIGURATION

New Proposed Campus Configuration Best Achieves University Goals and Protects Regional Resources

Merced, CA -- The University of California, Merced and the County of Merced today submitted to permitting agencies a comprehensive draft analysis of 15 potential UC Merced campus and community configurations in eastern Merced County.

According to the analysis, which has not yet been finalized, locating the campus on the southwest corner of the Virginia Smith Trust [VST] lands near Lake Yosemite and developing the community south of the campus allows UC to meet its educational mission and accommodate environmentally sustainable growth in the County.

The proposed site, known as Alternative 6 [southwest alternative] in the document, represents a responsible and appropriate balancing of resource management and planning goals, including protection of sensitive wetlands and other species habitats, conservation and protection of the County's vital farmland and agricultural economy, planning for orderly growth in the north Merced area, and achievement of the University's and County's goals for improving educational opportunities for San Joaquin Valley students.

None of the other 14 sites evaluated in the analysis provided the opportunity for meeting important university and county objectives consistently with environmental needs.

The draft document was submitted to the US Army Corps of Engineers and the US Environmental Protection Agency, with copies to other state and federal agencies, for review and comment prior to preparation of applications for permits under the federal Clean Water Act.

Campus and community alternatives analyzed include configurations incorporating Bellevue Ranch and Castle Airport as well as several locations to the north, south, and east of the planned project site.

Federal law requires that any project affecting wetlands or waters of the United States be thoroughly analyzed to determine if any possible alternatives exist that might achieve the project purpose with fewer environmental impacts. To make this assessment, the draft analysis compares the extent to which the 15 potential alternatives allow for acceptable campus and community development in light of their environmental consequences.

Locating the campus on the southwest corner of the Virginia Smith Trust land and developing the community to the south of the campus proved to be the only option that achieved the project purpose with, on balance, the least resource impacts. The draft analysis shows that other potential sites fail to achieve the project purpose or result in substantially worse environmental consequences than the proposed southwest campus alternative. For example, the proposed project results in fewer total impacts to potential waters of the United States and other wetland habitats than the potential Bellevue site. It makes possible the fully functional and integrated campus and community development that would be precluded by the Castle Airport alternative.

Over the next several weeks, the draft alternatives assessment will be reviewed by federal and state environmental agencies. The University and the County will revise the draft following agency comment and begin preparing their application for permits under the Clean Water Act. The formal application is expected next year to facilitate the opening of UC Merced in fall, 2004.

The formal application process will be accompanied by significant opportunity for public comment.

[Special note to reporters and editors: The comprehensive alternatives document is several hundred pages in length and includes 99 maps. Due to its length and the complexities of the graphics associated, it will take some time for the document to become available on the web site. Large text files of portions of the document are available upon request via e-mail. To facilitate media interaction, viewing copies will be available as of noon today at UC Merced and in Sacramento. UC Merced: 1170 W. Olive, Suite I, Merced, CA 95348. Sacramento: EIP Associates, 1200 2nd street, Suite 200, Sacramento, CA 95814. Please call 209-724-4406 with any questions.]

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