Madera City Council on Wednesday adopted a mitigated negative declaration and mitigation monitoring and reporting program for a proposed Northeast water storage tank, booster pump station and transmission main project.

Community Development Director Will Tackett told the council the project (city project W‑T‑001, State Clearinghouse No. 2025090413) would include a 2.5 million‑gallon storage tank and related facilities on roughly 2.89 acres in unincorporated Madera County and a transmission main of approximately 2.5 miles that crosses both city and county boundaries to connect to City Well No. 38.

Tackett said the initial study identified potentially significant impacts but that mitigation measures — including preconstruction biological surveys, avoidance and worker training for biological resources, and protocols for tribal/cultural and paleontological discoveries — would reduce effects to less‑than‑significant levels. He noted one substantive comment from the California Department of Fish and Game regarding a nearby MID canal and said the project proposes a jack‑and‑bore method under the canal to avoid bank impacts.

“Mitigation measures were incorporated for biological resources due to the possibility to encounter special‑status species,” Tackett said, and staff recommended the council adopt the mitigated negative declaration and the associated mitigation monitoring and reporting program.

There was no public comment on the item and the council moved to adopt the resolution approving the mitigated negative declaration. The motion passed unanimously.

The approval clears the city to proceed to final design, permitting and related work; Tackett said the staff report includes responses to the Fish and Game comment and that no additional mitigation measures were required at this time. The project has preliminary planning for two future phases: an additional storage tank (phase 2) and later discharge capacity expansions to meet demand.

Next steps include final design and the permitting process noted in the staff report.