Project Information

Executive Summary

Final PEIR Main Document

Final PEIR Addendum

Appendix A: NOP Scoping Report

Appendix B: Town of Paradise 1994 General Plan Resolution and Amendments

Appendix C: Regulatory Framework

Appendix D: Emissions Modeling

Appendix E: Vegetation Community Descriptions and Special-Status Species Accounts

Appendix F: Swainson’s Hawk Survey and Elderberry Shrub Mapping Report

Appendix G: Tribal Consultation

Appendix H: Pump Station Energy Consumption Calculation

Appendix I: Public Comments and Responses on Draft PEIR

Final PEIR Notice of Determination

Executive Summary

Chapters 1-7

Appendix A: NOP Scoping Report

Appendix B: Town of Paradise 1994 General Plan Resolution and Amendments

Appendix C: Regulatory Framework

Appendix D: Emissions Modeling

Appendix E: Vegetation Community Descriptions and Special-Status Species Accounts

Appendix F: Swainson’s Hawk Survey and Elderberry Shrub Mapping Report

Appendix G: Tribal Consultation

Appendix H: Pump Station Energy Consumption Calculation

Notice of Availability / Public Notice

Public Scoping Notice of Preparation

Public Scoping Notice (Enterprise Record & Paradise Post)

Draft PEIR Notice of Availability

Draft PEIR Notice of Availability and Public Meeting

Final PEIR Notice of Determination

Fact Sheet

Draft PEIR Public Meeting Display Boards

Town Council Final PEIR Meeting Presentation

Public Scoping Summary Report

In 2023, a rate analysis was performed that concluded that the Paradise Sewer Project needed to be entirely grant funded in order to be financially feasible for the rate payers. After completing the Basis of Design Report in 2024, the cost estimate for the Regionalization Project with input from the design engineer and contractor exceeded the amount of publicly available grant funds for projects of this nature. As a result of these reports and discussions with the State Water Board, it was determined that it is not financially feasible to proceed with the project with the regionalization option. In August 2025, Town Council made the decision to change the scope of analysis from a Regionalized Sewer System to a Local Wastewater Treatment Facility (WWTF).

Town staff are currently evaluating options for the WWTF location, in partnership with the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board. Location selection will be dependent on several factors including treated effluent disposal, residuals management, land availability, and environmental impacts.

Professional studies from industry experts in every decade since 1980 have been completed and all essentially come to the same conclusion: the Town is running out of time. It is inevitable that the continual degradation of groundwater quality, and exceedance of soil capacities to absorb and treat high volumes of wastewater will require action on behalf of the Town and its constituents. Please see below for a quick recap of the various studies that have been conducted to date.

2020 HDR Phase 1 Executive Summary

2020 Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board Alternatives Analysis

2017 Final Feasibility Report

2017 Fact Sheet

2012 TOP Wastewater Treatment Historical Background and Comparative Analysis

2010 TOP Wastewater Treatment & Collection System Feasibility Study for the Downtown Community Cluster System

2004 TOP Downtown Revitalization Area Clustered Wastewater Treatment System(s) Master Plan

2000 TOP Downtown Revitalization Master Plan

1992 TOP Wastewater Collection, Treatment and Disposal Preliminary Design Report – Volume 1

1992 TOP Wastewater Collection, Treatment and Disposal Preliminary Design Report – Volume 2

1989 TOP Sewer Project Feasibility Study

1985 TOP Wastewater Management Plan Phase II Report

1984 TOP Wastewater Management Study Supplementary Phase I Report

1983 TOP Wastewater Management Study Phase I Report

The Paradise Sewer Project Ad Hoc Committee was formed in January 2025 with the goal to increase project momentum while keeping the public apprised of project progress. The Ad Hoc Committee meets biweekly with the project team to assess opportunities and potential action. Mayor Steve Crowder and Councilmember Heidi Lange were appointed to the Sewer Project Ad Hoc Committee in January 2025. Additionally, Sewer Project updates are given monthly at Town Council meetings.

Since 2015, the Town has held 65+ public discussions on the project in order to share information and allow for public comment. To learn more about these past meetings, click here.

The Town held a community meeting about the project on March 5, 2025, at 6 p.m. To view a recording of the meeting, click here.

The Town held two Special Town Council meetings about the project with opportunities for public comment on July 24, 2025, and August 14, 2025. To view recordings of these meetings, click here.

Phase 1 of the Core Collection System has been sized to maximize the Collection System footprint using grant funding already secured. Future phases of the Core Collection System will be designed and constructed based on securing additional funding. Generally, the Collection System, if approved, would start in the southwest part of Town and expand northward and eastward.

The sequencing of collection system construction is not yet established other than design of the Core Collection System has been prioritized. Based on future planning and funding, the Town will receive input regarding continued prioritization. It is possible for parts of the Extended Collection System to be advanced at the same time as the Core Collection System; however, design and a project-level environmental clearance would be completed prior to implementation, likely tiered to this programmatic environmental review.

The project is being sized to serve the downtown corridor of Paradise, termed the Sewer Service Area (SSA). Generally speaking, the SSA may include parcels along Skyway, Pearson Road and Clark Road. The Subsequent PEIR is being prepared to construct the SSA through a phased approach as well as an expanded service area in other areas of Town. The latter expanded collection system is addressed in a programmatic level of analysis at this time. Scalability is a major priority to meet the needs of the Town now and into the future, so there may be possibilities to phase implementation of the original SSA including potentially expanding the SSA as funding becomes available. 

The proposed sewer system will function better with more initial flow. Therefore, the Paradise Town Council has directed staff to find a way to quickly connect as many parcels within the SSA as possible, at the lowest possible cost. However, no rules or requirements for connecting have yet been established. One option would be to develop a program that incentivizes or subsidizes early connections. The Town will continue to develop this approach as the project advances.

The Town lost 83 percent of its residents during the Camp Fire in 2018. As the Town builds back and re-establishes its pre-fire population level, the project will support the recovery of housing and economic activity within the SSA. Any inducement of the population growth that might occur as a result of the Proposed Project in the shorter term would be a return and/or regrowth and repopulation toward pre-fire levels. Any growth beyond pre-fire levels that could occur in the longer term would be consistent with the Town of Paradise 2022-2030 Housing Element Update. This growth would be limited by the current boundaries of the Town and the capacity of the Proposed Project infrastructure. In either case, implementation of the Proposed Project would not, in and of itself, cause the growth, but it would accommodate regrowth, eliminating an obstacle to planned growth within the Town.

The current Phase 1 of the project will roughly cost $114 million, which includes design and right-of-way procurement along with some contingency for inflation. The Town has secured sufficient grant funding to cover the cost of constructing the Paradise Sewer Project Phase 1 in order to minimize financial impacts on existing property owners within the SSA. More information on construction costs and connection fees will be available as the project progresses.

The Town is pursuing a number of potential funding sources to fund design, right-of-way efforts, and construction. Potential funding sources include:

• A state appropriation (working in conjunction with the Town and the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board)
• U.S. Department of Agriculture, Rural Development funds
• California Department of Housing and Community Development, Community Development Block Grants – Disaster Relief (CDBG-DR)
• U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA)
• U.S Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) 

• U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE)

Construction for the Phase 1 is currently estimated to begin in 2028 through late 2029.

The Progressive Design Build contract was terminated per direction from Town Council in August 2025. The design of the collection system will continue under a design-bid-build approach that is appropriate for the smaller project scope to encourage competitive construction bids.

The Town considered the following criteria when identifying viable sites for the proposed WWTF:

• Located near the southwestern part of town in order to receive gravity-fed wastewater flows
• Include a minimum parcel size of 25 acres
• Be either currently for sale or be owned by a property owner that is willing to sell
• Be in proximity to a surface water discharge location
• Majority of the site is on a relatively flat terrain

The Town is evaluating multiple potential sites for a WWTF. Several parcels have been identified for consideration based on size, location and suitability.

Property owners who sign a right-of-entry will allow access for visual inspections and minor, non-invasive field work (such as wetland delineation). Crews will gather information needed to prepare the Draft PEIR. Data will be used to help compare potential locations before any final decisions are made.

Participation is voluntary. Signing the right-of-entry simply grants permission for limited access to gather environmental and site data. No permanent decisions are made at this stage. Signing does not transfer ownership or commit property owners to sell their land. If, in the future, the property is considered for acquisition, a separate process would occur, including independent appraisal and fair compensation.

The results of the subsurface investigations are needed to advance design and inform the potential impacts of those explorations in the overall project CEQA and NEPA documents. While the proposed borings and potholing needed to complete inform facility siting and layout will avoid known sensitive features, such as wetlands and waters, known cultural and sensitive habitat, etc., an environmental review is needed and will be reviewed with approval of the Town Council before work can commence.

If the project is approved, contract documents for construction of the Core Collection System will have limitations on the length of open trench allowed adjacent to businesses to limit disruptions. Other construction alternatives to limit disruption (e.g., night work, trenchless construction) will be considered and evaluated during the design phase.