Appendix C Environmental Characteristics

Transcription

1 Appendix C Environmental Characteristics Introduction Appendix C contains a regional view of the variety of environmental characteristics in the 5-County Study area. It includes an inventory of water features, parks, protected areas, wetlands, farmland, fish, wildlife and environmentally sensitive areas. Recognized issues and needs throughout the area are identified through public input and current environmental planning documents. The final section explores the environmental constraints in the region. This section is not intended to be a detailed inventory of the environmental characteristics of the region, but instead insight into of each county s documents and plans. Inventory The 5-County Study area consists of a variety of resources and ecological features including grasslands, wetlands, woodlands, lowland forests, forests and water features. There are varying ways that the counties have chosen to inventory and recognize their natural resources in the planning process. Each county has a document that provides support and recognition to the importance of resources for public health and safety. The MARC has completed a regional Natural Resource Inventory (NRI) that recognizes the importance of conservation planning for Johnson, Leavenworth and Wyandotte counties. Douglas County is in the process of writing an Environmental Chapter for the Horizon 2020 Comprehensive plan with the purpose of identifying natural resources to create strategies and policies for conservation and management. In their 2004 Comprehensive Plan, Miami County recognized the importance of having policies to conserve and manage their environmental resources for public health and safety purposes. The recognition that the relationship between transportation, land use and the environment is an important and guides the documents created to oversee each county. Farmland, protected areas, species and air quality are indicators of the environmental quality of a region. Land with the ability to be farmed indicates the quality and availability of soil to support the regional farming economy. Protected areas are lands preserved for future generations. Threatened and endangered species are an indicator of the ecosystem habitats that exist in the region that need to be preserved. Air quality is an indication of the existing environmental conditions and the pollution output. These and other factors mapped below are indicators key to the economic and public health of the region. Figure C.1 displays the water features, parks and protected areas for the 5-County Study area. Figure C.2 displays a natural land cover inventory for Johnson, Leavenworth and Miami Counties. Figure C.3 displays a farmland inventory that is a characteristic of soil type and is not a reflection of current land use. 5-County Regional Transportation Study C-1

2 Figure C.1 Water Features, Parks and Protected Areas 5-County Regional Transportation Study C-2

3 Figure C.2 Natural Land Cover 5-County Regional Transportation Study C-3

4 Figure C.3 Prime Farmland 5-County Regional Transportation Study C-4

5 Threatened and Endangered Species Table C.1 displays the inventory of threatened and endangered species. Figure C.4 displays locations where these species have a known presence. Table C.1 Threatened and Endangered Species Inventory Species Common Name Category State Status Federal Status Bald Eagle Vertebrate Animal Threatened Blue Sucker Vertebrate Animal Candidate List Brassy Minnow Vertebrate Animal Candidate List Broadhead Skink Vertebrate Animal Threatened Butterfly Invertebrate Animal Threatened Cerulean Warbler Vertebrate Animal Candidate List Crawfish Frog Vertebrate Animal Candidate List Creeper Invertebrate Animal Candidate List Deertoe Invertebrate Animal Candidate List Eastern Spotted Skunk Vertebrate Animal Threatened Fatmucket Invertebrate Animal Candidate List Fawnsfoot Invertebrate Animal Candidate List Flathead Chub Vertebrate Animal Threatened Henslow's Sparrow Vertebrate Animal Candidate List Hornyhead Chub Vertebrate Animal Threatened Mead's Milkweed Vascular Plant Threatened Mucket Invertebrate Animal Endangered Pallid Sturgeon Vertebrate Animal Endangered Endangered Piping Plover Vertebrate Animal Threatened Threatened Plains Minnow Vertebrate Animal Candidate List Prairie Mole Cricket Invertebrate Animal Candidate List Redbelly Snake Vertebrate Animal Threatened River Shiner Vertebrate Animal Candidate List Rock Pocketbook Invertebrate Animal Threatened Round Pigtoe Invertebrate Animal Candidate List Sicklefin Chub Vertebrate Animal Endangered Smooth Earth Snake Vertebrate Animal Threatened Southern Bog Lemming Vertebrate Animal Candidate List Southern Flying Squirrel Vertebrate Animal Candidate List Spike Invertebrate Animal Candidate List Spring Peeper Vertebrate Animal Threatened Sturgeon Chub Vertebrate Animal Threatened Tadpole Madtom Vertebrate Animal Candidate List Wabash Pigtoe Invertebrate Animal Candidate List Wartyback Invertebrate Animal Candidate List Washboard Invertebrate Animal Candidate List Western Prairie Fringed Orch Vascular Plant Threatened Western Silvery Minnow Vertebrate Animal Threatened Yellow Sandshell Invertebrate Animal Candidate List Yellow-throated Warbler Vertebrate Animal Candidate List Source: Kansas Natural Heritage Inventory 5-County Regional Transportation Study C-5

6 Figure C.4 Critical Habitats 5-County Regional Transportation Study C-6

7 Air Quality The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is required to set National Ambient Air Quality standards (NAAQS) under the Clean Air Act. The standards are set for six criteria pollutants - commonly found air pollutants around the country. The pollutants include Carbon Monoxide (CO), Ground-level Ozone (O3), Lead (Pb), Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2), Particulate Matter (PM) and Sulfur Dioxide (SO2). Human health protection, including sensitive populations, regulates the development of setting primary standards for permissible limits. Secondary standards set limits to protect public welfare, visibility, vegetation, wildlife, crops and buildings. Reported pollutants are monitored to detect ranges above permissible limit standards. In the KC Metro, air quality standards are reported daily by SkyCast. These daily status alerts are displayed in Figure C.5 and Table C.2 and provide the AQI color, rating and recommended actions for public health safety. These values are reported as a value of Air Quality Index (AQI). An AQI value of 100 corresponds to the NAAQS set by the EPA. These classifications are available to the public and are reported as daily value estimates the ozone parts per billion (ppb). Figure C.5 SkyCast Daily Alert Scale Source: MARC SkyCast Source: MARC Air Quality (AQI Value ) Table C-2 Daily AQI and recommended actions Good (Healthy) Green (0-50) No health impacts expected. Moderate (Elevated Ozone Concentration) Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups (Ozone Alert) Unhealthy (Ozone Alert) Yellow (51-100) Orange ( ) Red ( ) Protect Your Health Sensitive people, such as those with respiratory ailments or allergies, should consider limiting prolonged outdoor exertion. Active children and adults, and people with respiratory disease, such as asthma, should limit prolonged outdoor exertion. Active children and adults, and people with respiratory disease, such as asthma, should avoid prolonged outdoor exertion; everyone else, especially children, should limit prolonged outdoor exertion. AirQ Actions Everyday Actions Everyday Actions Ozone Alert Actions Ozone Alert Actions 5-County Regional Transportation Study C-7

8 In March of 2009, the EPA tightened their daily limits on ground-level ozone to more adequately protect public health. The new national standard is 75 parts per billion (ppb). This lower standard is expected to increase the number of ozone alerts that occur. Displayed on Figure C.3 are five levels of health concern for air quality with their assigned color, AQI value, and pollution standards. Table C.3 Air Quality Index and 2008 Pollutant Standards AQI Good Moderate Source: The Kansas Department of Health and Environment From April 1 to July 19, 2009 the eight-hour ozone concentrations standard 84-ppb was exceeded once and the new 75 ppb standard was exceeded four times. During this same time period MARC issued 23 Yellow and three Orange SkyCasts. Within the Kansas City metropolitan area, Johnson and Wyandotte counties are the only locations to experiences days where minimum air quality standards set by the EPA are not met. In Kansas, this resulted in a non-attainment classification recommendation to the EPA from Governor Kathleen Sebelius in Spring 2009 for those two counties. The rest of the counties in the state of Kansas are currently meeting the air quality standards and are classified in the attainment category. The designation requires the area to develop a state implemented plan (SIP) under the Clean Air Act. The last SIP was submitted to the EPA December 31, The revised maintenance and emissions inventory covers 2003 to Sources of air pollution are categorized in four ways: point sources, area sources, on-road mobile sources and non-road mobile. On-road mobile sources are impacted by transit on the roadway. These factors can be affected by changing transportation policies. The SIP addresses plans to reduce different sources of air pollution; because of the continued non-attainment the plan will have to be continually updated with contingency measures to keep air pollution below the federal standards. In response to concerns that the 2008 standard is not protective of public health and the environment, the US EPA announced it would be reconsidering the 2008 standard. A timeline has been established by the US EPA for the reconsideration of NAAQS. Rulemaking for revised air quality standards will be considered during 2010 with the effective date for new 5-County Regional Transportation Study C-8 Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups Unhealthy Very Unhealthy AQI Value Pollutant Concentration Breakpoints PM hr ug/m PM hr ug/m CO 8 hr PPM SO2 24 hr PPM O3 8 hr PPM NO2 PPM

9 standards to go into effect being August State Implementation Plans indicating how KDOT will comply with the new standards will be due at the end of A possible redesignation of the Kansas City region would result in a need to further examine transportation strategies to reduce vehicle emissions. Social Equity Social equity in transportation is about access, opportunity, and fairness among various segments of the population. In particular, this involves examining how planning, operations and capital expenditures vary between such groups, as defined by income, race or geographic location. Social equity in transportation often involves examining how transportation policies and expenditures impact the transportation disadvantaged. In general, national transportation policies have supported the movement of households away from the older central cities and older suburban areas to newer suburban or exurban areas. Typically it is the medium or high income households that move outward. Often jobs have followed the higher income households and have also moved to the suburbs. A consequence from the pattern of transportation expenditures in suburban areas has been a result where groups of primarily poor, often minority households, must travel long distances from the central cities to jobs and services in the suburbs, often without the use of a private vehicle. Social equity involves looking at the costs and benefits of transportation expenditures and identifying whether these transportation decisions have had the same impact on each population group. The term Environmental Justice is the effort that is taken to examine if a particular project or program impacts a segment of the population disproportionately in terms of both negative impacts and benefits. The Environmental and Social Equity Working Group reviewed information related to income and race with respect to the location of KDOT highway transportation projects that are being constructed, designed or planned. Figure C.6 overlays these transportation projects with median household income. Figure C.7 shows the same transportation projects with racial characteristics. The graphics do not include information on maintenance or reconstruction projects. Issues & Needs Public Input was solicited from residents of each county; their comments are focused on protecting environmental conditions in their communities. Many of the comments reference specific locations or projects underway and the need to ensure protection and preservation of those areas as resources. Table C.4 displays each environmental comment and concern by county. 5-County Regional Transportation Study C-9

10 Figure C.6 Median Household Income and Transportation Projects 5-County Regional Transportation Study C-10

11 Figure C.7 Minority Population Percentage and Transportation Projects 5-County Regional Transportation Study C-11

12 Table C.4 Summary of Environmental Comments Water Protect water quality from runoff of our roadways. Air Reduce congestion and air pollution caused by transportation. Land Protect and preserve natural areas, wetlands, prime agricultural land and environmentally sensitive areas. Energy Encourage electric vehicle usage. Encourage transit use, biking, walking, and carpooling. Sustainability Enhance transit projects with sustainable design in the right of way. Sustainable designs could be helpful to improve air quality, water quality and carbon capture throughout the region. Provide increased funding to projects that reduce the regions carbon input. This would place an emphasis on transit, bike, pedestrians, and carpooling for energy efficiency. Reduce the need for transportation, use each mode to its best advantage, and make each mode energy efficient. Source: Public Input Sessions Opportunities and Potential Strategies for Planning The Environment and Social Equity Working Group provided the following input on transportation policies: In addition to the focus on mobility considerations for new projects, make sure community impacts and livability impacts are considered. o Connect people to jobs and services including health care and grocery stores o Provide funding support enabling multi-modal choices o Examine sustainability factors such as life-cycle costs when evaluating projects o Include examination of public health when considering environmental impacts o Consider the extent in which the transportation project would create jobs Consider social equity issues in project and program development. Transportation investments have been skewed toward the automobile. This results in difficulties for persons of low income to have access to needed destinations. Re-examine how to provide transit services o How better to serve lower density areas o Provide service that can better compete with automobile travel times o Increased service needs related to growing elderly population o Needs of rural residents accessing urban services o Need to support providing transportation to persons without access to an automobile 5-County Regional Transportation Study C-12

13 The Environment and Social Equity Working Group provided the following input regarding how best to expand the transportation system: Invest in a multi-modal system Improve health and recreation through a bicycle system Enhance the environment when making a transportation investment Expand the number of Park & Ride locations, making the system easier to change modes Consider social equity impacts early on in the planning process Involve environmental and environmental justice representatives in the planning process Avoid high priority natural resources when constructing a transportation project When considering the physical environment, high quality natural resources should be preserved. Each county in the 5-County area has a document that describes strategic policies for managing and preserving environmental resources. MARC uses the NRI to provide a regional framework for environmental planning. Miami and Douglas Counties each use their own plans as mechanisms to regulate environmental planning decisions. Planning decisions should take environmental characteristics into consideration. Protecting and preserving the variety of conditions in the region is important to maintaining the ecosystems that exist within the region. 5-County Regional Transportation Study C-13