Salt Lake City International Airport Terminal Redevelopment ...

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Floodplains
The project area is located outside regulated floodplains. The proposed terminal
redevelopment would add 60 acres of impervious surface, which would increase the
amount of impervious surface at the Airport by 4.7 percent. This increase is within the water
discharge quantity permitted for the Airport and could be accommodated by the existing
storm drainage facilities; therefore, no impact to floodplain capacity is expected.
Wetlands
Although wetlands are present at and adjacent to the Airport, the proposed terminal
redevelopment would not directly or indirectly affect wetlands. The proposed
redevelopment would include three areas, totaling 60 acres, that are not already paved or
otherwise developed. The 2005 delineation of the Airport’s wetlands (SLCDA, 2005)
included a survey of the project area, generally the area between Runways 16R/34L and
16L/34R, because the area had been disturbed during previous Airport expansion, resulting
in modified wetlands hydrology and soils. In approving this document, the U.S. Army
Corps of Engineers did not suggest revisiting this area. As noted previously, the Proposed
Action would not materially alter the quality or volume of water flowing from the Airport
into the surrounding waterways. Therefore, the Proposed Action would not indirectly affect
wetlands adjacent to the Airport.
Biotic Resources
The FAA Desk Reference (FAA, 2007a) defines “biotic resources” as the types of flora
(plants) and fauna (for example, fish, birds, reptiles, amphibians, marine mammals, and
coral reefs) in a particular area. The term also includes rivers, lakes, wetlands, forests,
upland communities, and other habitat types supporting the flora and the aquatic and avian
fauna. The project area is largely paved or otherwise developed, and contains little or no
natural vegetation and limited landscaped vegetation. Although the new terminal complex
would require paving about 60 acres of currently undeveloped area, this area has been
graded and is surrounded by active aircraft movement areas and/or roadways.
Federally Listed Endangered or Threatened Species
The factors limiting the potential impacts to biotic resources from the alternatives under
consideration also limit their potential effects on federally listed endangered or threatened
species. As stated above, the project area is largely paved or otherwise developed, and
contains little or no natural vegetation and limited landscaped vegetation. In addition, the
project area does not contain federally designated critical habitat for any listed species.
Hazardous Materials
A records review conducted through Environmental Data Research, Inc., identified six
incidents involving hazardous waste in the project area. All but one record have been closed
by regulatory agencies. The one open incident involves the 1993 closure of a rental car
company’s leaking underground storage tank near the proposed rental car QTA facility.
Contaminated soil was removed, but residual groundwater contamination could remain at
the site, so the record continues to be administered by the Utah Department of
Environmental Quality (UDEQ), Division of Environmental Response and Remediation.
Contractors excavating soils near this one site could encounter low amounts of soil
RDD/102790005 (NLH4349.DOCX)
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