T.F. Green Airport Improvement Program - FEIS Chapters - PVD

T.F. Green Airport Improvement ProgramEnvironmental Impact Statement and Final Section 4(f) EvaluationIn the absence of appropriate construction management practices, in-stream work has the potential to suspendsediments in the water column that could impact downstream aquatic habitats. The most susceptible aquatichabitats to sedimentation would be the Spring Green Pond Inlet stream, Upper Buckeye Brook adjacent at theconfluence with Spring Green Brook, and Lower Buckeye Brook between existing Airport Road and Lake ShoreDrive. Suspended sediments could be transported downstream to Warwick Pond where they would settle out ofthe water column and act to smother benthic habitat (habitat found at the bottom of a water body). This workcould obstruct river herring passage to Spring Green Pond which could affect populations of predator and preyspecies if conducted during migration periods. Construction management practices would prevent sedimentsfrom entering these water bodies.The installation of navigational aids associated with the Runway 23 End would require temporary disturbanceof a small segment of Upper Buckeye Brook and the Spring Green Pond Inlet stream to install utility cables.Approximately 20 linear feet of the Spring Green Pond Inlet Stream could be temporarily disturbed south ofLydick Avenue, and approximately 37 linear feet of Upper Buckeye Brook could be disturbed near theconfluence with Spring Green Brook. Any in-stream work required to install navigational aids would beconducted during low flow periods or completely avoided by directional drilling. Since these impacts would betemporary they are not reported for Alternative B2 in Table 5-121.5.12.5.2 Alternative B4Impacts during construction could include disturbance associated with equipment operating in and adjacent towildlife habitats. Wildlife utilization patterns that are disrupted during construction are often restored onceconstruction is complete. New navigational aids on Runway 16-34 will not be required under Alternative B4eliminating any temporary impacts associated with navigational aids installation at the Runway 34 End.Alternative B4 does not include construction activities within Buckeye Brook or Spring Green Brook that couldimpact fish passage through these streams.5.12.6 Cumulative ImpactsImpacts to aquatic and terrestrial biodiversity include direct loss of natural vegetation, the loss of wildlife andaquatic habitat, and indirect effects to wildlife communities from decreases in habitat size, and quality orincreases in fragmentation. In light of reported population declines, actions that potentially impact river herringor American eel habitat or passage are important to local and regional biodiversity. Cumulative, indirectimpacts to aquatic resources and water quality, and therefore to aquatic communities, include urbanization ofthe Buckeye Brook watershed and past land uses such as the Truk-Away Landfill. Land use changes include thedevelopment of large blocks of farmland and the loss of grassland through farmland abandonment andsuccession to forest. Pine barrens, which provide habitat for a number of Rhode Island rare species, were oncewidespread in Kent and Washington Counties in Rhode Island. 422 Under all alternatives, ongoing FAA-requiredvegetation management operations in the southeast corner of the Airport will continue to avoid a small pinebarren and a small (1.4 acres) remnant Atlantic white cedar stand south of Runway 34.422 Rhode Island’s Comprehensive Wildlife Conservation Strategy, Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management, Division of Fish and Wildlife, 2005.Chapter 5 - Environmental Consequences 5-235 July 2011\\mawatr\ev\09228.00\reports\FEIS_Final_July_2011\PVD_CH05_Environmental_Cons_JUL_2011.doc