Integrated Draft Feasibility & Environmental Impact Statement
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June 13, 2018 THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK Integrated Draft Feasibility Study and Environmental Impact Statement Pearl River Watershed, Hinds and Rankin Counties, MS Table of Contents EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ....................................................................................................... vii 1.0 INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................ 1 Purpose, Scope, and Need for the Study (NEPA Required) ................................. 5 Problem ................................................................................................................ 6 Need for Action .................................................................................................. 11 Project Authority ......................................................................................... 11 Opportunities ..................................................................................................... 15 Goals and Objectives .......................................................................................... 15 USACE Civil Works Guidance .............................................................................. 16 NEPA Re-Scoping Process ................................................................................... 16 2.0 AFFECTED ENVIRONMENT (NEPA REQUIRED) ....................................................... 19 General Setting ................................................................................................... 19 Watershed Characteristics .......................................................................... 19 Climate ........................................................................................................ 19 Precipitation ................................................................................................ 19 Topography and Physiography ................................................................... 19 Geology and Soils ........................................................................................ 20 Water Environment ............................................................................................ 20 Historical Flooding and Existing Conditions ................................................ 21 Future without-Project Conditions (No Action Alternative) ....................... 22 Completed Projects within the Study Area ........................................................ 27 Jackson and East Jackson Levees ................................................................ 27 Floodway Clearing Project .......................................................................... 29 Ross Barnett Reservoir (Non-Federal Project) ............................................ 30 Human Environment .......................................................................................... 32 Population and Housing .............................................................................. 33 Employment, Business, and Industrial Activity ........................................... 34 Rankin-Hinds Pearl River Flood and Drainage Control District Page | i Integrated Draft Feasibility Study and Environmental Impact Statement Pearl River Watershed, Hinds and Rankin Counties, MS Public Facilities and Services ....................................................................... 40 Tax Revenues and Property Values............................................................. 42 Community Cohesion .................................................................................. 44 Infrastructure .............................................................................................. 44 Transportation ............................................................................................ 46 Environmental Justice ................................................................................. 56 Natural Environment .......................................................................................... 58 Soils, Water Bodies, and Prime and Unique Lands ..................................... 58 Water Quality and Water Quantity ............................................................ 61 Vegetative Resources .................................................................................. 75 Wildlife Resources ...................................................................................... 77 Aquatic and Fisheries Resources ................................................................ 78 Essential Fish Habitat (EFH) ........................................................................ 79 Threatened and Endangered Species ......................................................... 80 Wetlands and “other waters of the U.S.” ................................................... 85 Cultural and Historic Resources .................................................................. 86 Recreational Resources ............................................................................... 87 Aesthetics and Visual Resources ................................................................. 88 Noise ........................................................................................................... 89 Air Quality ................................................................................................... 89 Hazardous, Toxic, and Radiological Waste (HTRW) .................................... 90 Cumulative Impacts for Future without Project Conditions .............................. 92 3.0 PLAN FORMULATION ............................................................................................. 95 Prior Studies ....................................................................................................... 96 Planning Constraints .......................................................................................... 97 Screening Criteria ............................................................................................... 97 Management Measures Considered and Screened (NEPA Required) ............. 101 Non-Structural Measures .......................................................................... 101 Structural Measures .................................................................................. 102 Rankin-Hinds Pearl River Flood and Drainage Control District Page | ii Integrated Draft Feasibility Study and Environmental Impact Statement Pearl River Watershed, Hinds and Rankin Counties, MS Initial Array of Alternatives (NEPA Required) .................................................. 103 Final Array of Alternatives (NEPA Required) .................................................... 109 No action (Future without-Project Condition) .......................................... 109 Alternative A (Non-Structural) .................................................................. 113 Alternative B (Levee Plan) ......................................................................... 117 Alternative C (Channel Improvement/Weir/Levee Plan) ......................... 121 Cost Estimates .................................................................................................. 125 Summary of Categories and Comparison of Alternatives ................................ 126 No Action Alternative................................................................................ 126 Alternative A ............................................................................................. 126 Alternative B ............................................................................................. 126 Alternative C ............................................................................................. 126 Cost Comparison ....................................................................................... 127 Identifying the Tentatively Selected Plan (TSP) ............................................... 127 4.0 AFFECTED ENVIRONMENT AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONSEQUENCES (NEPA REQUIRED) ............................................................................................................ 129 Direct, Indirect, and Cumulative Impacts......................................................... 129 Cumulative Impact Assessment Methodology ......................................... 131 Water Environments ........................................................................................ 132 Historical and Existing Conditions ............................................................. 132 Completed, Current, and Future Projects/Actions within the Study Area ...... 134 Completed Projects within the Study Area............................................... 134 Current Projects/Actions within the Study Area ...................................... 137 Future Projects/Actions within the Study Area ........................................ 139 Historical Sites within the Project Study Area .......................................... 139 Human Environment ........................................................................................ 145 Population and Housing ...........................................................................