Constellation OCT 17 2014 Solar App2.Pdf
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ATTACHMENT A Perryman Solar Project Application for Certification of Public Convenience and Necessity Environmental Review Document Constellation Solar MC, LLC 1005 Brandon Shores Road Baltimore, Maryland 21226 Prepared by: 6410 Southpoint Parkway Jacksonville, Florida 32216 ECT No. 140539-0200 October 2014 Table of Contents Table of Contents Section Page 1.0 Introduction and Summary 1-1 1.1 Project Overview 1-1 1.1.1 The Applicant 1-1 1.1.2 Proposed Perryman Solar Project 1-1 1.1.3 Existing Units 1-3 1.2 Permits and Approvals 1-3 1.3 Linear Facilities 1-7 2.0 Description of the Site and Adjacent Areas 2-1 2.1 Site Location and Description 2-1 2.2 Biophysical Environment 2-8 2.2.1 Air Resources 2-8 2.2.2 Geohydrology 2-10 2.2.2.1 Hydrogeologic Setting 2-10 2.2.2.2 Aquifer Descriptions 2-11 2.2.2.3 Local Groundwater Wells 2-15 2.2.3 Surficial Hydrology 2-15 2.2.4 Ecology 2-18 2.2.4.1 Methods for Characterizing Baseline Ecology 2-18 2.2.4.2 Baseline Description of Facility Site and Vicinity 2-23 2.2.5 Noise 2-58 2.3 Cultural Resources 2-64 2.3.1 Historical and Archaeological Sites 2-66 2.3.1.1 Previous Historical and Archaeological Site Investigations and Known Sites 2-66 2.3.1.2 Field Study Findings on the Perryman Site 2-66 Y:\GDP-14\PRYMN\CPCNERD_FM.DOCX—101514 i CPCN ERD Perryman Solar Project Table of Contents (Continued, Page 2 of 4) Section Page 2.3.2 Perryman Historic District 2-73 2.3.3 Maryland Heritage Areas Authority 2-75 2.3.4 Land Use and Zoning 2-75 2.3.4.1 Land Use 2-75 2.3.4.2 Zoning 2-79 2.3.4.3 Chesapeake Bay Critical Area 2-79 2.3.4.4 Agricultural Resources 2-79 2.3.4.5 Open Space Areas 2-82 2.3.4.6 Visual Quality 2-82 3.0 Facility Description 3-1 3.1 Overall Project Description 3-1 3.2 Project Design and Operational Features 3-2 3.2.1 Site Layout 3-2 3.2.2 Electrical Interconnection Facilities 3-5 3.2.3 Water Use and Wastewater Systems 3-5 3.2.4 Onsite Drainage and Stormwater Management 3-5 3.2.4.1 Construction Stormwater Runoff Control 3-7 3.2.4.2 Operations Stormwater Management 3-7 3.2.5 Solid and Hazardous Wastes 3-8 3.3 Rationale for Site Selection and Facility Conceptual Design 3-8 3.3.1 Site Selection Alternatives 3-9 3.3.2 Facility Conceptual Design Alternatives 3-9 3.4 Impacts to State Economics 3-9 3.5 Project Effect on Electric System Stability and Reliability 3-9 3.6 Features of Required Electric System Upgrades 3-10 3.7 Project Construction Schedule and Plan 3-11 3.7.1 Schedule 3-11 3.7.2 Construction Sequence and Methodology 3-11 3.7.3 Staffing 3-12 3.7.4 Expected Construction Traffic 3-12 Y:\GDP-14\PRYMN\CPCNERD_FM.DOCX—101514 ii Table of Contents Table of Contents (Continued, Page 3 of 4) Section Page 4.0 Effects on Site Preparation and Facility Construction 4-1 4.1 Impacts to Air Quality 4-1 4.1.1 Emissions Sources 4-1 4.1.2 Emissions Control Measures and Potential Impacts 4-2 4.2 Impacts to Groundwater 4-2 4.3 Impacts to Surface Water 4-3 4.4 Impacts to Ecological Resources 4-3 4.4.1 Vegetation 4-3 4.4.2 Wetlands and Streams 4-7 4.4.3 Wildlife 4-7 4.5 Impacts to Noise 4-7 4.6 Impacts to Socioeconomics and Land Use 4-8 4.6.1 Socioeconomics 4-10 4.6.2 Land Use 4-10 4.6.3 Public Services and Facilities 4-10 4.6.3.1 Transportation 4-10 4.6.3.2 Solid Waste 4-10 4.6.3.3 Population-Related Indirect Services 4-11 4.6.4 Cultural Resources 4-11 4.6.5 Aesthetics 4-11 5.0 Effects on Facility Operation 5-1 5.1 Impacts to Air Quality 5-1 5.2 Impacts to Groundwater 5-1 5.3 Impacts to Surface Water 5-1 5.4 Impacts to Ecological Resources 5-2 5.5 Impacts to Noise 5-2 5.6 Impacts to Land Use and Socioeconomics 5-2 5.6.1 Land Use 5-2 5.6.2 Solid Waste 5-3 Y:\GDP-14\PRYMN\CPCNERD_FM.DOCX—101514 iii CPCN ERD Perryman Solar Project Table of Contents (Continued, Page 4 of 4) Section Page 5.6.3 Cultural Resources 5-3 5.6.4 Aesthetics 5-3 APPENDIX—AGENCY CORRESPONDENCE Y:\GDP-14\PRYMN\CPCNERD_FM.DOCX—101514 iv List of Tables List of Tables Table Page 1-1 Applicable CPCN Information Filing Requirements for Construction or Modification of Non-Utility Generating Stations 1-4 1-2 Perryman Solar Project Summary of Other Required State, Federal, and Local Permits and Approvals 1-8 2-1 Generalized Description of Harford County Coastal Plain Geology 2-12 2-2 Perryman Site Soils—Harford County Area, Maryland 2-14 2-3 Land Use and Vegetation Communities on the Perryman Site 2-25 2-4 Vegetation Species on the Perryman Site 2-27 2-5 Reptiles and Amphibians Likely to Occur in Harford County, Maryland 2-46 2-6 Birds Observed on the Perryman Site* 2-47 2-7 Mammals Likely to Occur in Harford County, Maryland 2-50 2-8 Threatened and Endangered Species Present in Harford County, Maryland 2-55 2-9 Typical Residual Sound Levels in Residential Communities 2-65 4-1 Perryman Solar Site Pre- and Postconstruction Acreages of Land Cover Types 4-6 4-2 Construction Equipment Maximum Instantaneous Noise Levels 4-9 Y:\GDP-14\PRYMN\CPCNERD_FM.DOCX—101514 v CPCN ERD Perryman Solar Project List of Figures Figure Page 1-1 Regional Site Location 1-2 2-1 General Site Location 2-2 2-2 Site/Area Features Map 2-3 2-3 Site and Local Area Roads and Other Features 2-4 2-4 Site and Surrounding Area Topography 2-5 2-5 Aerial Photograph of Site and Vicinity 2-6 2-6 Close Up Aerial Photograph of Site 2-7 2-7 Soils Map 2-13 2-8 Location of Geologic Sections 2-16 2-9 Aerial Photograph of Surface Water Resources 2-17 2-10 High-Quality Tier II Waters 2-19 2-11 Primary Study Area 2-22 2-12 Vegetation/Land Use Map 2-24 2-14 DNR Wetlands in Site Vicinity 2-41 2-15 NWI Wetlands in Site Vicinity 2-42 2-16 Wetlands of Special State Concern in Site Vicinity 2-43 2-17 Wetland Limits 2-44 2-18 FIDS (Potential Habitat) in Site Vicinity 2-53 2-19 Sensitive Species Review Areas in Site Vicinity 2-54 2-20 No Natural Heritage Areas in Site Vicinity 2-59 2-21 DNR-Owned Lands in Site Vicinity 2-60 2-22 National Estuarine Research Reserve Project Areas in Site Vicinity 2-61 2-23 2009 Submerged Aquatic Vegetation in Site Vicinity 2-62 Y:\GDP-14\PRYMN\CPCNERD_FM.DOCX—101514 vi List of Figures List of Figures (Continued, Page 2 of 2) Figure Page 2-24 Common Sounds in A-Weighted dBA Units 2-63 2-25 Harford County Historic Preservation Map 2-67 2-26 Prehistoric Archaeological Sites on the Perryman Site 2-68 2-27 Historic Period Sites on the Perryman Site 2-71 2-28 Approximate Limits of the Perryman Historic District 2-74 2-29 Approximate Location of the Lower Susquehanna Heritage Area 2-76 2-30 Harford County Development Envelope 2-77 2-31 Harford County Land Use Map 2-78 2-32 Harford County Zoning Map 2-80 2-33 CBCAs in Site Vicinity 2-81 2-34 Harford County Agricultural Land Designations 2-83 2-35 Natural Areas and Recreation Facilities in the Vicinity of the Perryman Site 2-84 3-1 General Layout of Existing and Proposed Solar Facility 3-3 3-2 Detailed Layout of Existing and Proposed Solar Facility 3-4 3-3 Photograph of the Mount Saint Mary’s Generating Clean Horizons Solar Farm 3-6 4-1 Vegetation/Land Use Impact Map 4-4 4-2 Impact Map with Aerial 4-5 Y:\GDP-14\PRYMN\CPCNERD_FM.DOCX—101514 vii CPCN ERD Perryman Solar Project List of Acronyms and Abbreviations 7Q10 7-day, 10-year AAQS ambient air quality standards AC alternating current APG Aberdeen Proving Ground AQI air quality index AST aboveground storage tank BGE Baltimore Gas and Electric Company CBCA Chesapeake Bay Critical Area cfs cubic foot per second COMAR Code of Maryland Regulations ComEd Commonwealth Edison Constellation Constellation, an Exelon Company CPCN Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity CSMC Constellation Solar MC, LLC CT combustion turbine dBA A-weighted decibel DC direct current ECT Environmental Consulting & Technology, Inc. EPA U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ERD environmental review document ESA Endangered Species Act ESE Environmental Science and Engineering, Inc. FERC Federal Energy Regulatory Commission FIDS forest interior-dwelling species ft foot ft bls foot below land surface ft/day foot per day ft/yr foot per year GE General Electric GIS geographic information system gpm gallon per minute gps global positioning system Hertz Hz HPA habitat protection area HRSG heat recovery steam generator I-95 Interstate 95 KAS Karell Archaeological Services kV kilovolt Leq average noise level MDE Maryland Department of the Environment MDNR Department of Natural Resources MGD million gallons per day MGS Maryland Geological Survey MHAA Maryland Heritage Areas Authority MHT Maryland Historic Trust mi2 square mile Y:\GDP-14\PRYMN\CPCNERD_FM.DOCX—101514 viii List of Acronyms and Abbreviations List of Acronyms and Abbreviations (Continued, Page 2 of 2) MVT medium-voltage transformer MW megawatt NAAQS national ambient air quality standards NERC North American Electric Reliability Council NHP National Heritage Program NPDES National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System NRHP National Register of Historic Places NWI National Wetlands Inventory PECO Philadelphia Electric Company PM2.5 particulate matter less than or equal to 2.5 micrometers PPRP Power Plant Research Program Project Perryman Solar Project PSC Public Service Commission PUA Public Utilities Article PV photovoltaics RCA Resource Conservation Area RFC Reliability First Corporation SCD Soil Conservation District SWM stormwater management USACE U.S.