Owner Outreach and (Mitigation) Design of Priority Hudson River Estuary Biologically Important Barriers Photo credits: NYSDEC Hudson River Estuary Program December 21, 2016 This document was prepared for the Hudson River Estuary Program, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, in cooperation with the New England Interstate Water Pollution Control Commission. The viewpoints expressed here do not necessary represent those of NEIWPCC or NYS DEC, nor does mention of trade names, commercial products, or causes constitute endorsement or recommendation for use. ©2016 The Chazen Companies Owner Outreach and (Mitigation) Design of Priority Hudson River Estuary Biologically Important Barriers December 21, 2016 Prepared by: Chazen Engineering, Land Surveying & Landscape Architecture Co., D.P.C. 21 Fox Street Poughkeepsie, NY 12601 (845) 454-3980 Capital District Office North Country Office Central New York Office Nashville, TN Office (518) 273-0055 (518) 812-0513 (315) 251-1013 (615) 783-1628 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. COPY OR REPRODUCTION OF THIS DRAWING OR DOCUMENT, OR ANY PORTION THEREOF, WITHOUT THE EXPRESS WRITTEN PERMISSION OF CHAZEN ENGINEERING, LAND SURVEYING & LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE CO., D.P.C. IS PROHIBITED. THIS DRAWING OR DOCUMENT IS NOT INTENDED OR REPRESENTED TO BE SUITABLE FOR ANY PURPOSE OTHER THAN THE SPECIFIC PROJECT, APPLICATION AND SITUATION FOR WHICH IT WAS INTENDED. ANY MODIFICATION OF THIS DRAWING OR DOCUMENT, OR ANY USE FOR ANY PROJECT, APPLICATION OR SITUATION OTHER THAN THAT FOR WHICH IT WAS INTENDED, WILL BE AT USER’S SOLE RISK AND WITHOUT LIABILITY TO CHAZEN ENGINEERING, LAND SURVEYING & LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE CO., D.P.C. IT IS A VIOLATION OF NEW YORK STATE EDUCATION LAW FOR ANY PERSON TO ALTER THIS DRAWING OR DOCUMENT IN ANY WAY, UNLESS HE OR SHE IS ACTING UNDER THE DIRECTION OF A LICENSED DESIGN PROFESSIONAL (PROFESSIONAL ENGINEER, LAND SURVEYOR, ARCHITECT OR LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT). IF THIS DRAWING OR DOCUMENT IS ALTERED, THE ALTERING DESIGN PROFESSIONAL SHALL AFFIX TO THE DRAWING OR DOCUMENT HIS OR HER SEAL, THE NOTATION “ALTERED BY” FOLLOWED BY HIS OR HER SIGNATURE, THE DATE OF SUCH ALTERATION, AND A SPECIFIC DESCRIPTION OF THE ALTERATION. Owner Outreach and (Mitigation) Design of Priority Hudson River Estuary Biologically Important Barriers Page i TABLE OF CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY .................................................................................................................................. ii 1. INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Purpose ......................................................................................................................................... 1 1.2 Outline/Organization/Content of Report ..................................................................................... 1 1.3 QAPP ............................................................................................................................................. 1 2. OUTREACH AND BARRIER IDENTIFICATION .......................................................................................... 2 2.1 Background Information Available to Chazen .............................................................................. 2 2.2 Public Outreach, Educational Mailings, Website Portal ............................................................... 2 2.3 Workshop Outreach Meetings ...................................................................................................... 3 3. DATA MANAGEMENT AND PRELIMINARY MITIGATION DESIGN SITE SELECTIONS .............................. 4 3.1 Data Management ........................................................................................................................ 4 3.2 Design Site Selection ..................................................................................................................... 4 4. PRELIMINARY DESIGNS ......................................................................................................................... 6 4.1 Information Collected and Developed for Each Site ..................................................................... 6 4.2 Design Refinement ........................................................................................................................ 7 4.3 Project Close-Out .......................................................................................................................... 7 APPENDICES Appendix 1 – Handouts/Mailers/Presentation Appendix 2 – Brown’s Pond Dam, Town of Hamptonburgh, Orange County Appendix 3 – Bingham Mills Dam, Town of Livingston, Columbia County Appendix 4 – Mill Road Dam, Town of Red Hook, Dutchess County Appendix 5 – Annandale Dam, Annandale-on-Hudson, Dutchess County Appendix 6 – CR-15 Culvert, Rensselaer County Appendix 7 – CR-21 Culvert, Rensselaer County Appendix 8 – Riders Mill Road Culvert, Town of Chatham, Columbia County Appendix 9 – Lake Road Culvert, Town of Pine Plains, Dutchess County The Chazen Companies Project Number: 41544.00 December 21, 2016 Owner Outreach and (Mitigation) Design of Priority Hudson River Estuary Biologically Important Barriers Page ii EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The New England Interstate Water Pollution Control Commission (NEIWPCC) and New York State Department of Environmental Conservation’s (NYS DEC) Hudson River Estuary Program (HREP) retained The Chazen Companies (Chazen) and Dr. Stuart Findlay at the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies to implement an outreach and education effort about impacts of artificial stream barriers (culverts and dams) on stream ecology and resiliency, as well as to provide preliminary designs on the replacement and removal of those barriers. Over six months, the team contacted approximately 250 owners of pre‐ identified priority dams and perched culverts or bridges, used print and radio media to educate and reach additional barrier owners, and conducted three public informational meetings. The outreach work identified a number of dam and culvert owners interested in preliminary barrier removal design assistance. Interest varied as owners considered potential loss of in‐stream ponds or considered alternative uses for their dams. The owners of seven dams and eight culverts submitted Letters of Interest from which eight biologically‐prioritized dams and culverts were selected by NYSDEC for pre‐mitigation assistance, based on criteria such as biological importance and landowner interests. The selected dams were Browns Pond dam on the Moodna Creek, Bingham Mills dam on the Roeliff Jansen Kill, and the Annandale and Mill Road dams on the Sawkill Creek. The selected culverts were on the Valatie Kill and on Tackawasick Creek in Rensselaer County, one on the Fishkill Creek in Dutchess County, and one on Green Brook in Columbia County. The Chazen team, HREP, and NEIWPCC worked over an additional six months to develop representative barrier mitigation plans for these four dams and four culverts as demonstration projects. Costs to remove these four dams and redesign the culverts/bridges include permitting expenses ranging between approximately $25,000 and $75,000 with an assumption of streamlined permitting and determinations that SHPO and full FEMA evaluations are not needed. Site surveys and biddable design drawings would average an additional $15,000 to $30,000 per site if required. Estimated budgets to remove the four dams range between $150,000 and $235,000 presuming accumulated sediments do not need additional characterization and can mostly be stabilized in place. Similarly, best‐case budgets to correct perched culverts range between $115,000 and $315,000 depending on the road service and stream size at individual locations. Worst‐case budgets were also examined recognizing the potential for more complicated permitting reviews, large budget requirements for management of sediment behind and upstream of dams, or extensive SEQRA, SHPO, or expanded FEMA evaluations. Sediment accumulation behind the dams was identified as the most‐significant potential additional cost along with FEMA and SHPO exposure. Up to approximately 125 stream miles would be interconnected as a result of design improvements at these eight locations. American eel would be a primary beneficiary, as well as benefits to fish and amphibian environments. This project was advanced to contribute to greater public understanding of the impacts of stream barriers on ecosystem health including New York State Species of Greatest Conservation Need and resiliency, and to advance pilot design work on a limited number of priority barrier dams and culverts. A majority of barrier owners have signed Letters of Commitment to continue to advance the concept of mitigating or removing their barriers, if funding and support were to become available. The next pages provide a table with additional information about the eight studied barriers and a location map. The Chazen Companies Project Number: 41544.00 December 21, 2016 Table 1 - Executive Summary Summary of Barrier Indicies December 21, 2016 Distance Upstream Opened with Barrier Removal Mainstem Distance Downstream Opinion of Probable Cost Barrier Name/ USACE Regulated NYSDEC Stream NYSDEC Wetlands Endangered Species Watershed Opened for Migration with Barrier Aquatic Historical Resources Next Downstream Artificial Mainstem Barrier Classification (Y/N) In Vicinity (tributary) Removal (Miles) Next Mainstem Upstream To Hudson River Resources (Y/N) (Miles) (ID #)