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ENVIRONMENTAL STATEMENT MARION, KANSAS LOCAL PROTECTION PROJECT Prepared by - U. S. ARMY ENGINEER DISTRICT, TULSA, OKLAHOMA a. Project description. This environmental statement pertains to the proposed Marion, Kansas, Local Protection Project on Mud Creek at the town of Marion, Kansas. The report of the District Engineer has been referred to the Committee on Public Works and is awaiting authorization action by Congress. A benefit-cost ratio of 1.7 exists for this proposed project. Floods in Marion would be prevented by diverting Mud Creek around the west side of town through a diversion channel and by construction of a levee along the channel and Cottonwood River. b. Environmental setting without the project. Mud Creek, normally lazy and slow moving, flows southward through the center of Marion to its con­ fluence with the Cottonwood River at the south edge of the city and is subject to severe flash floods during periods of moderate to high intensity rainfall. The rolling plains of Marion County have been described as "scarped plains," in which strata, dipping gently to the west or north­ west, have been leveled by erosion to a plain with eastward and southeast­ ward facing rock escarpments. Surface rocks are usually shales and lime­ stones. Overburden soils are a product of the weathering of these rocks. Predominant native grasses are buffalo, gramma, and big and little bluestem grasses. Streamside understory and trees consisting of elm, locust, willow, and hackberry, with an occasional cottonwood, afford game-type habitat. Stream fishery is limited to native species: carp, bullheads, catfishes, sunfish, and minnows. The area to be protected from flooding is the city of Marion, Kansas - a well developed residential, commercial, and industrial city - which serves a wide rural agricultural area. Marion County's rolling plains are utilized primarily for crop and live­ stock production. Wheat, corn, alfalfa, and feed grain comprise the principal agricultural crops grown. Cattle and hogs are the principal livestock produced in the area. The business district of the city of Marion is located in the flood plain. Investigations have shown that 795 persons reside in the flood plain and 442 persons are employed in the flood area. An estimated 94 commercial or industrial enterprises and 227 homes are subject to flooding. Rail and highway transportation facilities are well developed. Although the majority of new residential structures and service establishments are being built on high ground east of Mud Creek, growth is continuing in the flood plain area. New building, renovation, and remodeling continue in the business district. Currently, two water resource developments exist in the area. A cutoff trench to divert Cottonwood River floodwaters was constructed in 1921 by the Cottonwood Valley Drainage District. This work was inadequate against later floodwaters. Marion Lake, located approximately 5.5 miles upstream from the mouth of Mud Creek, will control flooding below the damsite on Cottonwood River but will not stop the Mud Creek flooding. Outdoor recreational use for people in the general area of Marion, Kansas, is mainly provided by Marion Lake on the Cottonwood River. Mud Creek and other tributary streams in the vicinity of Marion offer possibilities for supplemental recreational development. The city's sewage disposal plant is adequate for present needs. Low flow releases will be made from Marion Lake for water quality control or Cotton­ wood River to sufficiently dilute discharges from the disposal plant. Marion's existing water supply facilities will not support possible municipal and industrial growth. The present source consists of a small pool on Mud Creek captured by a low water dam near the northern limits of the city. Yield of this pool is limited because available storage is small and Mud Creek flows are uncertain. Its yield will not meet the long-range needs of the community; however, a reservation for 1 m.g.d. has been applied for at Marion Lake. This reserved storage combined with existing supplies would meet established 100-year water supply needs. Without flood protection, housing development is expected to occur on about 12 acres of vacant land above the 5-year flood level. Some of the remainder of the land would be devoted to other structures, while some land will remain in its current state of use. c. The environmental impact of the proposed action. The project would eliminate flood damages on about 600 acres. An estimated 94 commercial or industrial enterprises, 227 homes, city streets, U. S. Highway 56, the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad, the CRI&P Railroad, utilities, the city park, institutions, municipal buildings and the city's water supply facility would be protected from flood damages. Consequently, land use in the urban flood plain would change. An estimated 260 acres of vacant urban land, most of it already platted, would be more desirable for development as commercial, industrial, or residential sites. Flood pro­ tection would enhance the desirability of owning property and living in the flood plain because of the lessening or elimination of the threat to human life and property directly traceable to floods. Construction of the project would eliminate the threat of flood-caused epidemics, the interruption of highway and rail traffic, and human discomfort and inconvenience resulting from evacuation and reoocupation of the flooded area. Construction of the diversion channel would alter the ground character­ istics and vegetation on approximately 30 acres of cropland. Construction of the 15,400 foot long levee would disrupt the ground characteristics and vegetation on 5 acres of residential property and 50 acres of cropland. Land features and vegetation would be altered on the 10 acres of cropland needed for borrow to provide the material for constructing the levee. During construction, travel along Highway 56, three county road locations, and three railroad locations would be disrupted. Upon completion, rail and road transportation would be improved except on one half-mile section of low use county road which would be abandoned. Use of six telephone lines, two electric power lines, two gas pipelines and two sewer pipelines would be temporarily hampered while they are relocated or altered. Flooding outside the levee would inundate a slightly larger area and would be higher than under natural conditions. The present source of water supply for Marion is a small pool captured by a low water dam on Mud Creek near the northern limits of the city. Yields from this pool are limited since Mud Creek flows are uncertain. Because of this, a reservation of 1 m.g.d. has been applied for at Marion Lake. Drainage structures through the by-passed reach of Mud Creek would have to be operated carefully at times of high flow so that the ponded stretches are well flushed annually. Otherwise,stagnant water pools would develop associated with odors and mosquito breeding problems. The project would have no effect on water quality in the area of influence. The proposed project would not offer feasible opportunities for the improvement of fish and wildlife resources; however, the responsible agencies indicate that the plan would not affect significantly those resources in the area. There are no known archeological sites in the project area. If at any time artifacts or archeological remains should be discovered, they will be reported to the proper agency. All of the lands that are disturbed or changed during construction will be beautified. Grass will be planted on all bare and denuded areas and tree and shrub plantings will be made where necessary to make the project aesthetically attractive. d. Any adverse environmental effects which cannot be avoided should the proposal be implemented. It would be necessary to acquire fee title to about 80 acres of land, including 30 acres for the diversion channel and 50 acres for the levee. Also involved are approximately 10 acres in temporary easement for borrow areas. Approximately 92 percent of the land required for the proposed plan of improvement is currently used for agri­ cultural purposes. These lands are near che corporate limits of the city and some tracts would be severed by the proposed diversion channel levee. The remaining 8 percent of the land required consists of platted city lots, most of which have no structure or improved streets. Only three homesites would need to be acquired, all inside the city limits. All lands and real estate required for the project are currently subject to flooding. Two new bridges must be provided for the CRI&P and AT&SF Railroads to cross the diversion channel. The CRI&P Railroad bridge across Cottonwood River, south of the city, would have to be raised and extended. Approaches to the railroad bridges would also have to be raised. A new bridge would have to be provided for the county road west of the city. North traffic on one county road would have to be rerouted as a result of the diversion channel. Railroads and county roads crossing the levee would have to be ramped to an elevation equivalent to the standard project flood design or higher. U. S. Highway 56 would have to be ramped to an elevation of two feet above the 50-year design flood. The diversion channel, as designed, will limit the frequency of flooding outside the levee to the same as existing; that is, once in 4 years. When flooding does occur, with the proposed project in place, it will be deeper than under existing conditions, due to the levee constricting the flood plain and to combining Mud Creek and Cottonwood River upstream from the mouth of Mud Creek. Two gas pipeline crossings will have to be relocated along with six tele­ phone lines, two electric power lines and two sewer pipelines. e . Alternatives to the proposed action.

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