3-41 Alternatives 3.3.10 Oak Openings Route Alternative During
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3.3.10 Oak Openings Route Alternative During scoping, we received several comments from concerned stakeholders about the proposed route’s impacts on the Oak Openings Region. The Oak Openings Route Alternative was proposed by NEXUS to address concerns with crossing the Oak Openings Region. The Oak Openings Region is an area of prairie and oak savanna surrounded by wetland forests in northwestern Ohio. The Oak Openings Region was originally made up of several unique ecological communities that contain numerous rare, endemic species. Presently, about 99 percent of the ecosystem has been altered and fragmented by development, primarily through tree clearing and wetland draining. Section 4.5.1.1 contains additional information about the Oak Openings Region. During pre-filing, NEXUS adjusted its route in several locations (see Appendix F) to reduce wetland and forest land impacts within the Oak Openings Region. The route alternative diverges from the NGT mainline at MP 159.3 in Sandusky County and runs south and west before rejoining the NGT mainline at MP 200.0 in Fulton County (see figure 3.3.10-1 and table 3.3.10-1). One compressor station would need to be re-sited to accommodate this alternative. TABLE 3.3.10-1 Analysis of the Oak Openings Route Alternative Factor Alternative Proposed Route Length (miles) 54.0 40.6 Greenfield Construction (miles) a 48.8 19.7 Wetland Affected (acres) b 4.5 4.5 Perennial Waterbody Crossings (no.) 24 25 WHPA (no.) 7 5 Agricultural Land (acres) c 771.2 537.9 Forested Land (acres) b 3.6 27.3 Wildlife Management Areas (no./miles) 0/0.0 1/0.1 d State Parks and Forest (no./mile) 0/0.0 1/0.4 e County/Metro Parks (no./mile) 0/0.0 1/0.1 f Residential-type Structures within 150 feet Pipe Centerline (no.) g 6 14 ________________________________ a Based on not having an adjacent or parallel rights-of-way within 300 feet of the pipe centerline. b Based on a 75-foot-wide construction right-of-way in wetlands and forested land. c Based on a 125-foot-wide construction right-of-way in agricultural land. d Missionary Island Wildlife Area. e Maumee State Forest. f Farnsworth Metropark. g Includes dwellings, detached dwellings, garages, sheds, and other buildings often associated with a residence. The Oak Openings Route Alternative is 54.0 miles in length. The route alternative and proposed route are similar in amount of wetlands crossed. The advantages of the route alternative are that it has 23.6 acres less forested land, no wildlife management areas, no state parks/forest, no county/metro parks, and is near 8 fewer residential-type structures. Conversely, the disadvantages of the alternative are that it would be 13.4 miles longer, have 29.1 miles more greenfield construction, and cross 2 more WHPAs. Although this route alternative largely would be located outside the historic Oak Openings Region, the proposed route also would affect very little remnant Oak Openings communities. Almost all of the region already has been converted to agricultural and urban land uses. While portions of the region continue to support ecological diversity and rare species, these areas are generally limited to conservation lands such as preserves and state forests. Botanical surveys of the NGT mainline route conducted in 2015 identified two areas where the NGT Project would cross remnant Oak Openings communities. The first is located near MP 189, where characteristic species such as pin oak, red maple, spicebush, and fowl mannagrass were identified; however, non-characteristic species such as silver maple and cottonwood were also present along with invasive species such as common buckthorn and multiflora rose. The second location is near 3-41 Alternatives Alternatives 3-42 MP 193, where the NGT Project crosses about 2,400 feet along the edge of a woodlot on the eastern edge of the Maumee State Forest. Component species such as pin oak, red maple, winterberry, spicebush, and common lake sedge were found. Neither of these areas contained all of the indicative species that would be present in high-quality remnant communities. Based on these factors, we do not find the Oak Openings Route Alternative provides a significant environmental advantage when compared to the corresponding segment of the proposed route and do not recommend that this alternative be incorporated as part of the Projects. 3.3.11 Waterville Route Alternative The Waterville Route Alternative was developed at the request of stakeholders that wanted the proposed route and the corresponding Waterville Compressor Station moved farther away from the populated area of the town of Waterville. The route alternative diverges from the NGT mainline at MP 178 in Lucas County and goes south and west until it rejoins the NGT mainline at MP 200.0 in Fulton County (see figure 3.3.11-1 and table 3.3.11-1). TABLE 3.3.11-1 Analysis of the Waterville Route Alternative Factor Alternative Proposed Route Length (miles) 41.2 22.0 Greenfield Construction (miles) a 20.6 18.0 Wetland Affected (acres) b 7.3 2.7 Perennial Waterbody Crossings (no.) 14 15 WHPA (no.) 1 0 Agricultural Land (acres) c 365.2 295.5 Forested Land (acres) b 6.4 11.8 Wildlife Management Areas (no./miles) 0/0.0 1/0.1 d State Parks and Forest (no./mile) 1/0.1 e 1/0.4 f County/Metro Parks (no./mile) 0/0.0 1/0.1 g Steep Slopes (miles) h 0.1 0.0 Residential-type Structures within 150 feet Pipe Centerline (no.) i 274 5 ________________________________ a Based on the absence of adjacent or parallel rights-of-way within 300 feet of the pipe centerline. b Based on a 75-foot-wide construction right-of-way in wetlands and forested land. c Based on a 125-foot-wide construction right-of-way in agricultural land. d Missionary Island Wildlife Area. e North Turkeyfoot State Park. f Maumee State Forest. g Farnsworth Metropark. h Calculated by identifying slopes greater than 20 percent. i Includes dwellings, detached dwellings, garages, sheds, and other buildings often associated with a residence. The Waterville Route Alternative is 41.2 miles in length. The route alternative and proposed route would be similar in number of perennial waterbodies and amount of steep slopes crossed. The advantages of the route alternative are that it would not cross any wildlife management areas or county/metro parks, and would impact 5.5 acres less forested land. Conversely, the disadvantages of the alternative are that it would be 19.2 miles longer, have 2.6 miles more greenfield construction, cross 4.5 acres more wetlands, 1 more WHPA, 69.7 acres more agricultural land, and is near 269 more residential-type structures. Although the route and compressor station site would be farther away from the populated area of the town of Waterville, it affects more residences and environmental resources in other than areas than the proposed route. This represent merely a shift of impacts from one area, group of landowners, and set of resources to another area, group of landowners, and set of resources. Based on our review of these routes, we do not find the Waterville Route provides a significant environmental advantage when compared to the corresponding segment of the proposed route and do not recommend that this alternative be incorporated as part of the Projects. 3-43 Alternatives Alternatives 3-44 3.3.12 CORN Western Route Alternative The Coalition to Reroute NEXUS (CORN) Western Route Alternative was developed by CORN to avoid the historical Oak Openings Region (also see section 3.3.10). The route alternative diverges from the NGT mainline at MP 189.8 in Henry County, Ohio and runs west and north until it returns to the proposed NGT mainline at MP 210.0 in Lenawee County, Michigan (see figure 3.3.12-1 and table 3.3.12- 1). TABLE 3.3.12-1 Analysis of the CORN Western Route Alternative Factor Alternative Proposed Route Length (miles) 31.1 20.2 Greenfield Construction (miles) a 13.6 11.1 Wetland Affected (acres) b 1.8 0.9 Perennial Waterbody Crossings (no.) 10 7 WHPA (no.) 1 0 Agricultural Land (acres) c 437.9 284.8 Forested Land (acres) b 10.9 5.5 State Parks and Forest (no./mile) 1/0.3 d 1/0.4 d Potential for Subsidence (miles) 9.7 11.9 Residential-type Structures within 150 feet Pipe Centerline (no.) e 12 3 ________________________________ a Based on the absence of adjacent or parallel rights-of-way within 300 feet of the pipe centerline. b Based on a 75-foot-wide construction right-of-way in wetlands and forested land. c Based on a 125-foot-wide construction right-of-way in agricultural land. d Maumee State Forest. e Includes dwellings, detached dwellings, garages, sheds, and other buildings often associated with a residence. The CORN Western Alternative is 31.1 miles in length. There do not appear to be any substantial advantages to the route alternative. The disadvantages of the alternative are that it would be 10.9 miles longer, have 2.5 miles more greenfield construction, cross 3 more perennial waterbodies, 1 more WHPA, 153.0 acres more agricultural land, 5.5 acres more forested land, and is near 9 more residential-type structures. Based on our review of these routes and for reasons similar to those discussed in section 3.3.10, we do not find the CORN Western Route Alternative provides a significant environmental advantage when compared to the corresponding segment of the proposed route and do not recommend that this alternative be incorporated as part of the Projects.