Water Resources Technical Report Interstate Highway 35: Farm-To-Market 3002 to Merle Wolfe Road Cooke County, Texas, and Love County, Oklahoma Prepared for: U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration Texas Department of Transportation: Wichita Falls District CSJs: 0194‐01‐010, 0194-02-081, 0194-02-092, 0195-01-087, 0195-01-111, 0195-01-119, and 0903-15-100 April 2020 TABLE OF CONTENTS 1.0 INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................. 1 2.0 WATER RESOURCES ...................................................................................................... 1 2.1 USACE Properties .......................................................................................................... 1 2.2 Floodplains ................................................................................................................... 2 2.3 Wild and Scenic Rivers .................................................................................................. 3 2.4 Surface Waters ............................................................................................................. 3 2.5 Navigable Waters ........................................................................................................ 13 2.6 Edwards Aquifer .......................................................................................................... 13 2.7 International Boundary and Water Commission ............................................................ 13 2.8 Texas Coastal Management Program ........................................................................... 13 3.0 REFERENCES .............................................................................................................. 14 LIST OF TABLES Table 2.1: Potential Jurisdictional Waters of U.S. Located Within the Proposed Project ROW .... 7 Table 2.2: Potentially Non-Jurisdictional Features Located on the Property .............................. 11 Table 2.3: Impacted Water-Supply Wells .................................................................................... 12 LIST OF EXHIBITS Exhibit 1: Project Location Exhibit 2: Existing and Proposed Typical Sections Exhibit 3: Proposed Schematic Exhibit 4: FEMA Floodplain Map Exhibit 5: Water Resources Map LIST OF APPENDICES Appendix A: 2018 Texas 303 (d) List Appendix B: 2016 Oklahoma 303 (d) List Appendix C: USCG and USACE Coordination 0194‐01‐010, etc. i 1.0 INTRODUCTION The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) Wichita Falls District proposes to reconstruct and widen Interstate Highway 35 (IH 35) from near Farm-to-Market Road (FM) 3002 in southern Cooke County, Texas, north to Merle Wolfe Road in Love County, Oklahoma. A project location map, typical sections, and project schematic can be seen on Exhibits 1, 2, and 3, respectively. This technical report and the ensuing EA will help guide the decision-making process and assist TxDOT in assessing impacts on sensitive resources to determine whether to prepare a Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) or an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). 2.0 WATER RESOURCES The following sections describe the existing water resources within the study area and the potential impacts of the proposed project on water resources. For the purpose of this Technical Report, the water resource study area is defined as both the existing and proposed ROW for the proposed project. Of note, this Technical Report does not include an impact discussion of the proposed project on waters of the U.S., including wetlands. Instead, the proposed project’s Wetland Delineation Technical Report (January 2019) provides an evaluation of waters of the U.S. within the project limits, including wetlands, and the EA discusses impacts to these waters 2.1 USACE Properties The proposed project will impact one U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) properties; Lake Texoma. The following section briefly describe the property. For specific details for impacts on the USACE properties habitat technical reports are on file at the TxDOT Wichita Falls District. Lake Texoma At the north end of the project, the proposed project would require the construction of a new bridge at the Red River and the realignment would require approximately 5.6 acres of Right-of-Way (ROW) from the U.S Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Lake Texoma managed property. There are two vegetation/habitat types within the USACE Lake Texoma property; Urban Low Intensity and Southeastern Great Plains: Bottomland Hardwood Forest. The area is impacted by a gravel roadway that is associated with the waste water treatment plant. In addition, the impacted USACE Lake Texoma property is not easily accessible for use to the general public. 0194‐01‐010, etc. 1 No-Build Alternative Under the No-Build Alternative, there would be no impact to the Lake Texoma USACE managed properties. 2.2 Floodplains Based on a review of the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA’s) Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) numbers 48097C0550C, 48097C0425C, 48097C0410C, 48097C0295C, and 48097C0300C, a majority of the proposed project would fall outside the 100-year floodplain but would still intersect the 100-year floodplain at seven locations (FEMA 2013). Beginning at the southern end of the study area, the impacted floodplain crossings are described as follows and shown on Exhibit 4: Two unnamed tributaries near FM 3002 (the crossing is entirely within the 100-year floodplain); Spring Creek, south of the City of Valley View (the crossing is entirely within the 100-year floodplain); An unnamed tributary to Scott Creek north of Spring Creek Road (the crossing is entirely within the 100-year floodplain); Scott Creek, south of County Road 218 (the crossing is entirely within the 100-year floodplain); The Elm Fork of the Trinity River in the southern section of the City of Gainesville (portions of the crossing are within the 100-year floodplain; the Elm Fork of the Trinity River floodplain would parallel the proposed project for approximately two miles from river’s crossing north to JM Lindsay Boulevard/Summit Avenue); Pecan Creek North in the northern section of the City of Gainesville (portions of the crossing are within the 100-year floodplain); and The Red River crossing at the Texas-Oklahoma state line in the northern portion of the study area (the crossing is entirely within the 100-year floodplain). FEMA has not conducted a Flood Insurance Study for Love County, and therefore, no FIRMS were available for review. The hydraulic design for the proposed project would be prepared in accordance with current TxDOT and FHWA design policies and procedures. Furthermore, in cooperation with FEMA, TxDOT would conform to the standard for temporary and permanent fill set by the applicable FIRM. The proposed 0194‐01‐010, etc. 2 project would provide, at a minimum, the same existing flow capacity, and therefore, would likely not adversely increase water surface elevation above allowable limits. The protection of floodplains and floodways is required by Executive Order 11988 Floodplain Management and is implemented by FHWA through 23 CFR 650 Subpart A, “Location and Hydraulic Design of Encroachments on Floodplains.” The proposed project would permit the conveyance of the 100-year flood, inundation of the roadway being acceptable, without causing significant damage to the highway, stream, or other property. The proposed project would not increase the base flood elevation to a level that would violate applicable floodplain regulations or ordinances. Furthermore, the proposed project would not (1) interrupt or terminate a transportation route for emergency vehicles or community evacuation, (2) pose a substantial risk to, or adversely impact natural and beneficial floodplain values. Therefore, floodplain impacts resulting from the proposed project would be considered minimal. No-Build Alternative Under the No-Build Alternative, there would be no increase in impermeable surface area and no additional stream crossing. Therefore, there would be no impact to floodplains. 2.3 Wild and Scenic Rivers The Wild and Scenic Rivers Act established the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System to preserve, in a free-flowing condition, rivers that possess outstandingly remarkable scenic, recreational, geologic, fish and wildlife, historic, cultural, or other similar values. No river or river segments listed in the national inventory of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System are located within the study area. Therefore, no impacts to wild and scenic rivers would be expected from the proposed project. 2.4 Surface Waters 2.4.1 Section 303(d) of the Clean Water Act The Texas Surface Water Quality Standards (TSWQS), which apply to all surface water features in Texas, are promulgated in Title 30, Chapter 307 of the Texas Administrative Code. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency approves the standards in accordance with Section 303(c) of the Clean Water Act. The standards are revised every three years to reflect new developments or updated information. In the State of Texas Water Quality Inventory, distributed by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ), information provided in the TSWQS is assimilated and grouped by river 0194‐01‐010, etc. 3 basin. To track water quality and compliance with these standards, the TCEQ’s Surface Water Quality Monitoring Program further divides Texas’ larger surface water features in the river basins into defined (classified) segments to assess each segment according to the criteria