Biological Assessment Victoria Power Station Expansion Victoria County, Texas Prepared for Victoria WLE, LP Prepared by Whitenton Group, Inc. September 2013 Revised June 2014 3413 Hunter Road • San Marcos, Texas 78666 • office 512-353-3344 • fax 512-392-3450 www.whitentongroup.com Biological Assessment Victoria Power Station Expansion Victoria County, Texas Prepared for Victoria WLE, LP Victoria, Texas Prepared by Whitenton Group, Inc. 3413 Hunter Road San Marcos, Texas 78666 WGI Project No. 1243 September 2013 Revised June 2014 TABLE OF CONTENTS TABLE OF CONTENTS ............................................................................................................................. i ACRONYMS ..............................................................................................................................................iii 1.0 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY .................................................................................................................... 1 2.0 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................................ 3 3.0 ACTION AREA .................................................................................................................................... 4 4.0 AGENCY REGULATIONS ................................................................................................................. 5 4.1 ENDANGERED SPECIES ACT .......................................................................................................... 5 4.2 CLEAN AIR ACT REGULATIONS AND STANDARDS .............................................................. 7 5.0 PROJECT DESCRIPTION ................................................................................................................... 8 5.1 PROJECT PURPOSE AND LOCATION ........................................................................................... 8 5.2 CONSTRUCTION INFORMATION ................................................................................................. 9 5.2.1 CONSTRUCTION Description ............................................................................................... 9 5.2.2 CONSTRUCTION ACTIVITIES AND SCHEDULE .......................................................... 10 5.2.3 CONSTRUCTION EQUIPMENT REQUIRED ................................................................... 11 5.2.4 STORMWATER ...................................................................................................................... 12 5.2.5 CONSTRUCTION NOISE LEVELS ..................................................................................... 12 5.3 OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE INFORMATION ............................................................. 12 5.3.1 OPERATION DESCRIPTION ............................................................................................... 12 5.3.2 WATER USE............................................................................................................................ 13 5.3.3 WASTEWATER ...................................................................................................................... 13 5.3.4 STORM WATER ..................................................................................................................... 14 5.3.5 OPERATION NOISE LEVELS .............................................................................................. 14 5.3.6 EMISSION CONTROLS ........................................................................................................ 14 6.0 BACKGROUND INFORMATION .................................................................................................. 15 6.1 GENERAL ENVIRONMENTAL INFORMATION ....................................................................... 15 6.1.1 GENERAL REGION INFORMATION ................................................................................ 16 6.1.2 LAND USE .............................................................................................................................. 16 6.1.3 CLIMATE ................................................................................................................................ 17 6.1.4 TOPOGRAPHY ...................................................................................................................... 17 6.1.5 GEOLOGY ............................................................................................................................... 17 6.1.6 SOILS ........................................................................................................................................ 18 6.1.7 WATER RESOURCES ............................................................................................................ 18 6.1.8 VEGETATION ........................................................................................................................ 18 6.2 FEDERALLY-LISTED SPECIES ....................................................................................................... 19 6.2.1 THREATENED OR ENDANGERED SPECIES LIST ........................................................ 19 6.2.2 THREATENED OR ENDANGERED SPECIES DESCRIPTIONS .................................... 19 6.2.3 CANDIDATE SPECIES DESCRIPTIONS ........................................................................... 24 6.2.4 TEXAS NATURAL DIVERSITY DATABASE RESULTS .................................................. 25 7.0 FEDERALLY-LISTED SPECIES HABITAT EVALUATION ........................................................ 26 7.1 PLANT COMMUNITIES OBSERVED ............................................................................................ 26 Victoria Power Station Expansion Project – Biological Assessment i 7.2 FEDERALLY-LISTED SPECIES HABITAT ANALYSIS ............................................................... 27 8.0 AIR QUALITY ANALYSIS ............................................................................................................... 28 8.1 AIR DISPERSION MODELING RESULTS ..................................................................................... 29 8.1.1 CRITERIA POLLUTANT DISPERSION MODELING RESULTS AND EVALUATION ............................................................................................................................................................ 29 8.1.2 NON-CRITERIA POLLUTANTS MODELING RESULTS AND EVALUATION ........ 31 9.0 EFFECTS OF THE PROPOSED ACTION ....................................................................................... 32 9.1 AIR EMISSIONS EFFECTS BACKGROUND RESEARCH .......................................................... 32 9.2 AIR QUALITY EFFECTS .................................................................................................................. 35 9.2.1 EMISSIONS ............................................................................................................................. 35 9.2.2 FUGITIVE DUST .................................................................................................................... 36 9.2.3 IMPACTS OF AIR POLLUTION SOURCES ON FLORA AND FAUNA ...................... 36 9.3 WATER QUALITY EFFECTS ........................................................................................................... 38 9.3.1 WASTEWATER AND STORMWATER .............................................................................. 38 9.4 NOISE EFFECTS ................................................................................................................................ 39 9.5 INFRASTRUCTURE-RELATED EFFECTS .................................................................................... 39 9.6 HUMAN ACTIVITY EFFECTS ........................................................................................................ 40 9.7 FEDERALLY-LISTED SPECIES EFFECTS...................................................................................... 40 9.7.1 FEDERALLY-LISTED THREATENED AND ENDANGERED SPECIES ...................... 40 9.7.2 FEDERALLY-LISTED CANDIDATE SPECIES .................................................................. 47 10.0 CONCLUSIONS ............................................................................................................................... 50 10.1 DETERMINATION OF EFFECT .................................................................................................... 51 10.2 INTERDEPENDENT AND INTERRELATED ACTIONS .......................................................... 51 10.3 CUMULATIVE EFFECTS ............................................................................................................... 51 10.4 CONSERVATION MEASURES ..................................................................................................... 52 11.0 REFERENCE ..................................................................................................................................... 53 12.0 LIST OF PREPARERS ...................................................................................................................... 59 APPENDIX A FIGURES APPENDIX B FIGURE 1-6 (RPS) APPENDIX C FLOW DIAGRAMS APPENDIX D TABLE 2 APPENDIX E PHOTOGRAPHIC LOG APPENDIX F FIELD SURVEY DATA SUMMARY APPENDIX G EMISSIONS TABLES Victoria Power Station Expansion Project – Biological Assessment ii ACRONYMS AOI Area of Impact BACT Best Available Control Technology BA Biological Assessment CO Carbon Monoxide ESL Effects Screening Levels ESA Endangered Species Act EPA Environmental