IH 35 PEL Study Affected Environment Technical Report Prepared by: Texas Department of Transportation Alamo Regional Mobility Authority May 2013 Table of Contents 1. Introduction and Environmental Setting .......................................................................................... 1 2. Land Use and Planning ...................................................................................................................... 2 2.1 Methodology ................................................................................................................................. 2 2.2 Existing Conditions and Local Government Plans and Policies ..................................................... 2 2.2.1 Existing Land Uses Specific to the Study Area .............................................................................. 3 2.2.2 Local Government Plans and Policies ........................................................................................... 4 3. Socioeconomic Factors including Population, Minority Population, and Employment ................... 6 3.1 Legal and Regulatory Context ....................................................................................................... 6 3.1.1 Environmental Justice ................................................................................................................... 6 3.1.2 Limited English Proficiency ........................................................................................................... 8 3.2 Methodology ................................................................................................................................. 9 3.3 Existing Conditions ........................................................................................................................ 9 3.3.1 Population ..................................................................................................................................... 9 3.3.2 Environmental Justice Populations ............................................................................................. 10 3.3.3 Limited English Proficiency Populations ..................................................................................... 12 3.3.4 Economic Characteristics ............................................................................................................ 12 4. Neighborhoods and Community Resources ................................................................................... 15 4.1 Military Land ............................................................................................................................... 16 4.2 Hospitals ...................................................................................................................................... 16 4.3 Schools and Universities ............................................................................................................. 16 4.4 Places of Worship ........................................................................................................................ 17 5. Visual and Aesthetic Qualities......................................................................................................... 17 5.1 Legal and Regulatory Context ..................................................................................................... 17 5.2 Methodology ............................................................................................................................... 19 5.3 Existing Conditions ...................................................................................................................... 20 6. Existing Transportation Infrastructure ............................................................................................ 21 6.1 Methodology ............................................................................................................................... 21 6.2 Roadway System ......................................................................................................................... 21 6.2.1 Existing IH 35 and IH 410 Facility Characteristics........................................................................ 21 6.2.2 Other Major Roadway Facilities in the Study Area ..................................................................... 22 IH 35 PEL Study Affected Environment Technical Report Page i 6.2.3 Facility Crossings and Entrance/Exit Ramps ............................................................................... 22 6.2.4 Major Traffic Generators ............................................................................................................ 24 6.2.5 Operational Characteristics......................................................................................................... 25 6.2.6 Future Planned Improvements ................................................................................................... 27 6.3 Rail System .................................................................................................................................. 30 6.3.1 Freight Rail System ...................................................................................................................... 30 6.3.2 At-Grade Rail Crossings ............................................................................................................... 31 6.3.3 Passenger Rail System ................................................................................................................. 32 6.4 Transit System ............................................................................................................................. 35 6.4.1 Transit Service ............................................................................................................................. 35 6.4.2 Transit Ridership ......................................................................................................................... 36 6.5 Intermodal Facilities .................................................................................................................... 38 6.5.1 Existing Intermodal Facilities .................................................................................................. 38 6.6 Air Facilities ................................................................................................................................. 39 7. Surface Water ................................................................................................................................. 40 7.1 Legal and Regulatory Context ..................................................................................................... 40 7.1.1 Federal Requirements of the Clean Water Act ........................................................................... 40 7.1.2 State Water Quality Regulations ................................................................................................. 41 7.1.3 Floodplain Regulations ................................................................................................................ 41 7.1.4 Wetlands Regulations ................................................................................................................. 42 7.2 Existing Conditions ...................................................................................................................... 42 7.2.1 Existing Surface Drainage Characteristics ................................................................................... 42 7.2.2 Existing Water Quality in Surface Streams ................................................................................. 44 7.2.3 Existing Floodplains ..................................................................................................................... 45 7.2.4 Existing Wetlands ........................................................................................................................ 46 8. Groundwater ................................................................................................................................... 48 8.1 Legal and Regulatory Context ..................................................................................................... 48 8.1.1 Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) ................................................................ 48 8.1.2 Edwards Aquifer Authority (EAA) ................................................................................................ 48 8.1.3 United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) ........................................................................ 49 8.1.4 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ............................................................................. 49 8.2 Existing Conditions ...................................................................................................................... 49 IH 35 PEL Study Affected Environment Technical Report Page ii 9. Air Quality / Area Emissions ............................................................................................................ 50 9.1 Legal and Regulatory Context ..................................................................................................... 50 9.2 Existing Conditions ...................................................................................................................... 53 10. Traffic Noise .................................................................................................................................... 54 11.