STATE ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT LOOP 1604 FROM FARM-TO-MARKET 471 (CULEBRA ROAD) TO STATE HIGHWAY 16 (BANDERA ROAD) BEXAR COUNTY CSJ: 2452-01-055 TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION SAN ANTONIO DISTRICT MARCH 2013 THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK Table of Contents 1.0 PROPOSED ACTION ..................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Existing ......................................................................................................................................... 1 1.2 Proposed ........................................................................................................................................ 1 1.3 Funding ......................................................................................................................................... 2 1.4 Need for the Proposed Project ...................................................................................................... 2 1.5 Purpose of the Proposed Project ................................................................................................... 3 1.6 Alternatives ................................................................................................................................... 3 1.6.1 No-Build Alternative ............................................................................................................... 3 1.6.2 Build Alternative ..................................................................................................................... 3 2.0 SURROUNDING AREA ................................................................................................................. 3 3.0 SPECIFIC AREAS OF ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERN ............................................................. 4 3.1 Right-of Way Acquisition and Displacements .............................................................................. 4 3.2 Environmental Justice and Limited English Proficiency .............................................................. 4 3.2.1 Environmental Justice ............................................................................................................. 4 3.2.2 Limited English Proficiency .................................................................................................. 10 3.2.3 Community Cohesion ............................................................................................................ 11 3.3 Cultural Resources ...................................................................................................................... 12 3.3.1 Historic Resources ................................................................................................................ 12 3.3.2 Archeological ........................................................................................................................ 12 3.4 Vegetation ................................................................................................................................... 13 3.4.1 Impacts to Vegetation ........................................................................................................... 15 3.4.2 Mitigation .............................................................................................................................. 16 3.4.3 Invasive Species .................................................................................................................... 17 3.4.4 Beneficial Landscape Practices ............................................................................................. 17 3.4.5 Farmland Protection Policy Act (FPPA) ............................................................................... 17 3.5 Threatened and Endangered Species ........................................................................................... 17 3.5.1 Federally Listed Threatened, Endangered, or Candidate Species ......................................... 26 3.5.2 State-Listed Threatened and Endangered Species and Otherwise Rare Species ................... 30 3.5.3 Migratory Bird Treaty Act .................................................................................................... 35 3.5.4 Essential Fish Habitat ............................................................................................................ 35 3.5.5 Bald and Golden Eagles ........................................................................................................ 36 3.6 Water Resources ......................................................................................................................... 36 3.6.1 Section 404 of the Clean Water Act: Waters of the U.S. ...................................................... 36 3.6.2 Section 401 of the Clean Water Act: Water Quality Certification ........................................ 38 3.6.3 Executive Order 11990, Wetlands ........................................................................................ 39 3.6.4 Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899, Section 10 ......................................................................... 39 3.6.5 Section 303(d) of the Clean Water Act ................................................................................. 39 3.6.6 Section 402 of the Clean Water Act: Texas Pollutant Discharge Elimination System ......... 39 3.6.7 Floodplains ............................................................................................................................ 39 3.6.8 General Bridge Act/Section 9 of the Rivers and Harbors Act .............................................. 40 3.7 Air Quality .................................................................................................................................. 40 3.7.1 Traffic Air Quality Analysis (TAQA) ................................................................................... 40 3.7.2 Congestion Management Process (CMP) ............................................................................. 41 STATE ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT LOOP 1604 FROM FM 471 TO SH 16 i BEXAR COUNTY, CSJ: 2452-01-055 3.7.3 Mobile Source Air Toxics (MSAT) ...................................................................................... 41 3.7.4 Construction and Post-Construction Emissions Reduction Strategies .................................. 45 3.8 Noise ........................................................................................................................................... 46 3.9 Hazardous Materials ................................................................................................................... 50 3.9.1 Site Reconnaissance .............................................................................................................. 50 3.9.2 Database Search .................................................................................................................... 50 3.10 Construction Impacts .................................................................................................................. 53 3.11 Indirect and Cumulative Impacts ................................................................................................ 53 3.11.1 Indirect Impacts Analysis ...................................................................................................... 53 3.11.2 Cumulative Impacts Analysis ................................................................................................ 62 4.0 MITIGATION AND COMMITMENTS ....................................................................................... 73 4.1 Environmental Justice and Community Cohesion ...................................................................... 73 4.2 Vegetation/Wildlife Habitats ...................................................................................................... 73 4.3 Water Resources and Water Quality ........................................................................................... 74 4.4 Hazardous Materials ................................................................................................................... 74 5.0 PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT ........................................................................................................... 74 6.0 SUMMARY ................................................................................................................................... 75 7.0 REFERENCES .............................................................................................................................. 75 Appendices Appendix A Figures Figure 1 Project Location on County Base Map Figure 2 Project Location on USGS Base Map Figure 3 Existing and Proposed Typical Sections Figures 4.1 through 4.6 Land Use/Land Cover Figures 5.1 through 5.15 Water Resources Figure 6 Karst Zones Figure 7 Edwards Aquifer Zones Appendix B Photos Appendix C 2013-2016 Transportation Improvement Program List Appendix D Agency Coordination Letters Tables Table 1 Historical and Projected Traffic Volumes ....................................................................................... 2 Table 2 Population, Race, and Ethnicity within Project Area ....................................................................... 6 Table 3 Median Household Income and Poverty Status ............................................................................. 10 Table 4 Limited English Proficiency Percentage Comparison ................................................................... 10 Table 5 Potential Impacts to Vegetation ....................................................................................................