Champlain Hudson Power Express Project Project Description and Purpose (Supplement) ATTACHMENT G WETLANDS FUNCTIONS AND VALUES ASSESSMENT CHAMPLAIN HUDSON POWER EXPRESS PROJECT WETLANDS FUNCTIONS AND VALUES ASSESSMENT CHAMPLAIN HUDSON POWER EXPRESS PROJECT WETLANDS FUNCTIONS AND VALUES ASSESSMENT TABLE OF CONTENTS Section Title Page No. 1.0 INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................. 1 2.0 FUNCTIONS AND VALUES ASSESSMENT METHODOLOGY ................ 1 3.0 EXISTING FRESHWATER WETLANDS ...................................................... 3 3.1 Palustrine Forested Wetlands (“PFO”) .........................................................................4 3.2 Palustrine Scrub-Shrub Wetlands (“PSS”) ...................................................................5 3.3 Palustrine Emergent Wetlands (“PEM”) ......................................................................5 3.4 Palustrine Open Water Wetlands (“POW”) ..................................................................6 4.0 ADJACENT UPLANDS ................................................................................... 6 5.0 SITE WETLAND FUNCTIONS AND VALUES ............................................. 6 5.1 Groundwater Recharge/Discharge ..............................................................................22 5.2 Floodflow Alteration ..................................................................................................22 5.3 Fish and Shellfish Habitat ...........................................................................................23 5.4 Sediment/Toxicant/Pathogen Retention .....................................................................23 5.5 Nutrient Removal/Retention/Transformation .............................................................23 5.6 Production Export .......................................................................................................24 5.7 Sediment/Shoreline Stabilization ................................................................................24 5.8 Wildlife Habitat ..........................................................................................................25 5.9 Recreation ...................................................................................................................25 5.10 Educational/Scientific Value ......................................................................................26 5.11 Uniqueness/Heritage ...................................................................................................26 5.12 Visual Quality/Aesthetics ...........................................................................................26 6.0 SUMMARY ..................................................................................................... 26 7.0 REFERENCES ................................................................................................ 28 i CHAMPLAIN HUDSON POWER EXPRESS PROJECT WETLANDS FUNCTIONS AND VALUES ASSESSMENT LIST OF TABLES Table Title Page No. 1 PALUSTRINE ECOLOGICAL COMMUNITIES ALONG THE CHAMPLAIN- HUDSON POWER EXPRESS PROJECT .......................................................................4 2 FUNCTIONS AND VALUES OF WETLANDS ALONG THE UNDERGROUND TRANSMISSION CABLE CORRIDOR ..........................................................................8 ii Champlain Hudson Power Express Project Wetlands Functions and Values Assessment 1.0 INTRODUCTION This report has been prepared by TRC on behalf of Champlain Hudson Power Express, Inc. (CHPEI), and provides a functional assessment of the freshwater wetland resources that may be impacted by construction and/or operation of the proposed Champlain Hudson Power Express Project (Project) in Washington, Saratoga, Schenectady, and Albany Counties, New York. This assessment is designed to address impacts to on-site wetlands not only in terms of disturbance area, but also by evaluating the potential for the alteration of the functions and values of the those wetlands that currently provide a public benefit. The Project is designed to connect renewable sources of power generation to load centers in and around New York City. The Project will include underwater and underground high-voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission cables connecting an HVDC converter station in Canada with a HVDC converter station in Yonkers, New York. To the extent possible, CHPEI has proposed to install the transmission cables along existing waterways. However, an approximately 89.4 mile underground route (utilizing a railroad corridor) is required to bypass the Champlain Canal and dredging activities associated with the Upper Hudson River Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs) Dredging Project. The underground route utilizing the railroad corridor extends from Whitehall, in Washington County, New York, to the Town of Coeymans, in Albany County, New York, and has been sited along the existing Canadian Pacific (CP) and CSX Corporation (CSX) railroad rights-of-way. Utilization of the railroad corridors for Project infrastructure was chosen to minimize environmental impacts to the extent possible by locating the cables within a previously disturbed corridor. TRC and HDR|DTA were retained by CHPEI to identify and delineate federal and state jurisdictional wetlands and waterways along the underground route. Wetland scientists from TRC and HDR|DTA conducted wetland delineations from October to December 2009 and April to June 2010. The delineations were performed in accordance with the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) wetland delineation methodology outlined in the USACE 1987 Wetland Delineation Manual, the Interim Regional Supplement for the Northcentral and Northeast Region (USACE, 2009), and the New York State Freshwater Wetlands Delineation Manual (Browne et. al., 1995). This Wetlands Functions and Values Assessment includes all the impacted wetlands that are potentially under federal and/or state jurisdiction. Alterations to state jurisdictional wetlands are regulated under Article 24 of the Environmental Conservation Law and Regulations (6NYCRR Parts 663, 664 and 665), as administered by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation’s (NYSDEC) Freshwater Wetlands Program. State jurisdictional wetlands are mapped by the NYSDEC, and include wetlands that are at least 12.4 acres in size as well as smaller wetlands that have unusual local importance as determined by the NYSDEC. The NYSDEC also regulates activities within the 100-foot Adjacent Area outside of the boundary of state jurisdictional wetlands. Federally jurisdictional Waters of the United States are subject to United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) permitting under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act (CWA) and Water Quality Certification under Section 401 of the CWA. Jurisdictional determination for federal wetlands is typically established as part of the USACE permitting process. This assessment is designed to evaluate all wetland areas potentially under federal jurisdiction that may be impacted by the Project. 2.0 FUNCTIONS AND VALUES ASSESSMENT METHODOLOGY This functional assessment was conducted in accordance with the Wetlands Functions and Values: Descriptive Approach described in the September 1999 (NAEEP-360-1-30a) supplement to The Highway Methodology Workbook (Supplement) by the New England Division of the USACE. The method is 1 Champlain Hudson Power Express Project Wetlands Functions and Values Assessment descriptive and designed to provide a flexible approach that incorporates wetland science along with human judgment regarding more subjective values and benefits. As part of this method, the evaluator takes into account a number of “Considerations/Qualifiers” that can be used as indicators or descriptors of particular functions and values. Appendix A of the supplement identifies from three to as many as 32 “Considerations/Qualifiers” that may be possible indicators of different wetlands functions and values. Ultimately, the “Considerations/Qualifiers” are designed to be flexible and based on best professional judgment, taking into account other relevant site-specific observations of the evaluator. Using these indicators, the evaluator determines which functions and values are present in the wetland, and which are the principal functions and values that make up the important physical aspects of the wetland and/or are of special value due to their economic importance, their uniqueness, or their local, regional, and/or national significance. Wetland functions are ecosystem properties that are present without regard to any subjective human values. They are considered to be the result of the biologic, geologic, hydrologic, biogeochemical and/or physical processes that take place within a wetland. The Supplement attributes the following possible functions to wetlands: 1. Groundwater Recharge/Discharge 2. Floodflow Alteration 3. Fish and Shellfish Habitat 4. Sediment/Toxicant/Pathogen Retention 5. Nutrient Removal/Retention/Transformation 6. Production (Nutrient) Export 7. Sediment/Shoreline Stabilization 8. Wildlife Habitat Wetland values are considered to be the perceived benefits to society that can be derived from the ecosystem functions and/or other characteristics of a wetland. These values may depend on considerations such as location of the wetland, accessibility, human disturbance or pressures, economics, surrounding land uses, and cultural or historic information. Values attributed to wetlands in the Supplement include