The following is a preliminary Q&A with Mark Alan Carpenter, P.E. District 12 Environmental Engineer about the Environmental Impact Study ODOT is required by federal law to perform to measure the effects of adding infrastructure on the environment such as water and air quality, and cultural and historic resources.
ODOT will continue to accept public comment on all aspects of the Cleveland Innerbelt Plan until March 5, 2007, including the Draft Environmental Impact Study (DEIS). Comments received after March 5 will be included in the Final Environmental Impact Study.
Comments on the environmental impact of the Innerbelt Project are important because they have the ability to alter the plans to respond to local conditions.
Q: How will the study identify areas that may be at risk or will be impacted environmentally?
A: The Draft EIS will identify environmental resources such as ecological resources, historic/architecture resources, hazardous material sites, and endangered species in the project area. It will also describe the anticipated impacts to these environmental resources.
Q: What Phase I environmental survey work is being done other than the Ecological Survey Report prepared by URS Corp.? Will ODOT carry out Phase II environmental studies?
A: A Phase I ESA and a Phase I Cultural Resources Reports have been completed.
ODOT is currently performing Phase II Environmental Site Assessment to locate and determine the type of hazardous materials that may be encountered during construction. ODOT is reviewing the Phase II Cultural Resources Report prepared to determine properties that are eligible for the National Register of Historic Properties. While no further ecological survey is anticipated, a Corps of Engineers 404 permit and Ohio EPA 401 Water Quality Certification may be required prior to construction near the Cuyahoga River.
The Level 1 Ecological Survey is still in draft form. It is currently being revised by our consultant.
Q:How are the federal guidelines written to define the study area? Will ODOT study the resources and impacts only in the right-of-way or do the guidelines call for study up and downstream?
A: The study area is a broad area around where the problem is located. In the beginning, there are no solutions identified so a broad area around the problem(s) is established. As the process develops, the study area will grow or shrink as needed. It will grow if areas are identified through preliminary engineering, stakeholder comment, and public involvement that were not identified earlier. In the same way, areas that are identified that will not be impacted are removed from the study area.
ODOT studies the area within the study area. This is usually 100 feet upstream and downstream of a river crossing.
Q: How do you model the impact to regional air quality?
A: A PM (particulate matter) 2.5 Hot Spot Analysis is the required modeling to determine the project specific air quality impacts. The regional air quality modeling is completed by the Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency (NOACA) based on all the anticipated projects in the region.
(Note: GCBL has requested and will review copies of Level 1 Ecological Survey and the Phase I Cultural Resources Report)
