GREEN SHEET ENVIRONMENTAL COMMITMENTS FOR THE IOWA HIGHWAY 100 EXTENSION

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1 County: Linn County, IA GREEN SHEET Location: IA 100, from its terminus at Edgewood Rd. to US 30 southwest of Cedar Rapids Route: IA 100 Extension Project No.: NHS-100-1(36) OLE Project Managers: Lindsay Edgar (Water Resources), DeeAnn Newell (NEPA) The Iowa DOT has agreed during coordination with the Iowa DNR, Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Linn County Conservation Board to fulfill the following environmental commitments regarding the location, design, construction and/or maintenance of the proposed Iowa Highway 100 extension. This information is being provided to assist project designers, construction staff, and maintenance staff, as well as location, environmental, and cultural staff in their efforts regarding the transportation facility and to assure that knowledge of the environmental commitments that need to be fulfilled are communicated during project development and construction. Environmental Commitments: Topic A: Right of Way Commitment: 1. The Iowa DOT will purchase the following property in the vicinity of the Rock Island Preserve for Section 4f and endangered species mitigation purposes and will donate the properties to the Linn County Conservation Board (see attached figure): Property that will be land locked between the Selected Alternative and the north side of the former railroad right-of-way (ROW), Property north of the State Preserve, where the residence will be displaced by the Selected Alternative, Property between the residential properties on the south site of Doe Run Drive (Woodland Estates Subdivision) and the north side of the Selected Alternative. The City of Cedar Rapids may also turn over ownership of ROW that is not needed to construct the Selected Alternative (the former railroad ROW) to the Linn County Conservation Board. OLE will request acquisition of the areas in a future D5 submittal. 2. The Iowa DOT will purchase approximately 20 to 30 acres of ornate box turtle habitat along a sandy ridge, located on a farm west of Cedar River. The parcel will be re-seeded with prairie species and donated to the Linn County Conservation Board. OLE will request acquisition of the area in a future D5 submittal. Topic B: Woodland and Plant Communities Commitment: 1. The Iowa DOT will preserve woodland stands within or adjacent to the project corridor. Wooded areas and other upland habitat will be preserved on the property Iowa DOT proposes to acquire and turn over to the Linn County Conservation Board in the area of Rock Island Preserve. Included in this area is the northern panic grass, a state protected species. Additional woodland stands or suitable areas for tree plantings may also be located and preserved offsite for mitigation purposes. Iowa DOT will coordinate with the Linn County Conservation Board to determine the best consensus approach for mitigating the loss of the woodland resources. Office of Design should minimize clearing and grubbing in final design. OLE will develop appropriate woodland mitigation for this project. 1

2 Topic C: Critter Crossings, Barriers, and Habitat Commitment: 1. The Iowa DOT will use 8-foot high deer fencing to limit vehicle-deer crashes in the area of the Rock Island Preserve. Office of Design and Office of Traffic and Safety should ensure that deer fencing will be used on the north and south sides of the proposed highway from the east abutment of the Cedar River bridge to the west edge of the Xavier High School property boundary. Traffic and Safety should coordinate with the Iowa DNR on fence locations as design progresses. 2. Small animal barrier fencing will be included wherever deer fencing is utilized. The small animal barrier will consist of a 4-foot high, ½ mesh chain link fence which will restrict the movement of smaller animals onto the highway ROW. The small animal barrier must be buried at least 12. Office of Design and Office of Traffic and Safety should ensure that a small animal barrier is used in conjunction with deer fencing. Design detail sheet should be incorporated into the plans. 3. A turtle crossing will be constructed between the Swan Pond and the Seeman s pond to provide access for the Blanding s turtle, which uses the area as a movement corridor. Small animal barrier fencing should be used at the crossing to direct turtles and other wildlife towards the crossing and prevent them from gaining access to the highway. Preliminary D2 plans show a 10 x10 box culvert near Sta for the turtle crossing. The Iowa DOT will reconstruct Seeman s pond to create a natural pond/wetland habitat for the Blanding s turtles. It is anticipated that management and ownership of the Seeman s Pond will be transferred to the Linn County Conservation Board. Design plans may require a pump system to maintain appropriate water depths for summer and winter use by the Blanding s turtle. Office of Design should coordinate with OLE on further design of the turtle crossing and silt fence barrier fencing. It is anticipated that OLE mitigation design team will create reconstruction plans for the Seeman s pond. Final plans (S sheets) will be coordinated with the Office of Design. OLE is currently developing a 28E with Linn County for future management of the area. 4. The preferred alternative will cross the Blanding s turtles habitat located on the Rock Island State Preserve, the Seeman property, and the Swan Pond. Blanding s turtles will be captured and relocated by a qualified biologist prior to construction. OLE will coordinate with the Iowa DNR during capture and relocate activities. Temporary exclusionary fencing (silt fence) should be included in the design plans and used during construction. 5. The Iowa DOT will coordinate with the Iowa DNR to ensure appropriate mitigation measures for affecting potential habitat for the ornate box and Blanding s turtle are undertaken. OLE will coordinate with the Iowa DNR as necessary. 6. The Iowa DOT will avoid impacts to the Byssus Skipper habitat near the Cedar River. The Iowa DOT s preferred alternative avoids direct impacts to the Byssus skipper. 2

3 Topic D: Water Quality, Hydrology, Surface Water, and Hydraulics Commitment: 1. The Iowa DOT will collect and convey roadway runoff into roadside ditches in the portion of the project west of the Cedar River to mitigate the effect of road salt application. East of the Cedar River, runoff will be collected in storm sewers and directed away from the wetlands and upland areas within and adjacent to the Rock Island Preserve. The sewers will outlet into ditches that will drain to the Cedar River and Ushers Ferry Creek. Office of Design should ensure roadway runoff is conveyed accordingly. 2. The Iowa DOT will plant salt-tolerant plant species within the ROW, north of the Rock Island Preserve to intercept salt splash and spray. The Iowa DOT will also seed roadside ditches and other disturbed areas with local eco-type seed of species present on the preserve. Roadside Development should specify appropriate seed mixes and should coordinate with OLE and the Linn County Conservation Board as needed. Expenses associated with the use of local ecotype seed will be cost shared with the Linn County Conservation Board through a 28E Agreement. 3. The Iowa DOT will perform construction in streams during periods of low or normal flow and will avoid work in streams between March 15 th and June 15 th. Stream flows will not be interrupted and culverts will be put in place where temporary in-channel fill could impound water. District 6, Office of Contracts and Office of Design should accommodate these dates. OLE will work with Design on a plan note. 4. The Iowa DOT will provide compensatory mitigation to offset wetland impacts in accordance with 404 permitting. The Iowa DOT will attempt to locate compensatory mitigation sites within or adjacent to the project corridor. If no sites are available or appropriate, compensatory mitigation will be located offsite. OLE will develop appropriate wetland mitigation for this project. Topic E: Roadway Engineering Commitment: 1. The Iowa DOT agreed upon the following measures to minimize harm caused by the footprint of the selected alternative within Section 4(f) resources: An urban cross section with a raised barrier median and curbed shoulder will be used east of the Cedar River. Section of the Record Of Decision describes the distance from the face of the curb on one side of the roadway to the face of curb on the other as 86 feet wide. In contrast, Section 4F of the Final EIS describes the width of the urban section as 96 feet from the edge of the shoulder on one side of the roadway to the edge of the shoulder on the other. Because these widths are different, it is recommended that Office of Design evaluate these measurements during the design process to best determine the appropriate roadway width in the urban section. A 120-foot wide rural cross section with a depressed median will be used west of the river. These widths represent only the roadway features and do not include earthwork or roadbed. The Office of Design should carefully evaluate roadway widths as the design progresses. East of the Cedar River, in the urban cross section, the width of the median will be minimized. In the rural section, the median width typically will be 50 feet, but in the urban section, it will be 16 feet. The Iowa DOT will continue to look for opportunities to reduce the cross section, including potential further narrowing of the median. Barrier walls or guardrail may be used on the outside edge of the shoulder to allow steeper slopes on roadside ditches and embankments. The current standard is a 3:1 slope. By using a barrier or guard rail, slopes may be steepened to 2.5:1 or to as much as 2:1. 3

4 Where practicable, retaining walls may be used, in conjunction with guardrail, to minimize the need for earth fill, which will require wider slopes for stability. Depending on the height of fill, the foreslope may be as flat as 4:1. The standard for roadside ditches typically is a 5-foot depth with a 10-foot wide bottom. In areas draining toward the Cedar River, where flow will not be restricted, a ditch 5 feet deep and 4 feet wide on the bottom may be used in conjunction with a closed storm sewer system in the urban section. Where possible, the roadway alignment will be designed to match ground lines as closely as possible. This will reduce the need for deep cut or high fill sections, which because of the need for soil stability for backslopes, generally have a wider cross section. 2. The Iowa DOT will consider measures during the design phase such as minor alignment shifts or steepening roadway sideslopes to reduce wetland impacts. Impacts to wetlands and streams will be mitigated in accordance with the USEPA s Section 404 (b)(1) guidelines. OLE will coordinate with the Office of Design to minimize impacts to wetlands by use of exclusionary fencing, minor alignment shifts, and/or steepening roadway sideslopes. OLE will develop any necessary wetland mitigation. 3. The Cedar River bridge will be maintained on structure for a distance longer than structurally required in order to create a wildlife crossing area between the Iowa Northern Railroad and Iowa Highway 100 along the river bank. Office of Bridge should ensure that the Cedar River Bridge is long enough to create a wildlife crossing underneath the bridge. Office of Bridge should coordinate with OLE on final design plans for wildlife crossing. Topic F: Noise Commitment: 1. The Iowa DOT will minimize future traffic noise to the degree possible utilizing methods such as quiet pavement technologies and landscaping near the Rock Island County and State Preserves. 2. The Iowa DOT will minimize construction noise by the use of mufflers on construction equipment and air compressors will meet federal noise level standards and will, if possible be shielded from sensitive noise receivers. 4

5 Disposition: These commitments were compiled and reviewed by the following persons: OLE Director: Jim Rost Date: 1/6/10 Cultural Resources Manager: Randy Faber Date: 1/6/10 Location Engineer: Date: NEPA Document Manager: DeeAnn Newell Date: 1/6/10 Protected Species Manager: Jill Rudloff Date: 1/6/10 Regulated Materials Manager: Date: Water Resources Manager: Lindsay Edgar Date: 1/6/10 These commitments were transferred to the following offices: Commitment Office Contact Date Number A1, A2, B1, C3, C4, C5, C6, D4, E2 OLE: Jim Rost 1/15/10 C1, C2, C3, C4, D1, D2, D3, E1, E2, E3 Road Design: Kennerly/Jia/Masteller 1/15/10 All District Engineer: Jim Schnoebelen 1/15/10 All Assistant District Engineer: Kenneth Yanna 1/15/10 All District Construction Engineer: Bruce Kuehl 1/15/10 Resident Construction Engineer: Consultant Coordination Section: E1, E2, E3 Bridges and Structures: Norm McDonald 1/15/10 A1, A2 ROW: Dave Widick 1/15/10 Construction: John Smythe 1/15/10 Local Systems: All FHWA: Mike LaPietra 1/15/10 D3 Contracts: Roger Bierbaum 1/15/10 Specifications: Maintenance: C1, C2 Traffic and Safety: Troy Jerman 1/15/10 Additional Comments: 5

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