Agenda - 09-01-2009 - 6a - Laserfiche WebLink

Browse Search

3.13 Wildlife and Natural Vegetation The flora and faunal survey mentioned above will also allow the County to determine whether impacts from the construction and operation of a solid waste transfer station at this site will significantly affect the wildlife and natural vegetation of the site. As indicated previously, the site is wooded and the quadrangle that the site is located within contains the types of trees as indicated in Section 3.11 (oaks, hickories, and mixed hardwoods). In addition to this vegetation, the NHP inventory also indicated two species of vascular plants within the quadrangle that are considered rare within the state. The first species is Phacelia covillei (Buttercup Phacelia) and is also listed as a federal species of concern. According to an inventory by the NHP and Triangle Land Conservancy, this plant has been documented as recently as 2008 in the Lower Haw River State Natural Area located approximately 16 miles southeast of the proposed project site. The second species is Enemion biternatum (Eastern Isopyrum), which, according to the County's comprehensive plan, has been moved from the current list of rare plant species within the County to the historic list as it has not been observed for more than 20 years within Orange County. The NHP inventory also indicates the presence of a bird — Vireo gilvus (Warbling Vireo) — in the quadrangle, which is considered a rare species within the state. See the species descriptions in Appendix B. 3.14 Environmental Justice Prior to narrowing the candidate sites down to the final two, the sites were ranked with respect to a variety of criteria including environmental justice, which was most heavily weighted. In this case, 2000 census data were used to rank the sites regarding potentially vulnerable population groups including: minority populations, age ( <18 years and >65 years old), education ( >25 years old without a high school diploma or its equivalent), and low income populations (living below the poverty level). This was done by calculating the number of people per acre for each population group located within a 1000 -foot radius of the site. For each candidate site, the population densities for each of these population groups were added together, and the total value ranked from highest density (1 ranking) to lowest density (10 ranking) for the ten sites. This site was determined to have a low density of vulnerable populations, and as such, is not expected to place a disproportionate burden of potential environmental consequences on any one group of people. 1• 10 Environmental Assessment Site 056