North Peoria Area Drainage Master Plan - Flood Control District of ...

NORTH PEORIAAREA DRAINAGE MASTER PLANment process. There is a nationwide trendtowards promoting non-structural approachesand ecosystem preservation, as witnessed bythe removal of flood control structures inmany parts of the country. Federal agenciessuch as the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers andthe U.S. Bureau of Reclamation have, in recentyears, significantly changed their focus fromhard engineering solutions to include nonstructuralalternatives, preservation of naturalhydrologic functions, and ecosystem restoration.The specific input from the publicinvolvement process was that the preservationof watercourses and their associated habitat ismore important than maximizing developableland by destroying the natural hydrologic processes,which results from encroaching intowatercourses.Multiple-use Opportunities. This element is anindicator of the multiple-use opportunities ofan alternative. Examples of such usesincluded passive and active recreation, trails,and open space. The effectiveness of the criterionis based on the extent of multi-use opportunitiesthat result from implementing a givenalternative.Compatibility with Other Existing Plans. Thiselement is an indicator of the compatibility ofa proposed alternative with planning policiescited in other existing planning documents.Planning documents reviewed are, ComprehensivePlan-Maricopa County’s Eye to theFuture 2020 (1997), and White Tank/GrandAvenue Area Plan (December 6, 2000); MAG’sDesert Spaces Plan (1995) and ESDA (June2000); and the City of Peoria’s General Plan(June 2001), Desert Lands Conservation MasterPlan (Auusst 1999), Lake Pleasant/NorthPeoria Area Plan (November 1999) and TrailsMaster Plan (January 1999).Environmental CriterionThe evaluation of the Environmental Criterionis based on the effectiveness of each alternativein satisfying the three elements of EnvironmentalImpacts, Visual Resources andAesthetic Compatibility, and Impacts on CulturalResources.16Environmental Impacts. This element consists oftwo sub elements: complexity of environmentalpermitting and impacts on biologicalresources. Complexity of Environmental Permittingfocuses on the acquisition of the U.S.Army Corps of Engineers 404 Permits and 401Water Quality Certifications. The alternativesare measured based on the potential for needinga 404 Permit, the level of 404 Permitrequired (Nationwide vs. Individual), and thelevel of mitigation necessary to gain federalapproval to construct the alternative. To evaluatethis element, it is assumed that alternativeswith structural features will causedisturbance to the land within the Waters ofthe United States. The more extensive thestructural features, the lower the rating. As anexample, constructing a wide, rectangular,concrete channel would place fill within theWaters of the United States, require an Individual404 Permit and 401 Water Quality Certification,and require extensive mitigationmeasures to replace the relatively high-valuehabitat and vegetation associated with theundisturbed desert riparian wash. Impacts onbiological resources accounts for the potentialimpact on biological resources by the proposedalternatives and how well the proposedmanagement alternative will succeed in preservingor restoring the natural riparian environmentfound along the study watercourses.The most important indicator of this is theability of a given alternative to preserve wildlifehabitat or minimize disruption to existinghabitat.Visual Resource and Aesthetic Compatibility.This element evaluates the relative degree ofcontrast between the various components ofthe alternatives and their setting in the landscape.Visual contrast is based on spatialdominance, visual compatibility, color, line,and form.Impact on Cultural Resources. This elementaccounts for the potential impact on culturalresources by a given alternative. It is also anindicator of how well the alternatives will succeedin preserving cultural resources.