Mined Land Use Plan1

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Mining Permit ApplicationMining Permit

pplication

G 4 2 1 0 J

Hounsfield Wind Power Project Galloo Island, Jefferson County, New YorkHounsfield Wind Power Project

Galloo Island Jefferson County New York

Prepared by:

77 Goodell Street

Buffalo, New York 14203

Prepared for:

Upstate New York Power Corporation

950-A Union Road, Suite 20 West Seneca, New York 14224

July 2009uly 9


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MINING PERMIT APPLICATION

HOUNSFIELD WIND POWER PROJECT

JEFFERSON COUNTY, NEW YORK

Prepared for:

UPSTATE NEW YORK POWER CORPORATION

950-A UNION ROAD, SUITE 20

WEST SENECA, NEW YORK 14224

Prepared by:

URS CORPORATION

77 GOODELL STREET

BUFFALO, NEW YORK 14203

JULY 2009


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J:\11175332.00000\WORD\DRAFT\Galloo Island\Mining Permit\MINED LAND USE PLAN.doc

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page No.

1.0 INTRODUCTION..................................................................................................................1-1

1.1 General ...............................................................................................................................1-1

1.2 Geography..........................................................................................................................1-2

2.0 EXISTING CONDITIONS....................................................................................................2-1

2.1 Land Use and History.........................................................................................................2-1

2.2 Soils....................................................................................................................................2-1

2.3 Vegetation .......................................................................................................................... 2-2

2.4 Topography and Drainage..................................................................................................2-2

3.0 MINERAL AND MINING METHOD..................................................................................3-1

3.1 Geology..............................................................................................................................3-1

3.2 Proposed Mining Operation ...............................................................................................3-13.2.1 Blasting .......................................................................................................................... 3-1

3.2.2 Phasing ...........................................................................................................................3-2

3.2.3 Mine Layout...................................................................................................................3-2

3.2.4 Operation........................................................................................................................3-2

4.0 POLLUTION CONTROL AND PREVENTION OF ENVIRONMENTAL DAMAGE......4-1

4.1 Erosion and Sediment Control ...........................................................................................4-1

5.0 RECLAMATION PLAN ....................................................................................................... 5-1

DRAWINGS

(Following Text)

Cover Sheet, Notes, Legend, Index, and Abbreviations

C-001 Existing Site Conditions

C-002 Mined Land Use Plan

C-003 Reclamation Plan

ES-001 Erosion and Sediment Control Notes and Details

APPENDICES

Appendix A Mining Permit Application Form


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1.0 INTRODUCTION

This document comprises the Mined Land Use and Mined Land Reclamation Plans

prepared in support of an application for a Mining Permit for the Hounsfield Wind Power Project,

located in the Town of Hounsfield, Jefferson County, New York.

The Hounsfield Wind Power Project (Project) will be a commercial-scale, 252-megawatt

wind turbine facility. The power will be generated by 84 wind turbine generators (WTGs) that will

be constructed on Galloo Island, in the eastern end of Lake Ontario.

URS Corporation (URS) has been retained by Upstate New York Power Corp. (UNYPC) to

prepare these plans for certain excavation activities that will be conducted on Galloo Island to

generate gravel for road construction at the Project.

Much of the information provided in this plan has been taken from the DEIS: Draft

Environmental Impact Statement for the Hounsfield Wind Farm (American Consulting

Professionals of New York, PLLC, Feb., 2009), available at

http://www.upstatenypower.com/index.html.

1.1 General

The proposed mine will be located on Galloo Island, and will be approximately 2.1 acres in

size, with an additional 3 acres of affected land for processing, stockpiles, a loading area, and

sediment trap. The maximum depth of excavation will be approximately 24 feet. The capacity of the

mine will be approximately 50,000 cubic yards of rock (before crushing).

All of the mining proposed for this project will occur during the term of the present permit;

no phasing is proposed. The rock will be crushed and used for access road construction. It is not

anticipated that the rock will be of sufficient quality for use as concrete aggregate or as bedding for

foundations.


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1.2 Geography

The location of Galloo Island in relation to New York State and Canada is shown on the

cover sheet of the attached drawing set. Galloo Island is approximately 4.5 miles long and 1.5

miles wide, and is largely undeveloped land.


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2.0 EXISTING CONDITIONS

2.1 Land Use and History

No mining has occurred previously on the affected land or Galloo Island. Historically, the

Island has been used for recreation (as a hunting retreat) and limited agriculture. The United States

Coast Guard maintained a light house and supporting residence on the Island until recently. The

lighthouse and residence remain, but they are no longer in operation. The Island has no power or

communication infrastructure.

There are three residential houses on the island that have been used in the past as lodging

for hunters, and are currently used during design studies. The island has a grass landing strip for

small aircraft and a dock within Gill Harbor for small boats.

The Galloo Island Lighthouse is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. No

other structures or resources on Galloo Island are listed on or known to be eligible for either the

State or National Register of Historic Places. The Galloo Island Lighthouse will not be impacted by

the construction activities proposed for the island. For additional information regarding historic and

cultural resources on the island, refer to the Phase 1A Cultural Resources Investigation included as

Appendix I of the DEIS.

2.2 Soils

Soil information for the Galloo Island was obtained from the Soil Survey of Jefferson

County. The majority of the island is comprised of Galloo-Rock and Galloo, acid Rock outcrop

(GbG/GcB). This soil consists of a thin layer (2 to 10 inches thick) of loamy till that overlies the

limestone. Typically it consists of 55% soils and 25% rock outcrop with bedrock. Soils on the

northern end of the island (which is lower topographically) consist of an even mixture of silty and

clayey glaciolacustrine deposits ranging in thickness from 10- 40 inches.


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2.3 Vegetation

Galloo Island contains a variety of ecological community cover types including maintained

lawn, open field, agricultural land, cliffs, scrub-shrub upland, deciduous forest upland, mixed forest

upland, rocky shoreline, emergent wetland, wet meadow, scrub-shrub wetland, deciduous forest

wetland, and mixed forest wetland.

2.4 Topography and Drainage

Galloo Island is located in the Ontario Lowlands Physiographic Province of New York

State and is approximately 4.5 miles long and up to 1.5 miles wide with an elevation range of 250 to

305 feet above mean sea level. The island is generally flat with a steep sloping northeast facing

scarp at the northern end of the island. The rest of the island has a gently sloping surface that faces

southwest toward the main basin of Lake Ontario (known as a cuesta feature).

The current topography is the result of erosion, caused by Pleistocene glaciers that covered

the area approximately 18,000 years before present and post-glacial surface water drainage.

A pond covering approximately 22 acres is located on the eastern end of the island. A very

short stream (NYSDEC Class C) flows from one of the major wetlands into Lake Ontario over the

low cliffs along the southeastern edge of the island. Wetlands are developed across the island in the

hydric soils that are poorly drained where depth to groundwater is shallow.


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3.0 MINERAL AND MINING METHOD

3.1 Geology

The Project Area and surrounding islands are part of a larger area formed from what is

referred to as the Galloo Rock outcrop (Soil Survey of Jefferson County 1989) located in the area

known as the Galloo and Stony Basin (NOAA Chart) and the Northeast Lake Ontario-St. Lawrence

Basin. Within the basins there are a series of broad low northeast to southwest trending ridges that

combine to form a complex ridge extending from the west near Prince Edward Point, Ontario to the

east near Stony Point, New York. This ridge has a relief ranging from 20-30 meters and is

asymmetrical, with steep northeast facing scarps, and gently sloping surfaces facing southwest

toward the main basin of Lake Ontario. The cuesta features are gently rounded to flat on top, and

several are capped by islands, the principal of which are Main Duck, Galloo, and Stony Islands.

Bedrock can be observed under water immediately adjacent to the island along the east,

south and west sides of the island. A veneer of gravel is apparent on submerged bedrock along the

northern tip and the northeast shore of the island. Bedrock on land and submerged within the

Project Area is primarily composed of limestones of the Trenton Group, deposited 505-440 million

years ago during the Ordovician Period (New York State Museum, 1975). Limestone is subject to

dissolution by acidic groundwater along bedding planes, fractures, joints and faults. While no

limestone (karst) hazards are mapped on Galloo Island, the Trenton Group is comprised of

carbonate rocks that are susceptible to dissolution and sinkhole formation, especially with joint and

fractures common in limestone. In addition, an orthogonal joint system is developed in bedrock and

can be seen in shallow water from the air.

3.2 Proposed Mining Operation

3.2.1 Blasting

Mining will be performed by drilling and blasting. All blasting will be performed by a

contractor certified to operate in New York State and who complies with all necessary and

applicable Federal and regional requirements. All blasting practices and appropriate personnel will

conform to 12 NYCRR 39, as enforced through the New York State Department of Labor (April

1991).


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A Blasting Plan describing blasting operations and potential impacts to local above and

below grade structures has been prepared and is included in Appendix A to the DEIS. The Blasting

Plan adheres to all applicable regulations pertaining to blasting, including NYS Department of

Labor explosive handling regulations (12 NYCRR Part 39) and NYSDEC blasting/mining

regulations.

3.2.2 Phasing

All of the mining proposed for this project will occur during the term of the present permit;

no phasing is proposed.

3.2.3 Mine Layout

Drawing C-002 shows the affected area, the layout of the equipment, and the proposed

grades of the mine.

The mine itself will be roughly 200 feet by 450 feet, approximately 2.1 acres. The

maximum depth of excavation will be approximately 24 feet below existing grade (approximately

23 feet below the top of rock after removal of the topsoil and overburden). The floor of the mine

will slope up at approximately 3 percent from a bottom toe elevation of 268. The sides of the mine

will have a slope of approximately one vertical to two horizontal (1V:2H), roughly similar to the

existing escarpment into which the mine is cut and the adjacent grades of the remaining escarpment.

The processing area, spoil area, and stockpile/loading area will be located downslope of the

mine.

3.2.4 Operation

Overburden will be stripped and stockpiled for re-use during restoration. Any lenses of soil

encountered during mining will also be stockpiled. Those stockpiles will be located between the

mine and the gravel-paved stockpile/loading area for the crushed stone.

Rock will be excavated by drilling and blasting, followed by removal of the shot rock from

the mining area with a front-end loader. Blasting will begin in the low point of the floor of the


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mining area, the north-east corner, at approximately elevation 268, and proceed south-westward.

Drilling equipment will access the top of the mining area on the temporary access road from the

south.

The maximum depth of excavation will be approximately 24 feet below existing grade(approximately 23 feet below the top of rock after removal of the topsoil and overburden). Over any

given area, blasting will be performed in one event to the full depth of excavation.

After blasting, the loading equipment will work into the cut from the low point. The front-

end loader will move the shot rock into a crusher plant, where it will be crushed to approximately 3-

inch maximum size for use on the access roads. The crushed rock will not be screened, but will be

stockpiled by belted conveyor in the gravel-paved stockpile/loading area. Trucks will enter the

stockpile/loading area from the adjacent access road, from which they will haul the crushed stone tothe work areas throughout the wind farm project.


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4.0 POLLUTION CONTROL AND PREVENTION OF ENVIRONMENTAL DAMAGE

Due to the isolated location of the mine, no specific visual screening, dust control, or noise

pollution abatement measures are proposed for the mining operation.

4.1 Erosion and Sediment Control

All work on the project is subject to the terms of a Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan

submitted to the NYSDEC in support of an application for coverage of the project under New York

SPDES General Permit GP-0-08-001 for Stormwater Discharges from Construction Activity.

All runoff from the mine, the spoils area, and the stockpile/loading area, approximately 5

acres, will be directed by earth dikes to the sediment trap located in the northeast portion of the

Mining Poject Boundary. The sediment trap will contain approximately 3600 cubic feet (ft3) of wet

storage per tributary acre in accordance with NY Standards and Specifications for Erosion and

Sediment Control (NYSSSESC) - a total of approximately 19,000 ft3. It will discharge to grade

downslope through a stone-lined spillway. Construction details of the proposed sediment trap are

shown on Drawing ES-001.


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5.0 RECLAMATION PLAN

No specific land use objective has been identified for the project limits of the mining area.

Thus, the goal of this Reclamation Plan is to stabilize the affected area in a manner that will

promote natural drainage without the risk of significant erosion.

Reclamation will occur only after the completion of the majority of wind farm construction

is completed.

The Reclamation Plan is shown on Drawing C-003. Reclamation will include removal of

gravel-paved surfaces, including the access road, the stockpile/loading area, and the pad for the

crusher plant. All areas disturbed by the mining operations, including the access road, mine,

stockpile/loading area, spoil area, earth dikes, and sediment trap, will then be topsoiled and seeded

in accordance with the specifications shown on Drawing ES-001. Temporary erosion control mat,

also shown on ES-001, will be used to stabilize the topsoil and seed placed on the sideslopes of the

mine.


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APPENDIX A

MINING PERMIT APPLICATION FORM


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Documents

Mined Land Use Plan1