Comment EI-5442
Received or sent (printed as 2/14/2008)
Mr. Troy Brady Surface Transportation Board Case Control Unit Washington, DC 20423 RE: Environmental Assessment Union Pacific Railroad Company STB Docket No. AB-33 (Sub.No. 255) Abandonment from milepost 38.6 to mile post 33.0 Carver and Scott Counties, Minnesota Thank you for the opportunity for the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) to review the Environmental Assessment regarding the Union Pacific Railroad plan to abandon the above referenced segment of rail line. The Environmental Assessment indicated the proposed action may include removal of track materials but did not indicate any specific construction or demolition other actions of physical alteration of the site. Our comments are as follows: 1. If there is to be demolition of any of the seven bridges identified in the Environmental Assessment, a description of the action should be provided to assure that the demolition material will not be dropped or disposed of in the waterways and that all demolition material will be disposed or reused in accordance with state demolition disposal requirements. Any railroad ties and all other demolition debris that are removed from the abandon line must be reused/recycled or disposed of in accordance with Minn. Rules 7035 for disposal of Solid Waste. We encourage you to explore reuse opportunities for any material removed during the project 2. If the project construction changes to subsequently include the placement fill material into any waters including wetlands or demolition of all or portions of the bridge across the Minnesota River, we recommend you contact the St. Paul District Office of the Army Corps of Engineers at (651) 290-5366 for further information to determine if a Clean Water Act Section 404 permit would be required for this action. Our Agency is responsible for completing a Clean Water Act Section 401 Water Quality Certification on any federal permits such as the section 404 permit. Therefore, if the Corps of Engineers determines a 404 permit is required for this action, only then would a 401 Water Quality Certification from our agency be required. In addition, under the Minnesota State Wetland Conservation Act, if you drain or fill any wetland you should contact the local unit of government for a Wetland Replacement Plan approval. You may find these local contacts at the Minnesota Board of Water and Soil Resources web site at: http://www.bwsr.state.mn.us/directories/WCA.pdf . 3. We always recommend that a site erosion plan should be developed and incorporated into any construction effort that will prevent sediment runoff by actions such as: 1) keeping exposed soil to a minimum; 2) using sediment barriers such as straw bales and fabric barriers in all drainage channels; 3) constructing a runoff collection ditch and sediment pond if appropriate; 4) mulching and seeding appropriate areas after construction. The erosion control systems must be properly installed, regularly inspected, and sufficiently maintained in order to prevent sediments at the project site from eroding into waters of the state. In addition to developing an erosion plan as suggested for any projects, specifically if this project will disturb one (1) or more acres of land, the owner is required to apply to the MPCA for coverage under a Clean Water Act Section 402 General National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System Permit (NPDES) that specifically requires development of a Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan (SWPPP) that must include the incorporation of Best Management Practices (BMP) to control erosion and sediment during construction, and a storm water management plan to manage pollutants in storm water runoff from the site that will occur after construction is complete. The permit requires that these BMP be prepared for the project and incorporated into the plans and specifications prior to the start of construction. Additional information and application forms for the Construction Stormwater NPDES Permit can be found on this MPCA web site: (http://www.pca.state.mn.us/water/stormwater/stormwater-c.html ). 4. If there are any maintenance yards, switching areas or other such facilities located in the project area we would recommend that a thorough inspection and evaluation of those areas for any possible oil spills should be conducted. In the past the MPCA has encountered soils contaminated with petroleum, PAHs, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) at other railroad sites such as these. After you conduct this evaluation, if a release has been discovered you must comply with Minnesota Statute 115.061 and notify the MPCA. 5. The following named waters crossed by the stretch of the Union Pacific Rail Road that is proposed for the abandonment. These waters appear on the 2006 MPCA 303d Impaired Waters list. The attached portion of the 2006 MPCA 303d Impaired Waters list below identifies the pollutants of concern and the affected use for these receiving waters. The information regarding the listed impairments may be found at the MPCA website under 2006 Final List of Impaired Waters at: http://www.pca.state.mn.us/publications/wq-iw1-03-2006.pdf The Environmental Assessment should note the status of these waters as impaired and assure that the activities proposed will not contribute to the listed impairment. i. Carver Creek Headwaters to Minnesota R 02 07020012-516 Aquatic recreation Fecal coliform ii. Carver Creek Headwaters to Minnesota R 02 07020012-516 Aquatic life Turbidity iii. Chaska Creek Headwaters to Minnesota R 06 07020012-512 Aquatic recreation Fecal coliform iv. Minnesota River Carver Creek to RM 22 98 07020012-506 Aquatic consumption Mercury1 Water Column v. Minnesota River Carver Creek to RM 22 98 07020012-506 Aquatic consumption Mercury1FCA vi. Minnesota River Carver Creek to RM 22 02 07020012-506 Aquatic consumption PCB FCA vii. Minnesota River Carver Creek to RM 22 96 07020012-506 Aquatic life Turbidity viii. Minnesota River Sand Cr to Carver Cr 98 07020012-532 Aquatic consumption Mercury1 Water Column ix. Minnesota River Sand Cr to Carver Cr 98 07020012-532 Aquatic consumption Mercury1FCA x. Minnesota River Sand Cr to Carver Cr 02 07020012-532 Aquatic consumption PCB FCA xi. Unnamed Creek Headwaters to Minnesota R 06 07020012-528 Aquatic recreation Fecal coliform xii. Unnamed Creek (East Creek) Unnamed Cr to Minnesota R 06 07020012-581 Aquatic recreation Fecal coliform xiii. Unnamed Creek (East Creek) Unnamed Cr to Minnesota R 04 07020012-581 Aquatic life Fish IBI 6. There is a calcareous fen (Carver County: Seminary fen, 75 (T.116, R.23, S.35) located north east of the end point of the abandonment at M.P. 33.0. This calcareous fen is listed in our water quality standards contained in Minn. Rule 7050.0180 Subp.3 as an Outstanding Resource Value Waters. The Water Quality classification, designated use and other water quality information can be found at the web site for MPCA water quality standards Minn. Rule 7050: (http://www.revisor.leg.state.mn.us/bin/getpub.php?pubtype=RULECHAP&year=current &chapter=7050 ) The Agency recognizes that the maintenance of existing high quality in some waters of outstanding resource value to the state is essential to their function as exceptional recreational, cultural, aesthetic, or scientific resources. To preserve the value of these special waters, the Agency will stringently control new or expanded discharges from either point or nonpoint sources to outstanding resource value waters. The Environmental Assessment should identify this calcareous fen and assure that there will be no impact to the fen as part of the abandonment activities. If you have any questions or concerns regarding these comments please contact me. Lawrence S. Zdon Minnesota Pollution Control Agency Municipal Division Stormwater Section 520 Lafayette Rd. St. Paul, Minnesota 55155 Phone (651) 297-8219 Fax (651) 297-8683 E-mail lawrence.zdon@pca.state.mn.us
Submitted by: Lawrence S. Zdon · Minnesota Pollution Control Agency · St. Paul, MN
The Board publishes this comment in its environmental-comment table for this proceeding. It is quoted here as printed; nothing is inferred from it, and it states the commenter's own position in their own words, not this record's.
UP RR Abandonment AB 33 255 Chaska.doc ↓
Permanent address docketyard.org/d/AB-33/sub/255/comment/EI-5442
File docketyard.org/document/2f2b76246b3736dcba1aae6ae13d04182c645e4cf9eb281e6ac9661cee7405f7.bin · back to the docket sheet