Addison Road to Largo Town Center Metrorail Extension

Reference

Mike Madden, Project Manager: (410) 767-3694

Project Highlights

  • Forest Stand Delineation
  • Wetland Delineation
  • Draft and Final Environmental Impact Statements

Project Details

The Maryland Transit Authority (MTA) was investigating the feasibility and potential environmental impacts of an extension of the blue line of the Washington Metrorail system from its current eastern terminus at Addison Road, to a new terminal station near the US Air Arena in Largo.

CRI prepared the natural resource portions of the Draft (DEIS) and Final (FEIS) Environmental Impact Statement, a forest stand delineation and assisted the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) in obtaining a final Jurisdictional Determination (JD) of wetlands for the wetlands permit during Final Design of the project.

The Final Environmental Impact Statement was prepared for the study corridor and published in December of 1999. The wetland JD was obtained in March of 2001.

Forest Stand Delineation

CRI prepared a Forest Stand Delineation (FSD) for the railway alignment, including the station areas, in accordance with Maryland Department of Natural Resources (MDNR) Forest Conservation Act. Forest communities within the project area were divided into forest stands and characterized using standard MDNR plot field sampling methodologies. Tree species, size class, successional stage, and health were noted, and understory and herbaceous layers were described. Field information was compiled into a FSD report, and an environmental features map was generated showing stand locations and sensitive environmental features such as streams, wetlands, soil types, and specimen trees (>30 inches) in relation to the rail alignment and station areas.

CRI obtained FSD approval for the project from MDNR Forestry Division and coordinated extensively on mitigation options. CRI also conducted a Forest Interior Dwelling Bird Survey (FIDB) at the request of WMATA to address MDNR concerns about potential impacts to these species.

DEIS

CRI prepared a wetland technical report as a component of the DEIS to provide the technical basis for the wetland findings discussed in the larger document. Wetlands in the study area were identified using both in-house and field surveys.

In addition to wetlands, CRI collected field data on upland vegetative communities, surface waters, fisheries and wildlife, rare, threatened and endangered species and other natural resources along the 12 mile alignment. CRI mapped all information found in the field, calculated impacts to wetlands, forests and floodplains for various transit alternatives and wrote the natural environmental portions of the Affected Environment and Environmental Consequences Sections of the DEIS.

FEIS

CRI worked with MTA and WMATA to update all natural resource sections of the DEIS for the FEIS document and responded to federal, state and local agency comments. CRI coordinated with project engineers, MDE and the COE regarding avoidance and minimization of wetland impacts and wetland mitigation. A mitigation site search was conducted to offset impacts to wetlands and Waters of the U.S., and CRI coordinated with MDE and ACOE to obtain a jurisdictional determination of wetland boundaries for the project.