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<br />It is anticipated that only Stmctural, Restrictive and Awareness mitigation measures will be necessary to <br />address any Environmental Consequences to Important Farmland and Prime Rangeland as well as to Formally <br />Classified Lands. <br /> <br />Direct and indirect effects can be avoided if all mitigation practices are followed. A cumulative effect such as <br />increased population growth is likely limited due to local zoning ordinances. Growth impacts will be mitigated <br />due to only limited growth, if any, within the water service area. Additional cumulative growth in the area <br />will be regulated through the Montezuma County Landowner Initiated Zoning and Subdivision processes that <br />control parcel size and development via laws and public input. <br /> <br />The Cortez based USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service field office and the Bureau of Land <br />ManagementIForest Service Dolores field office will be notified via letter with an accompanying copy of the <br />Environmental Review requesting comments. <br /> <br />3.2 Floodplains <br /> <br />3.2.1 Affected Environment <br /> <br />According to Flood Boundary Floodway Maps, no floodplains exist in the proposed project area. Because of <br />the limited amount of rainfall this area receives, floodplain mapping information is likely incomplete for the <br />proposed project area. FIRM maps did not indicate any mapped floodplains within the proposed project area. <br />Field review of the area confirmed that the proposed project will not include constmction within the drainage <br />of any major or minor drainages (including canyons and arroyos). <br /> <br />Ephemeral drainages such as Goodman Canyon and minor tributaries to the canyon have historically carried <br />floodwaters during monsoonal flows that visit this part of southwest Colorado during the late summer season. <br />Existing drainage systems within county right of ways including roadside ditches and culvert crossings are <br />designed to accommodate high flows and have survived what local weather forecasters have called 100 year <br />floods including a September 2004 deluge.( J Andms, 2006) <br /> <br />3.2.2 Environmental Consequences <br /> <br />Because no floodplains are present in the project area, there are no environmental consequences to floodplains. <br />Direct effects such as high monsoonal flows could increase sediment load within the project area and ultimately <br />into floodplains downstream if un-mitigated. In addition, direct effects could include the direction of <br />flood waters via open pipeline trenches into areas of concern including residential areas, agricultural operations, <br />critical habitat or other infrastmcture corridors. Indirect and cumulative effects are also similar to the direct <br />effects. <br /> <br />3.2.3 Mitigation <br /> <br />All direct, indirect and cumulative Environmental Consequences in relation to floodplains can be mitigated via <br />the following mitigation measures. <br /> <br />Stmctural mitigation includes the constmction of silt fences and water bars in an effort to slow mnoff, redirect <br />flow in a safe manner within the proposed project area and reduce erosion. Standard industry Best Management <br />Practices should be applied as a stmctural mitigation practice. <br /> <br />Restrictive mitigation to address Environmental Consequences includes halting constmction during excessive <br />rams. <br /> <br />10 <br />