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<br />3.2.4 Noise. Although Ouray County does not have a noise ordinance, the <br />city of Ouray has established a noise ordinance which states that no loud noises <br />are allowed after the hour of 10:00 p.m. (Merkel, 1998). Since the construction <br />would occur only during daylight hours, the projl~ct would not violate this noise <br />ordinance in the city of Ouray. <br /> <br />Some noise would be generated by the helicopter and construction <br />equipment at the staging area and project site. Since the staging area is located in <br />a sparsely populated area near the highway, the temporary increase in noise would <br />not be significant. Although the project site is located about one-fourth mile from <br />the city's hot spring pool, U.S. Highway 550 runs between the pool and the site, <br />and the helicopter would be used no more than 3 days. As a result, the temporary <br />increase in noise would not be significant. <br /> <br />3.2.5 Transportation. The main transportation route near both the project <br />site and the staging area is U.S. Highway 550. This route is a two-lane highway <br />that runs north through Montrose and south to Durango. Traffic on this roadway <br />includes mainly cars with approximately 5 percent single unit trucks and 2 percent <br />semi-tractor trailer trucks. Approximately 4,533 vehicles per day travel on U.S. <br />Highway 550 in the vicinity of the city of Ouray (Colorado Department of <br />Transportation, 1996). This project would involve 3 construction workers for 3 <br />days for site preparation and 4 construction workers for 10 days for construction <br />of the stone/masonry wall. They would travel via car or truck on U.S. Highway <br />550 to reach the overflow parking lot for the aquatics center, which is in the catch <br />basin for the original channel. From there, they would climb on foot to the <br />diversion site. No more than two trucks would travel to the staging area via U.S. <br />Highway 550 to bring in construction equipment. Since the work is of short <br />duration and involves few vehicles, there would be no significant adverse effects <br />on transportation. <br /> <br />3.2.6 Hazardous and Toxic Waste. A site visit by Corps personnel on <br />August 15,1997, did not identify any evidence of hazardous or toxic waste on or <br />near the project site or staging area. Standard best management construction <br />measures would be taken to prevent construction equipment spills of oil, grease, <br />fuels, and/or related pollutants from entering the environment. <br /> <br />3.3 Vegetation and Wildlife <br /> <br />3.3.1 Existing Conditions. There is little vegetation in the immediate vicinity <br />of the project site. A few willows grow around the existing diversion. In addition, <br />scattered grasses grow along the sides of the channel. The surroundinSI <br />vegetation consists of spruce, fir, and aspen forests with al'eas of open grassland. <br /> <br />7 <br />