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~ ~ SE('OR <br />5.0 WiLDLiFE ASSESSMENT <br />The kiln dust that will be disposed of in the pond formed by the quarry's final cut, has a hi;;h pH. <br />Analytical tests made on IS occasions between July 1991 and late 1997 demonstrate the dust <br />material is highly alkaline, possessing an average pH of approximately 12.9 (Table 1). The pH <br />of the water impounded in the cut has been measured several times, and shows a value of a little <br />over 8 pH units. <br />As kiln dust is placed in the cut, the dust's high pH is expected to modify water chemistry. No <br />information is available on the pond water's buffering capacity, but the cement kiln dust's high <br />alkalinity may be expected to increase the pond's pH from its present slightly alkaline condition <br />to one of higher pH. <br />Water birds such as ducks, grebes, coots, and gulls that alight on highly alkaline water tend to be <br />at risk. This high pH condition strips the oils from feathers in an hydrolysis process known as <br />saponification. When oils are hydrolyzed and removed, the birds lose their water repellency; their <br />feathers become fully wetted so they are unable to fly. The birds eventually sink and drown. <br />Because of the potential for the kiln dust to increase the pond water's pH to a level that might <br />saponify feather oils, a site visit was made on August 27, 1998 by an avian ecologist to gauge the <br />relative attractiveness of the pond to resident and migrating waterfowl. Dr. Stephen 114artin <br />evaluated the pond environment, and concluded there would be little chance that birds would <br />aggregate on the pond in the quarry cut. Hence, the anticipated modification of pH of the water <br />is not expected to affect local or migratory birds. This conclusion is based on the following <br />factors: <br />• The pond in the cut does not offer satisfactory habitat for resident and transient <br />water birds. The pond is situated in a typical, final cut strip pit that has steep, <br />crumbly, spoil walls that support only sparse, scattered vegetation. The steep walls <br />rise 40 to 50 feet above the water surface on the pond's west side, and ?0 to <br />30 feet above the pond on its east side. These steep slopes continue below the <br />water surface, presumably to the pond's bottom. The pond is approximately <br />50 feet deep. This steep bankline and subsurface profile precludes development of <br />macrophytic aquatic vegetation, so the cut's pond provides no vegetative cover or <br />food sources that could be derived from macrophytes. The steep profile also <br />precludes use of the pond by shorebirds, rails, or by drinking or bathing songEirds. <br />T <br />z <br />R <br />C <br />2 <br /> <br />r <br />i <br />rr:o o:~a~-,i s~~~ 5 1 o..a~m.. iva <br />i ni Nm~ai.m <br />