Mining Permit

Application
Hounsfield Wind Power Project
Galloo Island, Jefferson County, New York

July 2009

Prepared for:

Upstate New York Power Corporation

950-A Union Road, Suite 20
West Seneca, New York 14224

Prepared by:

G4210J

77 Goodell Street
Buffalo, New York 14203

MINING PERMIT APPLICATION

HOUNSFIELD WIND POWER PROJECT

JEFFERSON COUNTY, NEW YORK

Prepared for:

UPSTATE NEW YORK POWER CORPORATION

950-A UNION ROAD, SUITE 20
WEST SENECA, NEW YORK 14224

Prepared by:

URS CORPORATION
77 GOODELL STREET
BUFFALO, NEW YORK 14203

JULY 2009

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page No.
1.0
1.1
1.2
2.0
2.1
2.2
2.3
2.4
3.0

INTRODUCTION..................................................................................................................1-1
General ...............................................................................................................................1-1
Geography..........................................................................................................................1-2
EXISTING CONDITIONS ....................................................................................................2-1
Land Use and History.........................................................................................................2-1
Soils....................................................................................................................................2-1
Vegetation ..........................................................................................................................2-2
Topography and Drainage..................................................................................................2-2
MINERAL AND MINING METHOD ..................................................................................3-1

3.1
Geology..............................................................................................................................3-1
3.2
Proposed Mining Operation ...............................................................................................3-1
3.2.1 Blasting ..........................................................................................................................3-1
3.2.2 Phasing ...........................................................................................................................3-2
3.2.3 Mine Layout ...................................................................................................................3-2
3.2.4 Operation........................................................................................................................3-2
4.0
4.1
5.0

POLLUTION CONTROL AND PREVENTION OF ENVIRONMENTAL DAMAGE......4-1

Erosion and Sediment Control ...........................................................................................4-1
RECLAMATION PLAN .......................................................................................................5-1

DRAWINGS
(Following Text)
Cover Sheet, Notes, Legend, Index, and Abbreviations
C-001

Existing Site Conditions

C-002

Mined Land Use Plan

C-003

Reclamation Plan

ES-001

Erosion and Sediment Control Notes and Details

APPENDICES

Appendix A

Mining Permit Application Form

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1.0

INTRODUCTION
This document comprises the Mined Land Use and Mined Land Reclamation Plans

prepared in support of an application for a Mining Permit for the Hounsfield Wind Power Project,
located in the Town of Hounsfield, Jefferson County, New York.

The Hounsfield Wind Power Project (Project) will be a commercial-scale, 252-megawatt

wind turbine facility. The power will be generated by 84 wind turbine generators (WTGs) that will
be constructed on Galloo Island, in the eastern end of Lake Ontario.

URS Corporation (URS) has been retained by Upstate New York Power Corp. (UNYPC) to
prepare these plans for certain excavation activities that will be conducted on Galloo Island to
generate gravel for road construction at the Project.

Much of the information provided in this plan has been taken from the DEIS: Draft
Environmental Impact Statement for the Hounsfield Wind Farm (American Consulting
Professionals

of

New

York,

PLLC,

Feb.,

2009),

available

at

http://www.upstatenypower.com/index.html.

1.1

General
The proposed mine will be located on Galloo Island, and will be approximately 2.1 acres in

size, with an additional 3 acres of affected land for processing, stockpiles, a loading area, and
sediment trap. The maximum depth of excavation will be approximately 24 feet. The capacity of the
mine will be approximately 50,000 cubic yards of rock (before crushing).

All of the mining proposed for this project will occur during the term of the present permit;
no phasing is proposed. The rock will be crushed and used for access road construction. It is not
anticipated that the rock will be of sufficient quality for use as concrete aggregate or as bedding for
foundations.

1-1
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1.2

Geography
The location of Galloo Island in relation to New York State and Canada is shown on the

cover sheet of the attached drawing set. Galloo Island is approximately 4.5 miles long and 1.5
miles wide, and is largely undeveloped land.

1-2
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2.0

EXISTING CONDITIONS

2.1

Land Use and History

No mining has occurred previously on the affected land or Galloo Island. Historically, the

Island has been used for recreation (as a hunting retreat) and limited agriculture. The United States
Coast Guard maintained a light house and supporting residence on the Island until recently. The
lighthouse and residence remain, but they are no longer in operation. The Island has no power or
communication infrastructure.

There are three residential houses on the island that have been used in the past as lodging
for hunters, and are currently used during design studies. The island has a grass landing strip for
small aircraft and a dock within Gill Harbor for small boats.

The Galloo Island Lighthouse is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. No
other structures or resources on Galloo Island are listed on or known to be eligible for either the
State or National Register of Historic Places. The Galloo Island Lighthouse will not be impacted by
the construction activities proposed for the island. For additional information regarding historic and
cultural resources on the island, refer to the Phase 1A Cultural Resources Investigation included as
Appendix I of the DEIS.

2.2

Soils
Soil information for the Galloo Island was obtained from the Soil Survey of Jefferson

County. The majority of the island is comprised of Galloo-Rock and Galloo, acid Rock outcrop
(GbG/GcB). This soil consists of a thin layer (2 to 10 inches thick) of loamy till that overlies the
limestone. Typically it consists of 55% soils and 25% rock outcrop with bedrock. Soils on the
northern end of the island (which is lower topographically) consist of an even mixture of silty and
clayey glaciolacustrine deposits ranging in thickness from 10- 40 inches.

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2.3

Vegetation
Galloo Island contains a variety of ecological community cover types including maintained

lawn, open field, agricultural land, cliffs, scrub-shrub upland, deciduous forest upland, mixed forest
upland, rocky shoreline, emergent wetland, wet meadow, scrub-shrub wetland, deciduous forest
wetland, and mixed forest wetland.

2.4

Topography and Drainage

Galloo Island is located in the Ontario Lowlands Physiographic Province of New York

State and is approximately 4.5 miles long and up to 1.5 miles wide with an elevation range of 250 to
305 feet above mean sea level. The island is generally flat with a steep sloping northeast facing
scarp at the northern end of the island. The rest of the island has a gently sloping surface that faces
southwest toward the main basin of Lake Ontario (known as a cuesta feature).

The current topography is the result of erosion, caused by Pleistocene glaciers that covered
the area approximately 18,000 years before present and post-glacial surface water drainage.

A pond covering approximately 22 acres is located on the eastern end of the island. A very
short stream (NYSDEC Class C) flows from one of the major wetlands into Lake Ontario over the
low cliffs along the southeastern edge of the island. Wetlands are developed across the island in the
hydric soils that are poorly drained where depth to groundwater is shallow.

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3.0

MINERAL AND MINING METHOD

3.1

Geology
The Project Area and surrounding islands are part of a larger area formed from what is

referred to as the Galloo Rock outcrop (Soil Survey of Jefferson County 1989) located in the area
known as the Galloo and Stony Basin (NOAA Chart) and the Northeast Lake Ontario-St. Lawrence
Basin. Within the basins there are a series of broad low northeast to southwest trending ridges that
combine to form a complex ridge extending from the west near Prince Edward Point, Ontario to the
east near Stony Point, New York. This ridge has a relief ranging from 20-30 meters and is
asymmetrical, with steep northeast facing scarps, and gently sloping surfaces facing southwest
toward the main basin of Lake Ontario. The cuesta features are gently rounded to flat on top, and
several are capped by islands, the principal of which are Main Duck, Galloo, and Stony Islands.

Bedrock can be observed under water immediately adjacent to the island along the east,
south and west sides of the island. A veneer of gravel is apparent on submerged bedrock along the
northern tip and the northeast shore of the island. Bedrock on land and submerged within the
Project Area is primarily composed of limestones of the Trenton Group, deposited 505-440 million
years ago during the Ordovician Period (New York State Museum, 1975). Limestone is subject to
dissolution by acidic groundwater along bedding planes, fractures, joints and faults. While no
limestone (karst) hazards are mapped on Galloo Island, the Trenton Group is comprised of
carbonate rocks that are susceptible to dissolution and sinkhole formation, especially with joint and
fractures common in limestone. In addition, an orthogonal joint system is developed in bedrock and
can be seen in shallow water from the air.

3.2

Proposed Mining Operation

3.2.1

Blasting
Mining will be performed by drilling and blasting. All blasting will be performed by a

contractor certified to operate in New York State and who complies with all necessary and
applicable Federal and regional requirements. All blasting practices and appropriate personnel will
conform to 12 NYCRR 39, as enforced through the New York State Department of Labor (April
1991).

3-1
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A Blasting Plan describing blasting operations and potential impacts to local above and
below grade structures has been prepared and is included in Appendix A to the DEIS. The Blasting
Plan adheres to all applicable regulations pertaining to blasting, including NYS Department of
Labor explosive handling regulations (12 NYCRR Part 39) and NYSDEC blasting/mining
regulations.

3.2.2

Phasing
All of the mining proposed for this project will occur during the term of the present permit;

no phasing is proposed.

3.2.3

Mine Layout
Drawing C-002 shows the affected area, the layout of the equipment, and the proposed

grades of the mine.

The mine itself will be roughly 200 feet by 450 feet, approximately 2.1 acres. The
maximum depth of excavation will be approximately 24 feet below existing grade (approximately
23 feet below the top of rock after removal of the topsoil and overburden). The floor of the mine
will slope up at approximately 3 percent from a bottom toe elevation of 268. The sides of the mine
will have a slope of approximately one vertical to two horizontal (1V:2H), roughly similar to the
existing escarpment into which the mine is cut and the adjacent grades of the remaining escarpment.

The processing area, spoil area, and stockpile/loading area will be located downslope of the
mine.

3.2.4

Operation
Overburden will be stripped and stockpiled for re-use during restoration. Any lenses of soil

encountered during mining will also be stockpiled. Those stockpiles will be located between the
mine and the gravel-paved stockpile/loading area for the crushed stone.

Rock will be excavated by drilling and blasting, followed by removal of the shot rock from
the mining area with a front-end loader. Blasting will begin in the low point of the floor of the
3-2
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mining area, the north-east corner, at approximately elevation 268, and proceed south-westward.
Drilling equipment will access the top of the mining area on the temporary access road from the
south.

The maximum depth of excavation will be approximately 24 feet below existing grade
(approximately 23 feet below the top of rock after removal of the topsoil and overburden). Over any
given area, blasting will be performed in one event to the full depth of excavation.

After blasting, the loading equipment will work into the cut from the low point. The frontend loader will move the shot rock into a crusher plant, where it will be crushed to approximately 3inch maximum size for use on the access roads. The crushed rock will not be screened, but will be
stockpiled by belted conveyor in the gravel-paved stockpile/loading area. Trucks will enter the
stockpile/loading area from the adjacent access road, from which they will haul the crushed stone to
the work areas throughout the wind farm project.

3-3
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4.0

POLLUTION CONTROL AND PREVENTION OF ENVIRONMENTAL DAMAGE

Due to the isolated location of the mine, no specific visual screening, dust control, or noise

pollution abatement measures are proposed for the mining operation.

4.1

Erosion and Sediment Control

All work on the project is subject to the terms of a Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan

submitted to the NYSDEC in support of an application for coverage of the project under New York
SPDES General Permit GP-0-08-001 for Stormwater Discharges from Construction Activity.

All runoff from the mine, the spoils area, and the stockpile/loading area, approximately 5
acres, will be directed by earth dikes to the sediment trap located in the northeast portion of the
Mining Poject Boundary. The sediment trap will contain approximately 3600 cubic feet (ft3) of wet
storage per tributary acre in accordance with NY Standards and Specifications for Erosion and
Sediment Control (NYSSSESC) - a total of approximately 19,000 ft3. It will discharge to grade
downslope through a stone-lined spillway. Construction details of the proposed sediment trap are
shown on Drawing ES-001.

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5.0

RECLAMATION PLAN
No specific land use objective has been identified for the project limits of the mining area.

Thus, the goal of this Reclamation Plan is to stabilize the affected area in a manner that will
promote natural drainage without the risk of significant erosion.

Reclamation will occur only after the completion of the majority of wind farm construction
is completed.

The Reclamation Plan is shown on Drawing C-003. Reclamation will include removal of
gravel-paved surfaces, including the access road, the stockpile/loading area, and the pad for the
crusher plant. All areas disturbed by the mining operations, including the access road, mine,
stockpile/loading area, spoil area, earth dikes, and sediment trap, will then be topsoiled and seeded
in accordance with the specifications shown on Drawing ES-001. Temporary erosion control mat,
also shown on ES-001, will be used to stabilize the topsoil and seed placed on the sideslopes of the
mine.

5-1
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APPENDIX A
MINING PERMIT APPLICATION FORM

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