Conducting the Environmental Impact Analysis and Assessment - Environmental Impact Analysis: Process and Methods - page 224

The programmatic analysis conducted for U.S. Army Fort Campbell
Kentucky/Tennessee (U.S. Army 2004) and the WINNER project in Haiti
(USAID 2011) included programmatic mitigation to address adverse impacts
and thus limit the scope of subsequent environmental analyses. As discussed
in detail in Chapter 6 (Section 6.3.2), the Fort Campbell programmatic envi-
ronmental analysis for infrastructure maintenance and minor development
projects included required measures that would ensure impacts were miti-
gated (e.g., qualified personnel will conduct a detailed surface runoff impact
study, including calculation and evaluation of both current and proposed
associated land drainage contours and impervious surfaces). The analysis
also included 30 required best management practices such as:
r Vegetative ground cover shall not be destroyed, removed, or dis-
turbed more than 15 calendar days prior to grading.
r A floating sediment boom shall be placed downstream of the con-
struction area to collect the unsettled silt or debris. The device shall
be cleaned and maintained on a daily basis.
r Construction must be sequenced to minimize the exposure time of
cleared surface areas.
r Grading activities must be avoided during periods of highly erosive
rainfall.
r All surface water flowing toward the construction area shall be
diverted around the construction area to reduce its erosion poten-
tial, using dikes, berms, channels, or sediment traps, as necessary.
r Temporary diversion channels must be lined to expected high water
level and protected by non-erodible material to minimize erosion.
r Rock, log, sandbag, or straw bale check dams shall be properly con-
structed to detain runoff and trap sediment.
The USAID Watershed Initiative for National Natural Environmental
Resources (WINNER) program in Haiti to protect water resources while
implementing projects to support economic sustainability, particularly agri-
cultural irrigation, also included programmatic mitigation measures appli-
cable to individual projects comprising the program (Table 5.5).
The advantages of program-wide mitigation measures, as illustrated by the
hypothetical Nation Forest, Fort Campbell, and Haiti examples are as follows:
r Effort is not diluted by having to address the same or very similar
actions, environmental resources, impacts, and mitigation measures
numerous times.
r Effective measures can be universally required and ineffective mea-
sures readily dismissed.
r Measures proven to mitigate impacts and which can be readily
implemented can be repeated with a high degree of confidence.