Phase 1: Environmental & Natural Resources

(view map of sensitive areas)

Some lands are inherently valuable to fish and wildlife, and imperative for supporting ecosystems.  These areas include: wetlands, rivers, streams, lakes and associated buffers, wooded travel corridors between large blocks of habitat, areas known to contain endangered species, and steep slopes that are fragile and sensitive to disturbance.  The map identifies the areas in your community that are in one or more of these environmentally sensitive categories.

• Porter County Watershed Overlay District, Open Space Conservation Design Ordinance, and TND (Traditional Neighborhood Design) Ordinance

(view map of open space)

Open space includes working lands, managed green space (golf courses, parks, recreation areas), and wild lands (forest lands, unmanaged habitats, field corners, fence rows, abandoned pastures, etc.).

• Working lands: lands that are used in a productive way and contribute harvestable resources including farmland, forests, grazing lands.
• Managed green space: these can be both planned and created open spaces such as parks, greenways, urban plaza, riverfronts or preserved open space like nature preserves, state lands, etc.  Managed areas that provide opportunities for outdoor recreation, such as golf courses, ballparks, and trails are included this category.
• Wildlands: areas in natural vegetation that provide habitat for wild species and sustain our ecosystems.  These lands that protect water, air, or wildlife resources. The areas include riparian areas, buffer strips, and non-tillable land.  Environmentally sensitive areas (discussed below) are components of wetlands that include flood plains, wetlands, lands with steep slopes, and lands with a high water table.

Values of Open Space

These areas perform many vital and important functions such as collecting and filtering our water, filtering our air, providing critical habitat for wildlife, providing places for recreational opportunities, and providing food and fiber for the world.

Unfortunately, this open space is rapidly disappearing.  From 1926 to 1997, the rate of development in the United States doubled to a level of three million acres per year.  Indiana currently ranks second in the nation in total acreage of prime farmland which is being lost at the rate of 100,000 acres per year.  This is equal to 10 acres per hour - a trend in land use changes that has a serious impact on the amount of prime farmland for future production needs.

Open space provides many important benefits for our communities.  In Indiana, it contributes to our distinctly rural lifestyle, as well as to the character of our towns and neighborhoods.  It adds to the quality of life in the places we live and work.  Agricultural lands provide the food we eat.  Open space provides vital habitat for wildlife and fish, ensuring the basis for a sound, balanced ecosystem.  Healthy ecosystems are important for pest control and cycling of natural resources such as air and water.  Stream, riparian corridors (the habitat around rivers and streams) and wetlands serve as a filters for our drinking water by keeping pollutants out.  Planned open space can provide entertainment and relaxation opportunities.  When studies assign monetary values to these important natural benefits of open space, it is shown that millions of dollars in ecosystem benefits can accrue to the local community.

Definitions of Open Space Categories

It is important that open space be defined wherever it is planned.  Conflicts over open space planning usually arise from differences in perceptions of different stakeholders.  This can be avoided by being specific about the type of open space being discussed.  When groups are specific, the forms of action and planning taking place, and the maintenance and cost requirements, lasting sustainable decision can be made that benefit the entire community. To help with this process of defining the kinds of open space, it can be useful to place land in different categories to help everyone in the planning discussion understand. Please read Open Space Planning" (FNR 257) for more assistance.

• Kane County, Illinois - 2030 Land Resource Management Plan
• Ohio Farmland Protection Programs
  • Tecumseh Land Trust
  • Three Valley Conservation trust
  • Black Swamp Conservancy
  • State of Ohio
• Fayette County, Kentucky, Farmland Protection
• Prairie Crossing - A Conservation Community in Grayslake, Illinois
• United Growth for Kent County, Michigan
• Boulder, Colorado - Open Space Planning

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Scientific studies show a corresponding increase in the amount of impervious surfaces such as roads, parking lots, sidewalks, and rooftops as the intensity of land use increases. An increase in impervious surfaces causes the volume and velocity of storm water runoff to increase significantly. The results can be increased flooding, severe erosion, and physical degradation of stream and river habitats that adversely impact the entire watershed and our valuable water supply.

• Center for Watershed Protection
• NEMO: Nonpoint Education for Municipal Officers

Why is increased runoff a problem?
Flooding can have disastrous impacts on the local community, both in terms of private property damage and use of public tax dollars for clean up and removal of debris and sediment when floodwaters recede. Erosion of our valuable topsoil resource can result in decreased agricultural productivity and increased sediment runoff. Sediment runoff often contains pollutants such as nutrients and pesticides, which degrade water. See ID 257 “Impacts of Development on Waterways” to learn more.

Physical degradation of natural streambeds, such as channelization and scouring, is also caused by increased runoff. Such degradation is detrimental to aquatic life and can result in the destruction of aquatic ecosystems in rivers and streams.

How much impervious surfaces are too much?
Studies have shown that streams in watersheds with greater than 10 percent of their land area in impervious cover begin to show signs of ecological impairment. As the impervious cover in a watershed approaches 25 percent, streams become degraded and the water quality, habitat quality, and biological diversity occurring in watershed streams are all greatly reduced.

What can be done to mitigate the impacts of impervious surfaces that exist in our watershed?
Planning with POWER encourages the slowing of storm water runoff and increasing infiltration through the use of vegetated swales, retention/detention ponds, buffers, pervious paving methods, and other Best Management Practices (BMPs) to protect water and other natural resources. By doing so, the overall integrity of our streams, rivers, and other waterways are maintained and improved.

Best Management Practices (BMPs) include a range of methods designed to prevent, reduce, or treat storm water runoff. Choosing the correct BMP is often highly site-specific. Planning with POWER project partners can provide assistance and guidance. Here are some basic BMP concepts to keep in mind: 1) Encourage natural and vegetated storm water controls—swales vs. curbs when possible. 2) Emphasize on-site drainage of storm water to increase percolation and infiltration. Use of porous paving materials and percolation basins are two strategies that could be used. 3) Target and protect open space, farmland, and critical wildlife habitat. Retain natural landscapes and minimize impervious surfaces. 4) Encourage urban and agricultural BMPs. Use of buffer strips along waterways and creation of wildlife habitats in undeveloped areas are examples of BMPs. 5) Require proper septic system placement, design, and maintenance. Use cluster systems when possible. Regular cleaning and maintenance is a requirement for long-term septic operation.

See ID 258 to “Strategies to minimize polluted runoff” to learn more about best management practices that can be used for developments and community scale projects. FNR 255 “Stormwater Runoff” defines stormwater runoff , its sources, impacts and importance.” ID 256 “Nonpoint Source Pollution: A Threat to Our Waters”  and FNR-256 "Stormwater and Non-point Source Pollution" give homeowners options to reduce stormwater quantity and improve the quality of water leaving you yard and property. ID 259 “How to get started: protecting your community from polluted runoff” provides you with some steps you can take to form advisory groups and action steps that be initiated to protect water in your community.

What changes in site design can we employ to reduce impacts of future developments on runoff quality and quantity?
The site planning stage offers the best chance for local officials, designers, and builders to work together to reduce polluted runoff and negative environmental impacts from a potential building site.

Common steps in implementing site design practices that protect natural resources include:

• Evaluate site plans to minimize both impervious areas and disruption of natural drainage and vegetation.
• Consider cluster development areas that reduce the amount of paved surfaces and increase open space.
• Use brick, crushed stone, or pervious pavements as a viable alternative in low traffic areas.
• Reduce proposed sidewalks, roads, and parking lot sizes as much as possible.
• Utilize vegetated swales or filter strips instead of curbing and piping, when possible.

Designs that reduce grading and filling and retain natural features should be encouraged. In addition to protecting waterways, such designs are often less expensive and more pleasing to the eye.

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On-site residential septic systems are designed to work ideally in deep, well-drained soils.  Unfortunately, many of our soils in the state of Indiana are not included in this category.  Many of the soils are poor drained, high clay soils, and may have a high water table that can create saturated conditions that are undesirable for properly functioning septic systems.  Sometimes, there is a shallow water restricting zone such as bedrock or a compacted dense soil layer that can cause additional problems for a septic system to operate effectively. The Planning with POWER project has conducted numerous wastewater and septic workshops across the state utilizing Purdue Soil Scientists, private consultants, Indiana Department of Environmental Management, and local health departments to address critical septic and wastewater issues especially in high residential growth areas of the state.  Additionally, the wastewater workshops address and outline some of the newer technologies such as constructed wetlands, recirculating sand filters, and cluster systems.  Communities need to evaluate these technologies under increasing residential growth pressure to protect natural resources, drinking water, and overall public health and welfare of the community and its citizens. Read "Indiana Soils and Septic Systems" (Purdue University HENV-7-W) to learn more.  "Nonpoint Source Pollution: a threat to our waters" (ID-256) , a POWER publication, discusses other sources of nonpoint pollution that can impact water quality.

(view map of steep slopes)

Areas of the state, that include hillsides and steep slopes of greater than 20% can be problematic for development and can induce landslides an slippage that can have catastrophic results under certain conditions.  In southeastern Indiana, especially the geology around the Cincinnati Metro area has increased potential for landslides to occur where development pressure is high.  Certain geologic conditions such as shale bedrock that  is overlaid by colluvium soils can form a deposit that is thin on the steeper, higher slopes and gradually becomes thicker near the bottom of the hill.  Grading and filling during development, increased amounts of impervious surfaces, and intense storm events can all contribute to increased landslide susceptibility when certain geologic and soil conditions are present on these steeper slopes. Planning with POWER has worked with local communities and counties to develop planning strategies, geologic inspection criteria, and hillside development ordinances to mitigate landslide potential, protect the natural resources, and protect the safety and welfare of the citizens in hillside communities. Examples of hillside/slope ordinances

• City of Cincinnati

• A Hillside Protection Strategy for Greater Cincinnati

• Hillside Erosion Control for the city of Aurora, Indiana

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Our natural resources - such as timber, wildlife, water, food, and plants from which we derive medications - are all produced in the "open space" on our landscapes.  Land use changes permanently impact lands providing our natural resources and can negatively impact the quality of the remaining lands that provide natural resources or perform natural functions.

Unwise land use decisions can negatively impact wildlife populations in several ways.  Critical habitat is lost each time wetlands, forestlands, grass lands, or agricultural lands are converted to other uses.  The quality of the remaining wildlife habitat can also be affected by the adjoining land use.  Predation on nests and wildlife is increased by the growing population of dogs and cats in the area.  Increased levels of human activity and shrinking habitat size can further reduce the use of habitats as travel corridors or nesting areas by many species sensitive to this disturbance.

Land use decisions often result in parcelization, which breaks large areas of habitat into smaller parcels.  This process fragments a landscape and can negatively impact wildlife populations by inhibiting their dispersal or migratory patterns, preventing them from moving from feeding areas to places providing cover, and can make animals vulnerable to predation as they move greater distances from one area of suitable habitat to another.

Fragmentation and parcelization of farmland, forestland, green space, and wildlife habitat has three major impacts:

• It reduces the acreage of natural wildlife habitats and farmland. 
• It increases contact between lands providing natural functions and potentially conflicting uses.  For example, increased development near wildlife habitats increases the conflicts between people and wildlife.  This may result in wildlife damage or increased predation and disturbance to wild animals by house pets and people
• It increases isolation of wildlife and plants which can inhibit their dispersal and genetic mixing and can lead to species' decline or even extinction in an area.

In the last 16 years, the number of private forest owners tripled, but the number of acres in forest remained about the same.  This increased parcelization facilitates fragmentation due to the diversity of management and use of individual tracts of land.

Planning with POWER encourages the protection of large tracts of farmland, forestland, other open spaces, and wildlife habitat in areas of our community most suited to this purpose.  These valuable natural resource areas can then thrive and function as a cohesive unit for generations to come, thus maintaining a critical natural resource base for the community.  Read "The relationship between land use decision and the impacts on our water and natural resources" (ID-260) to learn more.
 

(view map of contaminated sites)

Chemicals have been discharged to water bodies from a variety of sources for decades. Sources include the production, use and disposal of numerous chemicals that offer improvements in industry, agriculture, medical treatment, and even common household conveniences. Concerns have been raised regarding the potential adverse impacts on human and ecological health resulting from these chemicals.

Natural biogeochemical processes that influence contaminant persistence and bioavailability control the fate and effects of these contaminants in an aquatic environment. Research has shown that many contaminants can enter the environment, disperse, and persist to a greater extent than first anticipated. Accumulation of contaminants in biological resources may occur via aqueous, sedimentary or dietary pathways.

Contaminants of ecological and human health concern, such as metals and some organic compounds, are chemically bound to particulate matter in the aquatic environment. Transport of particle-bound contaminants within water bodies occurs with sediment transport processes.

There is a wide array of transport pathways for many different chemicals to enter and persist in aquatic systems (Kolpin et al. 2002). Other compounds, such as industrial by-products, are released through regulated industrial discharges into the water and air. Some pesticides, household chemicals, pharmaceuticals, and other consumables, as well as biogenic hormones, are released directly to the environment after passing through wastewater treatment processes. Wastewater treatment processes usually are not designed to remove these materials from the effluent. Veterinary pharmaceuticals used in open range and confined animal feeding operations may enter the environment through animal wastes via natural processes or accidental overflow, leakage from storage structures, or land application.

Man-made organic compounds enter streams and lakes from atmospheric deposition, point source outflows, non-point surface runoff, groundwater discharges, and gasoline-powered water craft. Generally, the concentrations are low. The concern is the potential effect of bioaccumulation.

The ecological and health effects associated with contaminated sediments are of national and international concern.  In the past, municipal and industrial wastewaters were discharged into rivers and streams without adequate treatment. Even now, improperly functioning and failing septic systems add to water quality problems.

Pollutants in the wastewater, such as metals and hydrophobic organic compounds, chemically attach to particles in the water and eventually settle to the bottom. Although wastewater discharges have continued to improve, the sediments that were once a repository for hydrophobic chemicals are now a source of chemical contamination to the benthic (bottom) and pelagic (water column) ecosystems.

The contaminated sites map will help you identify:

• impaired lakes: water bodies that do not meet water-quality standards under Section 303(d) of the Clean Water Act set for by Indiana Department of Environmental Management.  Attributes include causes for listing under Section 303(d) (such as algae, taste and odor, E. coli, and sulfates), as well as fish consumption advisories for mercury and PCBs.
• impaired streams: do not meet water-quality standards under Section 303(d) of the Clean Water Act.  Attributes include causes for listing under Section 303(d) (such as algae, metals, pesticides, E. coli, dioxins, et al.), as well as fish consumption advisories for mercury and PCBs.
• solid waste disposal sites, and
• industrial Waste disposal sites.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) defines a brownfield as "abandoned, idle, or underused industrial and commercial facilities where expansion or redevelopment is confounded by real or perceived environmental contamination." The following map shows brownfields classified by EPA as meeting the above definition.

To learn more about brownfields, contaminants and human health read the following publications:

FNR 242 Understanding Contaqminated Sediments: Bioavailability of Contamination

FNR 241 Understanding why some organic contaminants pose a health risk

FNR 245 Brownfields: a rural community problem

IISG-05-24 What you need to know before you eat that fish! PCB’s and your family

IISG-05-23 The lowdown on PCB’s

IISG–02-06 Tthe ABC’s of PCB’s

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In Indiana there are state threatened or endangered species.  These are species whose populations have declined to levels that pose a risk to the population.  Often, a primary cause for their condition is the loss or lack of habitat that this species requires.  This map shows areas that contain one or more endangered species or known habitats that these species require.  These are sensitive areas that should be protected from further development of habitat loss.