The Northwest Butler
Transportation Study (NBTS)
A transportation
study is in-depth research of an area’s transportation needs
and possible solutions to transportation-related problems. A
study begins by determining transportation goals. All alternatives
are examined with these goals in mind in order to develop locally
responsive solutions.
Part of the study
involves detailed analyses of environmental and historic resources
in the study area. Detailed analyses of the efficiency and safety
of current roads in the study area are also under way. (See NBTS Fact
Sheet 3: Traffic and Safety.) The area of the NBTS is more than 125 square
miles involving the City of Oxford, Oxford Township, Ross Township,
Reily Township, Hanover Township, Milford Township, Morgan Township,
Wayne Township, St. Clair Township, and the Villages of Seven
Mile, Millville and College Corner.
There is a long-range
vision for the study area established by the NBTS Advisory Committee
that focuses on maintaining and protecting the existing rural
and low-density residential character of the townships, with
carefully managed growth in the city of Oxford. A central goal
of the NBTS is the preservation of the character of the area.
Any proposed locally preferred alternative will need to be compatible
with local land use plans.
The study is
examining current and planned land use with special attention
and projected population data for the area’s townships and
communities. Environmental justice issues regarding low income
and minority populations will be considered. All feasible alternatives
will be evaluated for their effect on the area’s environmental
resources, air quality and noise impact, as well as their relation
to factors such as the location and transport of hazardous materials.
Some important
environmental resources that exist in the study area are described
below.
Cultural, Historic
& Archeological Resources
Resources including public or
semi-public lands (parks, preserves, natural areas, community
centers, churches, schools, and cemeteries), historic architectural
structures and property, prehistoric and historic archaeological
sites, and Native American sites are protected by federal and
state laws. The National Register of Historic Places is a listing
of properties that have been determined significant in American
history, architecture, archaeology, engineering, or culture,
by virtue of design or architectural criteria, association with
historical persons and events or value for historic or prehistoric
information. There are 13 historic properties listed on the National
Register in the study area, and many more may be eligible.
Great Miami/Little
Miami Buried Valley Aquifier System
This aquifer system is an extensive
groundwater supply formed from ancient glacial deposits. It underlies
most of southwest Ohio and is the source of all the drinking
water supplied by the Public Water Utilities in Butler County.
Streams
Streams (creeks, runs, swales,
and ditches) are natural channels that carry water off land to
larger bodies of water such as the Great Miami River. About 40
“permanently flowing” streams exist in the study area.
Four of these are rated High Quality Streams by the Ohio Environmental
Protection Agency (OPEA): Indian Creek, Salmon Run, Four Mile
Creek and Seven Mile Creek.
Federal Emergency Management
Agency (FEMA) 100-Year Floodplains: The 100-year floodplain is
a designated zone or width along a stream or river in which a
flood is expected to occur once every 100 years (on average,
based on stream studies). Floodplains are protected to prevent
any increase in the risks or severity of possible future floods
and to maintain their natural and ecological benefits. Five streams
in the study area have 100-year floodplains: Indian Creek, Four
Mile Creek, Seven Mile Creek, Collins Run and Bull Run.
Wetlands
Wetlands are important to human
life in that they are havens for wild life, aid in controlling
floods, act as natural water purifiers (filters for underground
aquifers) and provide places for recreational activities. Wetlands
can be ponds, lakes, marshes, bogs, swamps, and similar areas.
Through the use of satellite maps, more than 160 wetlands can
be identified in the study area. Most of these wetlands range
from less than one to two acres in size.
Threatened or Endangered
Species
Plants and animals are classified
as threatened or endangered by state or federal agencies when
their numbers are low or declining due to direct destruction
or degradation of suitable habitat. The presence of a threatened
or endangered species in an area indicates a better or good quality
environment. If these species disappear from an area, it may
indicate that environmental conditions have been degraded to
levels that other non-threatened or non-endangered animals, livestock
and even people, may begin to suffer.
Laws, Regulations
& Agencies Protecting Environmental & Historic Resources
We are in the earliest
stages of transportation planning at the local level; however,
if alternatives for new construction arise from the NBTS, the
next step is preliminary design and further environmental analysis,
which is followed by implementation. As the project steps through
these stages, numerous laws, regulations and agencies exist for
the protection of environmental and historic resources.
Ohio EPA Endorsed
Public Water Supply Wells
These wells are owned by—or
located within—such places as Public Water Supply Utility
Companies, subdivisions, mobile home parks, bars, restaurants,
grocery and convenient stores, service stations and other public
places. Water supplied to the public by these facilities comes
from groundwater that must be protected to ensure public safety.
There are 24 public water supply wells in the study area.
Wellhead Protection
Areas (WHPA)
A Wellhead Protection Area is
designated around a wellfield (such as a public water supply
utility company) to safeguard the public water supply. Five public
water utility companies have partial or entire wellhead protection
areas in the study area: the Southwestern Regional Water Company,
Joint Hamilton-Fairfield, Hamilton North Wellfield, Oxford-Seven
Mile Creek and the City of Oxford.
For more information contact:
Robert Koehler, P.E. - Transportation
Planning Manager
Ohio•Kentucky•Indiana Regional Council of Governments
801-B West Eighth Street, Suite 400
Cincinnati, Ohio 45203-1607
(513) 621-6300 • Fax (513) 621-9325
TTY/TDD (513) 621-7063
e-mail: rkoehler@oki.org
