05-29-2003 Bayport Expansion Review Committee Meeting

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4. Channel Setback ~eport of Houston Authority Ne1520(Revised) Galveston Bay, along the Bayport ~hip Channel, City of Pasadena, Harris County, Texas. Attachment I, Sheet ~ of 3tJ:(Revised May 2003) . Areas shoreward of the existing channel boundary will be excavated to a width of 225 feet, as shown on the facility drawings included with this document. This effectively widens the channel and enhances navigation safety. In addition, this increases the distance of the berths from the residential areas north of the channel, which results in a reduction of light and noise impacts. 5. North Shore Slope Protection Construction is complete on a slope protection and planting program for the north shoreline of the Bayport channel. While the rip-rap portion of the project addresses past, current, and future erosion, the permitted project was expanded to include tree and shrub planting designed to minimize the impacts of the terminal project on nearby residential areas. 6. Beneficial Use of Dredged Material Dredged material excess to that needed for site development will be placed offsite. The material will be put to beneficial use, resulting in the creation of intertidal marsh, high marsh, and some upland where the marsh ties into the existing land mass (Figure 24). Approximately 200 acres will ultimately be constructed. This use of dredged material will prevent the material from being disposed of as a waste and conserve valuable space in confined disposal areas. It will also provide improvements in . water quality in Galveston Bay and replace wetland habitat lost to subsidence or erosion. 7. Cruise The original Bayport Master plan (1998) and permit application contained a five berth Cruise Terminal. The attached three-cruise berth plan reduces the submerged areas dredged by 23 acres, submerged areas filled by 21.3 acres (90% reduction) and the offsite ~ged material disposal by over a million cubic yards 8. Pre-Entry Gate Relocation The optimal operational location of the pre-entry gate is very near the EI Jardin subdivision. In response to the concerns of residents, the pre-entry gate has been relocatecJ approximately 5,000 feet west ofits original location, as shown on the enclosed drawings (Figure 2). 9. Wetland Property Acquisition 'and Mitigation The verified wetland delineation of the project site by the Corps provides that there are 19.71 acres of jurisdictional wetlands on the site of which 19.28 will be impacted by the project To mitigate these and other biotic impacts, the POHA has acquired a 173.5-acre tract of land . -2- 5/6103