Waipi'o Lookout Draft Environmental Assessment

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magnitude(Richter)quake of October 16,2006, demonstrated. The portion of the Rice Property bounded by a small gulch and Waipi`o Valley Road has very steep slopes. Apart from these slopes,which may be active,the Rice Property does not appear to be subject to subsidence, landslides or other forms of mass wasting. Impacts and Mitigation Measures The valley side of the Rice Property may have active or unstable slopes that should be evaluated by a professional engineer if uses are proposed for this area. Apart from these concerns confined to a portion of the Rice Property,geologic conditions impose no constraints on the proposed action, and the purchase is not imprudent to undertake. 3.1.2 Drainage,Water Features and Water Quality Existing Environment The project area has one surface water body, a small stream located along a portion of the northern(i.e.,valley side)boundary of the property. No known areas of local (non-stream related) flooding are present. The Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRM) 1 55 1 660200C (9/16/1988) show that the Rice Property is in Flood Zone X, outside of the 100-year or 500-year floodplain. Impacts and Mitigation Measure Because the action involves no construction or modification of the site,there would be no adverse impacts to drainage,water quality, or water features. A future Environmental Assessment would address impacts,if any, of development. 3.1.3 Flora, Fauna and Ecosystems Existing Environment The natural vegetation of this part of Hamakua was most likely lowland rain forest dominated by hala(Pandanus tectorius) and `ohi`a(Metrosiderospolymorpha) (Gagne and Cuddihy 1990). These original communities,however,have been destroyed or heavily degraded by cattle grazing, sugarcane agriculture and clearing for farms and residences,and the vegetation of the project area is now either managed vegetation(i.e., farms,pasture or landscaped grounds)or adventive"communities"of various alien weeds. A walk-through biological survey of the Rice Property was performed on October 21, 2006,and Appendix 3 is a list of the plant species that were detected. These include a large number of cultivated and ornamental species,many of which have either been planted on the Rice Property or have"escaped"from residential parcels on the periphery of the site. No listed,candidate or proposed endangered plant species(USFWS 2007)were found,or would be expected to be 7 Environmental Assessment, Hawaii County Purchase of Rice Property at Waipi`o Lookout