Hello, I am concerned about…

Hello,

I am concerned about the deleting of policy 4.2.8.2 a) ii. “habitat of endangered species and threatened species” and renumbering the policy accordingly.

Removing protections for endangered and threatened species protection particularly for aggregate extraction is egregious. There are numerous gravel pits already in operation that can supply aggregate for current and future construction. The construction of new gravel pits that might threaten species habitat merely because of proximity to construction projects is something that should not be considered. The removal of this policy increases the possibilities of this occurring.

Similarly, In Section 7. Definitions: the removal of the term "hydrologic functions" from the definition of Ecological Functions makes it more difficult to connect the effects of disruptions of ground water flow from construction and extraction activities to the site's ecology and the effects on plants and animals; this concept is not fully captured by the term "physical" which is left in the definition.

And finally, also in Section 7, the removal of any attempt to define or characterize the nature of Habitat of Endangered Species and Threatened species from within the document and putting the totality of the definition in another document obfuscates the issue. You should not need a library of supporting policy documents to glean the meaning of a term in a document.

respectfully submitted July 25, 2020