Turtle Creek Watershed River Conservation Plan

1 Turtle Creek Watershed River Conservation plan Turtle Creek Watershed Association Board of Directors Directors: Craig Barras Robert A. Mazik, Sr. James C. Brucker, Vice President John M. Mores Alfred B. Carl Paul T. Teacher Chris Droste, Secretary Steve J. Wiedemer, President Edward Fischer, Treasurer Associate Directors: Christopher T. Espenshade Henry Hoffman Kristy Flavin Executive Director: Edward Fischer (Acting) River Conservation plan Steering Committee Craig Barras, Vice Chairperson Westmoreland Conservation District Charles W. Charrie, II Borough of Manor Council and Realco, Inc. Steven Begg Almes & Associates, Inc. Brian Conroy Citizen, Monroeville Resident James C. Brucker, Chairperson FranklinTownship Municipal Sanitary Authority Robin Moyer Urban Consrvationist, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, Allegheny County Turtle Creek Watershed River Conservation plan River Conservation plan Project Advisory Council Craig Barras, Vice Chairperson Westmoreland Conservation District, TCWA Board Member, and Resident of Jeanette Dale K.

2 Earl Fahringer, McCarty & Gray and Resident of Plum Borough Steven Begg Almes & Associates, Inc. Marcia Haberman Army Corps of Engineers, Pittsburgh District and Resident of Irwin James C. Brucker, Chairperson FranklinTownship Municipal Sanitary Authority and TCWA Vice President Ted Mallick Councilman, Municipality of Murrysville Edward A. Cambell, Resident of Murrysville Robin Moyer Urban Consrvationist, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, Allegheny County Alfred B. Carl TCWA Board Member and Resident of Wilkinsburg Nancy Neal Aid to Joe Markosek, PA Representative Bill Clark Board Member, Parks and Recreation, Municipality of Murrysville Deb Simko Western PA Coalition of Abandoned Mine Reclamation and Former TCWA Executive Director Charles W. Charrie, II Borough of Manor Council and Realco, Inc. Paul T. Teacher TCWA Board member and Former Mayor of Export Brian Conroy Citizen, Monroeville Resident Paul Vogel PA Department of Environmental Protection and Resident of Level Green Edward Fischer TCWA Board Member and Resident of East Pittsburgh Steve Wiedemer Skelly and Loy, Inc.

3 , TCWA President, and Resident of Turtle Creek Turtle Creek Watershed River Conservation plan TABLE OF CONTENTS Page PREFACE .. 1 CHARACTERISTICS OF THE Turtle Creek Watershed .. 4 4 4 Watershed AND SUBWATERSHEDS .. 5 6 GEOLOGY .. 7 MINERAL 9 10 WATER QUALITY .. 12 SPECIES AND HABITATS OF CONCERN .. 13 AQUATIC COMMUNITIES .. 14 PLANT 18 NATURAL PLANT COMMUNITIES IN THE Turtle Creek Watershed .. 18 RARE 20 NON-NATIVE PLANT COMMUNITIES AND INVASIVE PLANTS .. 21 23 LAND USE .. 26 LOCAL 27 SOCIOECONOMIC CHARACTERISTICS .. 28 CULTURAL RESOURCES .. 28 PREHISTORIC NATIVE AMERICANS .. 29 WESTERN PENNSYLVANIA 29 COAL MINING, GAS WELLS, AND THE GLASS INDUSTRY.

4 30 PENNSYLVANIA RAILROAD AND THE STEEL INDUSTRY ..30 GEORGE WESTINGHOUSE AND THE WESTINGHOUSE ELECTRIC 31 31 33 SUBWATERSHED CHARACTERISTICS .. 35 ABERS ARDMORE 38 LOWER BRUSH 39 Turtle Creek Watershed River Conservation plan UPPER BRUSH 40 BUSHY 41 DIRTY CAMP RUN .. 41 HAYMAKER 432 LYONS RUN .. 44 SAWMILL RUN .. 45 STEELS RUN .. 45 THOMPSON RUN .. 46 LOWER Turtle 47 MIDDLE Turtle 49 UPPER Turtle 50 Conservation PLANNING AND Watershed PROTECTION .. 52 INTRODUCTION .. 52 Conservation PLANNING PRINCIPLES .. 52 FOUR KEYS TO Conservation .. 52 MODEL DEVELOPMENT PRINCIPLES .. 54 Watershed CONSIDERATIONS .. 54 STORMWATER MANAGEMENT .. 54 FLOODPLAIN MANAGEMENT .. 55 URBANIZATION AND IMPERVIOUS COVER .. 57 STREAM 58 STEEP 59 RECREATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES.

5 60 Conservation PLANNING RESOURCES FOR Watershed PROTECTION: A TOOLBOX FOR LOCAL 61 ADDITIONAL 62 ISSUES, NEEDS, AND OPPORTUNITIES .. 68 PUBLIC MEETINGS/SURVEYS .. 68 Watershed -WIDE ISSUES, NEEDS, AND OPPORTUNITIES .. 72 SUBWATERSHED ISSUES, NEEDS, AND OPPORTUNITIES .. 74 CURRENT AND PAST PROJECTS UNDERTAKEN AND SUPPORTED BY 76 IMPLEMENTATION AND ACTION plan .. 78 LITERATURE CITED .. 89 GLOSSARY ..93 Turtle Creek Watershed River Conservation plan APPENDICES Appendix A Land Resources Appendix B Water Resources Appendix C Biological Resources Appendix D Cultural Resources and Recreation Appendix E Demographics and Local Government Regulations Appendix F Infrastructure Appendix G Conservation Planning Toolbox Appendix H Public Involvement TABLES Table 1 Subwatershed Planning Units for the Turtle Creek Watershed Table 2 Species of Special Concern within the Turtle Creek Watershed Table 3 Habitats of Special Concern within the Turtle Creek Watershed Table 4 Parklands within the Turtle Creek Watershed Table 5 Characteristics of Subwatersheds within the Turtle Creek Watershed Table 6 Public Meeting/Survey Issues/Action Items Rankings Table 7 Subwatershed-Based Stream Quality Evaluation Table 8 Projects Completed/Underway by the TCWA Table 9 Action plan for the Turtle Creek Watershed

6 FIGURES Figure 1 General Location Map Figure 2 Municipal Boundaries Map Figure 3 Subwatershed Environmental Planning Units Map Figure 4 Abandoned Mine Areas and Steep Slopes Map Figure 5 Topography and Geology Map Figure 6 Soils of Interest Map Figure 7 Natural Resources Map Figure 8 Landuse/Type Map Figure 9 Flood Prone Areas Map Figure 10 County and Municipal Planning and Zoning Map Figure 11 Population Density by Municipality Map Figure 12 Transportation and Recreation Map Figure 13 Public Water Service Areas Map Figure 14 Public Sewer Service Areas Map Turtle Creek Watershed River Conservation plan April 30, 2002 1 PREFACE The development of a River Conservation plan (RCP) for the Turtle Creek Watershed is an initiative of the Turtle Creek Watershed Association (TCWA), a qualified, IRS 501 (c) (3) tax exempt, nonprofit corporation.

7 The TCWA was established in 1971 primarily through the efforts of its first Board of Directors, the Westmoreland County Soil and Water Conservation District, the Allegheny County Soil and Water Conservation District, the Allegheny County Commissioners, and Westinghouse Electric Corporation. The TCWA initially operated as a Pennsylvania-chartered environmental planning agency involved with erosion, sedimentation, flood control, sewage, and abandoned mine drainage issues within the 147-square mile Turtle Creek Watershed . Over the years, the TCWA has managed projects that have also addressed recreation, trout stocking, environmental education, and natural resource Conservation throughout the Watershed . The Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (PADCNR) developed the Pennsylvania River Conservation Program as a statewide initiative to conserve and enhance River resources through preparation and execution of locally initiated Conservation plans.

8 This program is funded through the Keystone Recreation, Park, and Conservation Fund Act (Act 50 of July 2, 1993, Public Law 359; or Key 93 ) to assist municipalities and Watershed organizations that are interested in conserving their local River resources. This program provides technical and financial assistance for planning, implementation, acquisition, and development activities for these locally initiated and executed water resource plans. According to PADCNR (1999), the objectives of an RCP are to: (1) inventory the significant natural, recreational, and cultural resources within the Watershed ; (2) solicit public input to identify issues, concerns, and threats to River resources and values; and (3) formulate an action plan for public and private actions and initiatives to conserve, enhance, and restore River resources and values. Once an RCP is prepared, a River can be placed on the Pennsylvania Rivers Conservation Registry.

9 The Registry acts as a vehicle to recognize the River and those individuals and organizations that were involved with completing a comprehensive RCP for the resource , as well as endorse local initiatives in a statewide recognition program. After the RCP is placed upon the Registry, the River becomes eligible for implementation, development, or acquisition grants for the installation of the Action plan identified in the RCP. Turtle Creek Watershed River Conservation plan April 30, 2002 2 To expand their Conservation efforts, the TCWA applied for a grant from the PADCNR to prepare a RCP for the entire Turtle Creek Watershed . When the grant was received, the TCWA established a Steering Committee to manage the development of the RCP. The Steering Committee, in turn, hired Civil & Environmental Consultants, Inc. (CEC) from Pittsburgh to gather data, conduct the necessary analyses, and prepare the RCP.

10 A Project Advisory Council was formed to represent the public, provide input into the development of the RCP, and ensure that the RCP would meet community needs. Sixteen concerned citizens, community leaders, and stakeholders who live and work within the Turtle Creek Watershed comprised the Project Advisory Council, having backgrounds in planning, economic development, life sciences, engineering, recreation, and government. The Project Advisory Council reviewed the work of CEC, recommended changes, and helped publicize the RCP within their own organizations and communities. In addition to regular meetings with the Steering Committee and Project Advisory Council, the RCP planning process solicited and incorporated public involvement through public meetings, newsletters, an issues survey, press releases, and updates to the TCWA website. These public involvement activities are described and documented in Appendix H of the plan (Volume 2).