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Track: Environmental Management
Ed Alkiewicz
New York Power Authority
123 Main Street
White Plains, NY 10601
Telephone: 914-287-3247
Fax: 914-287-3294
E-mail: walkiee@ip3gate.usa.com
John Wingfield
Using GIS and Imagery To Conduct Environmental Analysis
Defining Issue: The New York Power Authority has undertaken the relicensing of a major hydroelectric power project located on the New York-Ontario border and constructed in the 1950s. In order to assess the past and present environmental impacts of the project, natural resources and processes must be identified and studied. GIS Solution: The New York Power Authority has developed an in-house GIS and acquired data layers needed to support environmental analysis and other resource management applications. Methodology: Due to the inadequacy of existing mapping, a decision was made to create digital orthophotographic basemaps of the 38,000 acre project area. After obtaining current low-altitude aerial photography, black-and-white and false color infrared imagery was acquired and digitized. The higher resolution black-and-white imagery was used to identify building footprints and encroachments, while the color infrared imagery was used for environmental analysis, particularly the identification of
vegetation signatures. The imagery was used to create data layers including wetland delineations, land use/land cover, property maps, environmentally sensitive areas, topography, and cultural resources locations. Results of environmental analyses and real estate queries were also plotted for inclusion in licensing documents and presentation at public meetings and workshops. The database has also been loaded onto a laptop computer running ArcView that is linked with a GPS receiver to document structures and other geographic data in the field. This application is being used to support a shoreline user permit system. All the map submittals required by the federal licensing process for this project will be prepared on a GIS. Software: Data layers were created in ArcInfo and loaded into ArcView workstations to allow for analysis by environmental scientists and resource managers. ArcView APRs were written to allow for easier access to the entire database by casual GIS users.
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