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Draft Environmental Impact Report Page IV.K-1 P P g Forward Landfill Expansion IV.K. VISUAL QUALITY Setting Site Visual Character The existing Forward Landfill, which was created by consolidating the former Austin Road Sanitary Landfill and the original Forward Landfill, is an L-shaped, 567-acre parcel located in the relatively flat terrain of the San Joaquin Valley. Since the former Austin Road Sanitary Landfill began operations in 1954 and the original Forward Landfill was permitted in 1993,the naturally flat terrain has been significantly altered into hills and depressions. The current appearance of the project site is shown in Figures IV.K-2, IV.K-3, IV.K-4, and IV.K-5, which include views of the existing site from the northeast, southeast, southwest, and northwest, . respectively. Figure IV.K-1 shows the location of the viewpoints used for Figures IV.K-2 through IV.K-5. - The project site's visual character is dominated by two separate hills (the former Austin Road Landfill and the original Forward Landfill). As of April 2008 (the most recent available measurement), the highest point at the northern hill of the landfill (former Austin Road Landfill) was approximately 137 feet above Mean Sea Level (MSL), and the highest point at the southern hill of the landfill (original Forward Landfill) was approximately 194 feet. Excluding the fill and excavation areas, natural elevations in the project vicinity range from approximately 25 to 40 feet above MSL, so the artificial hills rise about 97 to 169 feet above the ground surface. The steep grades and sharp contours of the artificial hills appear unnatural, and they comprise the most apparent visual features of the site. With full development under existing permits (the environmental baseline used in this EIR), the wedge area between the two existing hills of the landfill would be filled to a height of 210 feet. This would be higher and more massive than the existing conditions portrayed in Figures IV.K-2 through IV.K-5. In addition to the hills, there are a number of depressions at the site: borrow excavation areas to the north and south of the northern hill (former Austin Road Sanitary Landfill disposal area);a sedimentation basin in the northwestern portion of the landfill;an approximately one-acre leachate impoundment located just north of the South Branch of the South Fork of Littlejohns Creek(in the southwestern portion of the existing landfill), and two sedimentation basins in the southwest portion of the existing landfill(one on either side of the South Branch). These depressions are only visible from higher points on the site. The North and South Branches of the South Fork of Littlejohns Creek traverse the site. The North Branch is a meandering creek with riparian vegetation, and the South Branch is a channelized creek with limited vegetation. In general, the site is sparsely vegetated,although several clusters of mature oak trees are visible on or near the periphery of the site, as well as riparian vegetation along the North Branch of the South Fork of Littlejohns Creek. An entrance road to the northern portion of the landfill is visible near the northern boundary of the site,off Austin Road. Some of the mature oak trees mentioned above are visible near this entrance in views from Austin Road,as is a small structure housing a groundwater extraction and treatment system. The main entrance road to the existing Forward Landfill from Austin Road is visible near the middle of the site's eastern boundary along Austin Road. The adjacent entrance facilities, consisting of a small one-story office building and parking lot, are partially screened from Austin Road by a vegetated berm. A transfer station/resource recovery facility is visible in the southeast portion of the site. This facility includes an entrance road off Austin Road, a large single-story metal-sided building, an office trailer, numerous piles of wood and green waste, and numerous compost windrows.