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Draft Environmental Impact Report Page V-11 Forward Landfill Expansion limited values to wildlife. Impacts to the South Branch of the South Fork of Littlejohn's Creek resulting from the proposed, although significant, are considered temporary as the creek channel and riparian habitat would be reconstructed. In fact, the proposed project, with its realignment of the creek,would result in a net increase in the structural diversity of available riparian habitats on the site. Therefore,the reduced project alternative is not necessarily environmentally superior over the proposed project. Public Services and Utilities As with the proposed project, the Reduced Project Alternative would have a less than significant effect on police protection services, and effects on fire protection,emergency medical services, and wastewater treatment could be mitigated to less than significant levels. As with the proposed project, this alternative would not include any housing or . change the population in the project area, and thus would not affect schools, parks, or other public facilities. Cultural Resources The Reduced Project Alternative would not involve filling in the expansion areas, and would not affect any buried cultural resources that may exist in those areas. Visual Quality The Reduced Project Alternative would involve less filling in the expansion area, and would result in two smaller hills, or possibly one smaller hill if no fill is placed south of the creek in the southern portion of the existing landfill. The visual impact of the height and massing of this alternative would be less than that of the proposed project, although it would still be a significant visual impact. This alternative would have night lighting impacts similar to the proposed project. F. ENVIRONMENTALLY SUPERIOR ALTERNATIVE The CEQA Guidelines (Sections 15126.6(d), 15126.6(e))require that an environmentally superior alternative be designated. If the alternative with the least environmental impact is the No Project Alternative, then one of the other remaining alternatives is to be designated as the environmentally superior alternative. Alternative 1, No Project,would eliminate all of the potential impacts of the project. However it would not provide the benefit of additional landfill capacity to the County and surrounding areas. Alternative 2, Reduced Project would have reduced impact on traffic, air emissions, agricultural resources, noise, cumulative noise,biological resources, and the visual character of the area,but would still have a significant effect on visual quality, agricultural resources, and cumulative air quality. Alternative 2, Reduced Project would be the environmentally superior alternative, assuming that this alternative would incorporate the mitigation measures that are identified for the proposed project. 1