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September 2015 3-22 14-14979 no large natural lakes, rivers or streams on the Site. The closest lake is Blue Cypress Lake, which is approximately 4.5 miles northeast of the OCEC Unit I Blue Cypress Lake is approximately 6,500 acres in size, with an average depth of approximately 8 feet. There are several streams, creeks, or ditches that enter Blue Cypress Lake from the south and west. Padgett Branch is the closest stream to the Site, located approximately 2 miles to the north. The gaging station on Padgett Branch and State Road 60(SJRWMD Station 10991415)has a median flow of 13 cfs, but ranges between 0 and 191 cfs. The closest large creek in Okeechobee County is Jim Green Creek, located approximately 3 miles to the southwest. This creek parallels the west side of the Florida Turnpike and flows under the Florida Turnpike south of the Ft. Drum Rest Area. The flow at this Iocation (SJRWMD Station 11001520)was measured once at 0.34 cfs. Jim Green Creek flows into Fort Drum Creek and continues south. Fort Drum Creek is gaged as it crosses the Florida Turnpike(USGS Station 02231342). At this gaging station,the flow is between 0 and 467 cfs and the average flow is 46.5 cfs. Given that the drainage basin is 52.6 square miles, the annual average runoff from this drainage basin equals 0.88 cfs/sq.mile, or 11.9 incbes/year. Surface water in the vicinity of the site is classified by the State as Class III fresh water. 3.3.4.1 Measurement Programs No surface waters will be directly affected by OCEC Unit 1. Chemical and Physical parameters will be obtained for the UIC Class V exploratory well permit as described in Appendix 10.2.8. The models used to determine groundwater impacts of the Project are presented in Appendix 10.9. 3.3.5 Vegetation/Land Use Characteristic vegetative communities/land uses within the Site and associated linear facilities were classified utilizing the FLUCFCS Level III (FDOT, 1999) during field reconnaissance conducted in November through February 2015. Vegetative communities within and adjacent to the approximately 2,341-acre Site proposed for certification are discussed in detail in Subsection 3.3.6.1, including the approximately 220-acre proposed location for the OCEC Unit 1 and approximately 104 acres of adjacent open space, the 1,629-acre area proposed for potential future solar generation, and the approximately 376-acre mitigation area (Figure 3.1-2). Appendix 10.7.1.1 presents photographs representative of vegetation/land use classifications within each area of the Site. 3.3.5.1 OCEC Unit 1 The approximately 220-acre area of the Site proposed for construction of the OCEC Unit 1 is located in the north-central portion of the property. Existing vegetation/land use within the area is dominated by active citrus groves (FLUCFCS 22 1) bisected by manmade inigation ditches (FLUCFCS 511), Attachment 1 b PPL 205