Gunlock Arsenic Treatment Plant
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United States Department of the Interior Bureau of Land Management Preliminary Environmental Assessment DOI-BLM-UT-C030-2016-40-EA May 2017 Gunlock Arsenic Treatment Plant Applicant: City of St. George 175 East 200 North St. U.S. Department of the Interior Bureau of Land Management St. George Field Office 345 East Riverside Drive St. George, Utah 84790 Phone: (435) 688-3200 Fax: (435) 688-3252 Gunlock Arsenic Treatment Plant DOI-BLM-UT-C030-2016-40-EA 1.0 PURPOSE AND NEED .................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Introduction ..................................................................................................................... 1 1.2 Background ..................................................................................................................... 1 1.3 Purpose and Need for the Proposed Action .................................................................... 4 1.4 Decision to be Made........................................................................................................ 4 1.5 Conformance with BLM Land Use Plan ......................................................................... 4 1.6 Relationship to Statutes, Regulations, or other Plans ...................................................... 4 1.7 Identification of Issues .................................................................................................... 5 1.7.1. Issues Identified for the Proposed Action............................................................... 5 1.7.2. Resources Considered but Eliminated from Further Analysis ................................ 6 1.8 Summary ......................................................................................................................... 6 2.0 DESCRIPTION OF ALTERNATIVES, INCLUDING PROPOSED ACTION ........ 7 2.1 Introduction ..................................................................................................................... 7 2.2 Alternative A - Proposed Action..................................................................................... 7 2.2.1. Location .................................................................................................................. 7 2.2.2. Right-of-Way .......................................................................................................... 7 2.2.3. Construction Schedule .......................................................................................... 13 2.2.4. Access Road, Pipeline and Transmission Line Construction ............................... 13 2.2.5. Arsenic Treatment Plant Construction .................................................................. 13 2.2.6. Standard Operating Procedures............................................................................. 14 2.2.7. Operation and Maintenance .................................................................................. 15 2.3 Alternative B – No Action ............................................................................................ 16 2.4 Alternatives Eliminated From Further Evaluation ........................................................ 16 3.0 AFFECTED ENVIRONMENT ..................................................................................... 17 3.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................... 17 3.2 General Setting.............................................................................................................. 17 3.3 Resources Brought Forward for Analysis ..................................................................... 18 3.3.1. Water Resources/Quality (drinking/surface/ground) ............................................ 18 3.3.2. Cultural Resources................................................................................................ 18 3.3.3. Soils....................................................................................................................... 20 3.3.4. Fish and Wildlife Resources (excluding USFWS Designated Species) ............... 20 3.3.5. Migratory Birds ..................................................................................................... 21 3.3.6. Visual Resources................................................................................................... 22 3.3.7. National Historic Trails (Old Spanish Trail) ........................................................ 23 4.0 ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS ................................................................................... 24 4.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................... 24 4.2 General Analysis Assumptions and Guidelines ............................................................ 24 4.3 Direct and Indirect Impacts ........................................................................................... 24 4.3.1. Alternative A – Proposed Action.......................................................................... 25 4.3.2. Alternative B – No Action .................................................................................... 32 4.4 Cumulative Impacts Analysis ........................................................................................ 33 4.4.1. Past and Present Actions....................................................................................... 33 4.4.2. Reasonably Foreseeable Action Scenario (RFAS) ............................................... 33 4.4.3. Cumulative Impacts .............................................................................................. 33 5.0 CONSULTATION AND COORDINATION ............................................................... 34 5.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................... 34 5.2 Persons, Groups, and Agencies Consulted.................................................................... 35 5.3 Summary of Public Participation .................................................................................. 35 5.3.1. Comment Analysis ................................................................................................ 35 5.3.2. List of Commenters............................................................................................... 36 5.3.3. Response to Public Comment ............................................................................... 36 5.4 List of Preparers ............................................................................................................ 36 6.0 REFERENCES, GLOSSARY AND ACRONYMS ..................................................... 37 6.1 References Cited ........................................................................................................... 37 6.2 List of Acronyms Used in this EA ................................................................................ 37 Tables Table 2-1. New Surface Disturbance Summary ............................................................................. 8 Table 2-2. Estimated Personnel & Equipment Required for Project ............................................ 14 Table 2-3. Estimated Personnel & Equipment Required for Operation & Maintenance .............. 16 Table 4-1 Terms Used to Describe the Environmental Effects .................................................... 25 Table 5-1: List of all Persons, Agencies and Organizations Consulted for Purposes of this EA . 35 Table 5-2: List of Staff Used in the Preparation of this EA .......................................................... 36 Figures Figure 1-1 Project Location ............................................................................................................ 3 Figure 2-1 Existing BLM ROWs .................................................................................................... 9 Figure 2-2 Existing Conditions ..................................................................................................... 10 Figure 2-3 Site Plan ...................................................................................................................... 11 Figure 2-4 New Water Lines ......................................................................................................... 12 Figure 3-1 Existing view (upper) of proposed project from Gunlock Road (Travel Route KOP) 23 Figure 3-2 Existing view (lower) of proposed project from Gunlock Road (Travel Route KOP) 23 Figure 4.1 Existing view of proposed project site due west of site .............................................. 31 Figure 4.2 Existing view approximately 30 feet above project site looking Northeast ................ 31 Appendices Interdisciplinary Team Checklist ................................................................................... Appendix A Plan of Development ...................................................................................................... Appendix B Best Management Practices and Standard Operating Procedures ................................ Appendix C Visual Contrast Rating Worksheet ................................................................................. Appendix D 1.0 PURPOSE AND NEED 1.1 Introduction This Environmental Assessment (EA) has been prepared to disclose and analyze the environmental consequences of the Gunlock Arsenic Treatment Plant (GATP) as proposed by the City of St. George. The EA is a site-specific analysis of