2010-11-23-MO-DEA-Kalaupapa
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National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior Kalaupapa National Historical Park Hawaii Project to Repair the Kalaupapa Dock Structures Environmental Assessment August 2010 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The Kalaupapa Settlement is home to surviving Hansen's disease (leprosy) patients, and is cur- rently managed jointly by the Hawaii Department of Health and the National Park Service (NPS). The vast majority of materials needed to sustain the park and the Kalaupapa Settlement is received by barge delivery. An engineering study (Daly 2005) has determined that severe win- ter swell conditions have compromised the structural integrity of the Kalaupapa harbor facilities used by the barge. The NPS proposes to ensure delivery of supplies essential to operate and maintain Kalaupapa National Historical Park (“the park”) and the community by improving conditions of the dock structures at the harbor. This environmental assessment considered two alternatives for improving conditions of the dock structures: Alternative A: The No Action Alternative: Current NPS management operations at the dock and harbor would remain unchanged without repair to the dock structures. The integrity and stability of the pier may be compromised to the point of being unsafe for barge operations. Over the long-term, barge service to the park would likely be disrupted or become sporadic. Delive- ries of annual supplies and materials used for state operations, park programs, and the park’s ongoing rehabilitation of historic properties would be affected. Alternative B: The Preferred Alternative: This alternative would include completion of the repairs necessary to maintain service via a small barge. Voids in the bulkhead wall toe, the low dock toe, and the breakwater would be filled for structural integrity, and repairs would be made to the pier dock. This maintenance is expected to lengthen the effective life of the pier for an additional 10 to 15 years. The alternatives were considered for their effects on water resources; benthic resources and es- sential fish habitat; fish; special-status species; natural soundscape; cultural resources of the Ka- laupapa Settlement; and park operations. PUBLIC REVIEW AND COMMENT This environmental assessment will be available for public review for 30 days. If you wish to comment on this environmental assessment, you may mail comments to the park superinten- dent at the address below or post comments online at http://parkplanning.nps.gov/kala. Before including your address, phone number, e-mail address, or other personal identifying informa- tion in your comment, you should be aware that your entire comment - including your personal identifying information - may be made publicly available at any time. While you may ask us in your comment to withhold your personal identifying information from public review, we can- not guarantee that we will be able to do so. We would make all submissions from organizations, businesses and from individuals identifying themselves as representatives or officials of organi- zations or businesses available for public inspections in their entirety. Please address Superintendent written comments to: Kalaupapa National Historical Park, attention Dock EA P.O. Box 2222 Kalaupapa, HI 96742 808-567-6802 United States Department of the Interior ● National Park Service -iii- This page is intentionally left blank TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter 1: Purpose of and Need for Action .................................................................................... 1 Introduction ............................................................................................................................ 1 Project Background ............................................................................................................... 2 Purpose of and Need for Action .......................................................................................... 5 Park Purpose and Significance ............................................................................................. 9 Objectives .............................................................................................................................. 11 Relevant Laws, Policies, Plans, and Constraints .............................................................. 11 Relationship to Other Plans ................................................................................................ 14 Scoping Process and Public Participation ........................................................................ 15 Issues and Impact Topics .................................................................................................... 16 Chapter 2: The Alternatives .............................................................................................................. 25 Development of the Alternatives ....................................................................................... 25 Alternative A: The No Action Alternative ........................................................................ 28 Alternative B: the Preferred Alternative – Deferred Maintenance ................................ 29 Resource Protection Measures and Monitoring of Alternative B ................................. 32 Alternatives Considered and Dismissed ........................................................................... 37 Environmentally Preferred Alternative ............................................................................. 41 Summary of the Alternatives .............................................................................................. 43 Chapter 3: Affected Environment and Environmental Consequences ..................................... 49 Introduction .......................................................................................................................... 49 Methods for Analyzing Impacts ......................................................................................... 50 Water Resources .................................................................................................................. 54 Benthic Resources and Essential Fish Habitat ................................................................. 62 Fishes ................................................................................................................................... 75 Special-Status Species .......................................................................................................... 82 Soundscape ......................................................................................................................... 108 Cultural Resources ............................................................................................................. 114 Park Operations and Management .................................................................................. 131 Chapter 4: Consultation and Coordination ................................................................................. 135 Public Scoping .................................................................................................................... 135 Agency Scoping .................................................................................................................. 136 List of Preparers and Contributors .................................................................................. 140 List of Recipients ................................................................................................................ 142 References ........................................................................................................................................ 145 List of Acronyms and Abbreviations ............................................................................................. 157 Glossary ............................................................................................................................................. 159 Appendix A Coastal Zone Management Act Consistency Determination for the Preferred Alternative Appendix B Consultation and Coordination Correspondence -v- TABLE OF CONTENTS FIGURES 1: View of Kalaupapa National Historical Park from Nearby Cliffs ........................................... 1 2: Main Hawaiian Islands Showing Kalaupapa National Historical Park .................................. 2 3: Map of Kalaupapa National Historical Park and Harbor Location ........................................ 3 4: Dock Structure and Barge Basin .................................................................................................. 4 5: Winter Waves at Kalaupapa Harbor ............................................................................................ 5 6: Barge Day 2007 ............................................................................................................................... 6 7: Bulkhead with Void and Shoreside Historic Warehouse ......................................................... 8 8: Breakwater – Shifted Armor Stones and Cracked Concrete .................................................... 9 9: View of Anchor ............................................................................................................................. 20 10: View of 1970’s Dolphin Resting on Harbor Floor................................................................. 21 11: Location of Freshwater Seeps in the Project Area ................................................................. 55 12: Harbor Seafloor Habitat in the Project Area .........................................................................