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Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest Geothermal Power Plant Environmental Impact Assessment Evan Derickson Western Washington University

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Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest Geothermal Power Plant Environmental Impact Assessment Evan Derickson Western Washington University Western Washington University Western CEDAR Huxley College Graduate and Undergraduate Huxley College of the Environment Publications Winter 2013 Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest geothermal power plant environmental impact assessment Evan Derickson Western Washington University Ethan Holzer Western Washington University Brandon Johansen Western Washington University Audra McCafferty Western Washington University Eric Messerschmidt Western Washington University See next page for additional authors Follow this and additional works at: https://cedar.wwu.edu/huxley_stupubs Part of the Environmental Studies Commons Recommended Citation Derickson, Evan; Holzer, Ethan; Johansen, Brandon; McCafferty, Audra; Messerschmidt, Eric; and Olsen, Kyle, "Mt. Baker- Snoqualmie National Forest geothermal power plant environmental impact assessment" (2013). Huxley College Graduate and Undergraduate Publications. 29. https://cedar.wwu.edu/huxley_stupubs/29 This Environmental Impact Assessment is brought to you for free and open access by the Huxley College of the Environment at Western CEDAR. It has been accepted for inclusion in Huxley College Graduate and Undergraduate Publications by an authorized administrator of Western CEDAR. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Author Evan Derickson, Ethan Holzer, Brandon Johansen, Audra McCafferty, Eric Messerschmidt, and Kyle Olsen This environmental impact assessment is available at Western CEDAR: https://cedar.wwu.edu/huxley_stupubs/29 Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest Geothermal Power Plant Environmental Impact Assessment user:Muu-karhu / Wikimedia Commons / CC-BY-SA-3.0 Winter 2013 Environmental Science 493 Professor Leo Bodensteiner Huxley College of the Environment Western Washington University Evan Derickson Ethan Holzer Brandon Johansen Audra McCafferty Eric Messerschmidt Kyle Olsen 1 Table of Contents DIGITAL RELEASE Environmental Impact Assessment Huxley College of the Environment We grant to Western Washington University the non-exclusive royalty-free right to archive, reproduce, distribute, and display this Environmental Impact Assessment document in any and all forms, including electronic format, via any digital library mechanisms maintained by Western Washington University. I/We represent and warrant this is original work, and does not infringe or violate any rights of others. I/We warrant that I/we have obtained written permissions from the owner of any third party copyrighted material included in this document. I/We acknowledge that I/we retain ownership rights to the copyright of this work, including but not limited to the right to use all or part of this work in future works, such as articles or books. Library users are granted permission for individual, research and non-commercial reproduction of this work for educational purposes only. Any further digital posting of this document requires specific permission from the author(s). Any copying or publication of this document for commercial purposes, or for financial gain, is not allowed without my/our written permission. Evan Derickson Ethan Holzer Brandon Johansen Audra McCafferty Eric Messerschmidt Kyle Olsen 1 2 Table of Contents TABLE OF CONTENTS Digital Release ............................................................................................................................. 1 Table of Contents ........................................................................................................................ 2 List Of Figures.............................................................................................................................. 3 List Of Tables ............................................................................................................................... 3 Dear Concerned Citizen .............................................................................................................. 4 Fact Sheet.................................................................................................................................... 5 Glossary Of Technical Terms And Abbreviations ........................................................................ 9 List of Acronyms:................................................................................................................... 10 1. Introduction .......................................................................................................................... 11 1.1. Executive Summary ........................................................................................................ 11 1.2. Proposed Action: 50 MW POWER PLANT ...................................................................... 13 1.3. Alternative Actions ......................................................................................................... 14 Alternative Action: 25 MW Power Plant............................................................................... 14 No Action............................................................................................................................... 14 1.4. Impact Matrix ................................................................................................................. 15 2. Elements of the Natural Environment ...................................................................................... 16 2.1. Earth ............................................................................................................................... 16 2.1.1. Geology ................................................................................................................... 16 2.1.2. Soils ......................................................................................................................... 21 2.1.3. Unique Physical Features (Seismology) .................................................................. 26 2.2. Air ................................................................................................................................... 27 2.2.1. Air Quality ............................................................................................................... 27 2.2.2. Odor ........................................................................................................................ 30 2.3. Water.............................................................................................................................. 31 2.3.1. Surface Water ......................................................................................................... 31 2.3.2. Groundwater Movement/Quantity/Quality ........................................................... 35 2.4. Wildlife ........................................................................................................................... 38 2.4.1. Habitat and Diversity .............................................................................................. 38 2.4.2. Unique Species ........................................................................................................ 41 2.4.3. Fish or Wildlife Migration Routes ........................................................................... 44 2.5. Energy and Natural Resources ....................................................................................... 45 2.5.1. Energy: Amount Required, Rate of Use, and Efficiency.......................................... 45 2.5.2. Natural Resources ................................................................................................... 46 3. Built Environment ..................................................................................................................... 47 3.1. Environmental Health .................................................................................................... 47 2 3 Table of Contents 3.1.1. Noise ....................................................................................................................... 47 3.1.2. Risk of Explosion and Toxic Release........................................................................ 48 3.2. Land Use ......................................................................................................................... 49 3.2.1. Relationship to Existing Land Use Plans.................................................................. 49 3.2.2. Light and Glare ........................................................................................................ 50 3.2.3. Aesthetics ................................................................................................................ 50 4. Bibliography .............................................................................................................................. 52 LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1: Lease location .................................................................................................................. 6 Figure 2: Diagram of a typical binary geothermal plant. .............................................................. 12 Figure 3: Cascadia subduction zone.............................................................................................. 17 Figure 4: Culvert erosion ............................................................................................................... 23 Figure 5: Soil unit stability in and around proposed lease area ................................................... 25 Figure 6: Riparian buffers in and around the proposed lease area ............................................. 33 Figure 7: Tree stand
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