Draft Environmental Assessment for Department of Veterans Affairs Community Based Outpatient Clinic Lakeland, Florida December 2020 Prepared for: GSA Region 4 Prepared by: Potomac-Hudson Engineering, Inc. Lakeland VA Community Based Outpatient Clinic EA Finding of No Significant Impact December 2020 Draft Finding of No Significant Impact for Lakeland VA Community Based Outpatient Clinic Lakeland, Florida LEAD AGENCY: U.S. General Services Administration (GSA), Region 4 ACTION: Finding of No Significant Impact SUMMARY: Pursuant to the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) Regulations (40 Code of Federal Regulations [CFR] Parts 1500-1508) for implementing the procedural provisions of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) (42 United States Code [USC] 4321 et seq.), the United States (U.S.) General Services Administration (GSA) prepared an Environmental Assessment (EA) to analyze and document the potential environmental, cultural, and socioeconomic impacts associated with the Proposed Action, which is the construction and lease of a new Veterans Affairs (VA) Community Based Outpatient Clinic (CBOC) located in Lakeland, Florida. All discussions and findings related to the Proposed Action, the No Action Alternative, and those Alternative(s) that GSA considered, but eliminated are presented in the attached Final EA and Appendices. The Final EA is hereby incorporated by reference. The VA, Veterans Health Administration (VHA) is searching for a new facility to operate the Lakeland CBOC in the area of Lakeland, Florida. VHA’s mission is to honor America’s Veterans by providing exceptional healthcare that improves Veteran health and well-being. CBOC’s across the country provide Veterans with easy access to healthcare and common outpatient services, including health and wellness visits. To aid in the search of a new, larger, and consolidated leased facility, the VA is working with the GSA on a prospectus project for the long-term lease and operation of a new build-to-suit CBOC. GSA has actively engaged interested developers through a site proposal and bid selection process resulting in three sites within the Lakeland area as potential candidates for a new build-to-suit CBOC. A. PROPOSED ACTION GSA’s Proposed Action is to provide the VA with a long-term lease and operation of a build-to-suit CBOC in the Lakeland, Florida area. The proposed project would replace the existing 23,000 square-foot CBOC located at 4237 and 4235 South Pipkin Road with a new 127,900 square-foot state-of-the-art, energy-efficient health care facility, 650 parking spaces, and appropriate stormwater management features. The Proposed Action includes consideration of a build-to-suit CBOC on three different site alternatives identified during GSA’s developer proposal process. B. PURPOSE AND NEED: The purpose of the Proposed Action is to provide the VHA and Veterans within the Lakeland Florida area with a new build-to-suit CBOC that is appropriately sized, state-of-the-art, and energy-efficient with enlarged and consolidated Primary Care and certain Specialty Care services. This would be accomplished through GSA’s assistance in the identification of a suitable developer and site to construct the new CBOC and enter into a long- term lease agreement. The proposed new build-to-suit CBOC is needed to expand Veteran healthcare access and meet existing and future demands of the Veteran population in the Lakeland area by providing a new and larger facility. The existing leased CBOC facilities totaling approximately 23,000 square-foot are inadequate to accommodate existing and anticipated future Veteran needs. C. PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT GSA invited public participation in decision-making on new proposals through the NEPA process. On October 29, 2020, GSA sent letters to solicit scoping comments to approximately 20 public agencies, public officials, and federally-recognized Native American tribes. GSA received scoping comments from the USEPA regarding i Lakeland VA Community Based Outpatient Clinic EA Finding of No Significant Impact December 2020 consideration of environmental justice populations, identification and protection of nearby water resources during construction, and use of stormwater management features and design to control stormwater flows. The Draft EA was available for public review and comment after publication of the Notice of Availability in the Lakeland Ledger newspaper. The public was invited to provide comments to GSA on the Draft EA during a 20- day comment period extending from December 20, 2020 to January 8, 2021. The Draft EA was available electronically on GSA’s website. The Draft EA was distributed to cognizant agencies and interested parties. D. ALTERNATIVES CONSIDERED: Alternative 1 – Kathleen Road: Alternative 1 consists of a 20.6-acre wooded site near Interstate 4 (I-4) at Kathleen Road. Residential and industrial areas are located to the south and east of the site across I-4. The main entrance to the facility would be off Kathleen Road. Alternative 2 – Lakeland Highlands: Alternative 2 consists of a 26.5-acre site with undeveloped land used for cattle grazing near the intersection of Polk Parkway (State Route [SR] 570) and Lakeland Highlands Road. The main entrance to the facility would be off Lakeland Highlands Road. Alternative 3 – Polk Parkway: Alternative 3 consists of a 16.4-acre site near the intersection of Braddock Road and Polk Parkway (SR 570). The site is located on a mix of undeveloped land and land used as treated wastewater spray fields and rapid infiltration pond by the Auburndale Plant located northwest of the site across Polk Parkway. The main entrance to the facility would be off SunTrax Boulevard via Braddock Road. NO-ACTION ALTERNATIVE Under the No Action Alternative, GSA would not pursue a long-term lease and operation of a new build-to- suit CBOC for the VA. The VHA would continue to serve the Lakeland area Veterans through their existing under-sized facilities. E. MITIGATION MEASURES: The Final EA examined the potential effects of the Proposed Action and No Action Alternative and determined the following would either not be affected or would sustain negligible impacts from the Proposed Action and not require further evaluation: infrastructure and utilities, socioeconomics and hazardous materials. The following nine resource areas were analyzed in more detail: land use, cultural resources, geology and soils, water resources, biological resources, air quality, transportation and parking, noise, and environmental justice. The EA also considered cumulative impacts that might reasonably occur as a result of the Proposed Action. Based on the analysis contained in the Final EA, GSA determined that the lease, construction and operation of the proposed Lakeland VA CBOC, under the Proposed Action at any of the three site alternatives, would not have significant adverse impacts, either individually or cumulatively, on the human, natural or cultural environments. Under the No Action Alternative, the Lakeland VA CBOC would not be constructed, and existing conditions would remain unchanged. As such, implementation of the No Action Alternative would not result in any impacts to considered resource areas; the current facilities would continue to be inadequately sized for the existing patients local to the Lakeland CBOC and would not be capable of accommodating the anticipated growth of the Veteran population and service need. The following table summarizes measures to avoid, minimize and mitigate impacts by resource as identified within the EA. ii Lakeland VA Community Based Outpatient Clinic EA Finding of No Significant Impact December 2020 Land Use • (Kathleen Road and Lakeland Highland Site Alternatives 1 & 2): All development would be conducted in accordance with the City of Lakeland Comprehensive Plan. • (Kathleen Road and Lakeland Highland Site Alternatives 1 & 2): Construction planning would be performed in coordination with the City of Lakeland’s Community and Economic Development Department, and the Planning and Zoning Board to ensure all permits and plans comply with local regulations. • (Lakeland Highlands Site Alternative 2): The developer to work with the City of Lakeland Planning and Zoning Board to draft a future land use map amendment to change the existing residential zoning for the site to accommodate the proposed CBOC. • (Polk Parkway Site Alternative 3): All development would be conducted in accordance with the City of Auburn Comprehensive Plan. • (Polk Parkway Site Alternative 3): Construction planning would be performed in coordination with the City of Auburndale’s Community Development Department to ensure all permits and plans comply with local regulations. Cultural Resources • (All Site Alternatives): If during the construction of the facility, ground disturbances result in the inadvertent discovery of any bones, artifacts, foundations, or other signs of past human occupation of the area the construction would be stopped and a qualified archaeologist, federal agency representative, and/or the Florida Division of Historical Resources would be contacted immediately for consultation before construction at that site could continue. Geology & Soils • (All Site Alternatives): The potential for erosion would be minimized and/or avoided through compliance with an approved National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit issued by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) which requires the development of a Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan (SWPPP). See Section 3.4.3 of the EA for