United statesDepartment of the Interior Narrox¿l- P¿nx SBnvrcB CapeCod National Seashore 99 MarconiSite Road -Weiifleet, t{[At2667 i s08.349.3785 508.349.9052Fax IN REPLYREFERTO: toL I May 8, 2008 Dear ftrferestedParfY: electric optionsfor anupg3d9 of thepresent deteriorating underground we havebeen examining Assessment arH"*idtã;åil;;"h f*ifiiiei in Provincetown.An Environmental supptyline preparedin accordarrcewitLr înåñ"riåî"r Environmenturïãhrve"t NE?-{) hasbeen iË""tit.ñ Pres.ervatio" (l'{É{PA)to Há ñffi;;Ë;""fuenral policy Act anJtÉ NatiànalHístoric +"t includingnatural and cultural evaluatethe impacts of the project q; humanenvironment, 9" andcomment on theproject' resources,and provide an opporhrnityf"iïftt p"Ulic to review p,o19-rto. t{e document,there are three altematives for providingelectric As discussedin the 7'5 kW wind tfr, Ño Ã"i¡á altemative,u .àtnUi"t¿ small-icaleland-based beachfacilities: preferredArtemative}, or a 10kw a,,dz.64kw soiarphotovortai" ,yrå- turbine {riemali-ve.(tire electricline replacementwas solarphotovoltaic letteáative Two).Undèrground consiäeredbut rejected"tlt;lt;ativeas an altemative' Seashore'99 Marconi Site Commentscan be sentto the Superintendent,Cape Çg^dfational 349-3785,Fax:(508) 349-9052 or Road,Wellfleer, rur*ru"tt"r erc)ozsøLirr.prtoirr: (50s) park pllnmng.websiteat emaii at [email protected],or directly oì,tftê periodbègms today' May 8' 2008' and hfip:llparþlanning.nps.gov.A 30-daypublic comment closeson June 7,2008. andyour interestin Thank you for yo'*r consideraticnof this en-''konmentalassessment' ;J r"ppíValternãtives for the Hening CoveBeach facilities' "l;;t Sincerely, rtt-" GeorgeIåE. Price,Jr. Superintendent Envi ron mental Assessment Electrical SUPPlY for Herring Cove Beach Facilities May2008 CapeCod NationalSeash ore 99 MarconiSite Rd. Wellfleet,MA 02667 (508)349-3785 EnvíronmentalAs s es sment Electrical Supplyfor Herríng Cove Beach Facílítíes TABLE OF CONTENTS PageNumber 1.0 INTRODUCTION. ............4 1.1 PURPOSEAND NEED. ......4 T.2 PARKSIGNIFICANCE.... ...,..7 2.0 ALTERNATIVES. .........,7 2.1 NO ACTIONALTERNATTVE. ........7 2.2 PREFERREDALTERNATME: WTND AND SOLARCOMBINED............8 2.3 ALTERNATIVETWO: SOLARONLY. ......11 2.4 ALTERNATTVESCONSIDERED, BUT REJECTED . ....11 2.5 ENVIRONMENTALLYPREFERREDALTERNATIVE. ....,..12 3.0 AFFECTEDENVIRONMENT .....,....12 3.1 NATURALRESOURCES ... .........13 3.1.1 WATERRESOURCES... .........13 3.r.2 GEOLOGYANDSOILS .........13 (r9 3.1.3 VEGETATION. ......14 3.1..4WILDLIFE ...........r4 3.1.5 AIRQUAUTY.. ............15 3.2 SIIRROI-INDINGCOMMUNITY ...........15 3.3 PUBLICUSE . .....16 3.4 PARKMANAGEMENT, OPERATIONS, AND PUBLICSAFETY..,.........16 3.5 CIILTI.IRALRESOURCES ... ........16 4.0 ENVIRONMENTALCONSEQUENCES . ..........11 4.T NO ACTIONALTERNATIVE .......19 4.1.1 IMPACTONNATURALRESOURCES. .......19 4.1.2 SURROUNDINGCOMMUNITY '. .......i9 4.T.3 IMPACTONPUBLICUSEANDACCESS. ...........19 4.T.4 IMPACTON PARKMANAGEMENT AND OPERATIONS.......20 4.1.5 IMPACTON CULTURAI RESOURCES... ....20 4.1.6 CUMULATIVEIMPACTS . ...... "20 4.2 ALTERNATIVE ONE,PREFERRED ALTERNATIVE: WIND AND SOLAR COMBINED.... .........2r 4.2.1 IMPACTON NATI.JRALRESOIIRCES . ...,...21 4.2.2 IMPACTON SURROLTNDINGCOMMLINITY .. ......22 4.2.3 IMPACTON PI]BLIC USE AND ACCESS. .... .......23 4.2.4 IMPACTON PARKMANAGEMENT AND OPERATIONS........23 4.2.5 IMPACTON CULTI-]RAIRESOURCES . .. ....24 4.2.6 CTIMULATIVEIMPACTS . .......24 4.3 ALTERNATIVETWO: SOLAROPTION ONLY ...-'...25 4.3.1 IMPACTONNATURALRESOURCES... ......25 4.3.2 IMPACTON SURROTINDINGCOMMLINITY .. ......25 page 2 EnvironmentalAs s es sment ElectricalSupply for Herring CoveBeach Facilities 4.3.3 IMPACTON PI]BLIC USE AND ACCESS ........... 25 4.3.4 IMPACTON PARKMANAGEMENT AND OPERATIONS........25 4.3.5 IMPACTON CULTI.IRAIRESOURCES ... ...........26 4.3.6 CUMULATTVEIMPACTS . ..... ...26 5.0 CONSULATATIONAND COORDINATION.... ....26 5.1 SUMMARYOF PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT . .....'26 5.2 CONSULTATIONWITH AGENCIESAND ORGANIZATIONS. .....21 5.3 RELATIONSHIPTO OTHERPLANNING EFFORTS . ' ' . ..........28 6.0 COMPLIANCEWITH APPLICABLELAWS AND REGULATIONS . .. .. ....30 6.0.1 FEDERAIREGULATIONS " ....'30 6.0.2 STATEREGULATIONS .....33 LIST OF PREPARERSAND REVIEWERS. .. ..34 APPENDIX AppendixA- HerringCove Wind TurbineAdaptive Management Plan .....35 LIST OF FIGURES Figure1-1 Location Map. " """ '6 Figure2-1 HerringCove Bath House- Possible Arrangement for RoofMounted SolarPV Array """"""""""10 Figure3-1 Herring Cove Beach Facilities and Proposed Project Sites ... .....'38 page 3 EnvironmentalAs s es sment Electricøl Supplyfor Heting CoveBeach Facilities 1.0 INTRODUCTION SUMMARY The purposeof this Environmental Assessment(EA) is to addressthe need to upgradethe present deterioratingunderground electric supply line at Herring Cove Beach facilities at Cape Cod National Seashore(CCNS). The current supply line extendsapproximately two miles from Provincetown and is in need of direct replacementor provision of an alternate meansof electrical supply. CCNS is under the mandateof Executive Order 13423,(Strengthening Federal Environmental, Energy, and TransportationManagement), requiring federal agenciesto "lead by examplein advancingthe nation's energysecurity and environmentalperformance" by achieving a number of goals, including increasedpurchases of renewablepower sourcesand increasedusage of renewablepower. Potential alternativesto direct line replacementinclude a switch to the use of a small scale stand-alonerenewable energy application such as solar panels,wind power, or a combination. This EA will examinethe National Park Service (IVPS)preferred alternativein addition to one other action alternativeand the no action alternative. 1.1 PURPOSEAND NEED: The park needsto providereliable electricalpower to Herring Cove facilities,maximizing use of renewableand non-greenhousegas producing energy technologies where possible. The purposeof this project is to remedy the ongoing deteriorationof the electrical supply to Herring Cove in a mannerthat maximizes use of renewableand non-greenhousegas producingtechnologies. The facilities at Herring Cove Beachincorporate a two storybath house,a snackbar located next to the bath house,and a fee booth locatedat the entranceto the parking lot. Currently, there are also eight traffrc lights located on Route 6 at the entranceto the beach.These lights are to be removed within the next few yearswhen the intersectionis better reconfiguredfor safety. The main sectionof the bath houseis usedby lifeguards,and there are restroomand changing room areason either end of the building which are open for public use. The presentelectric supply line for Herring Cove Beach startsin east Provincetownand extendsunderground along Moors Road from a utility pole approximately two miles to the site.This supply line was installedover 30 yearsago andhas deteriorated to the point that electric service is frequently intemrpted from failures in the line. The line terminatesat a pad-mountedtransformer located on site nearthe bathhouse, and branchesto threeseparate meters.The electricitysent to the site is singlephase and 1201240V'.The currentpower line posesa potentialsafety threat to visitors and staff andlora disruptionin servicesin the event of an electricalfire. The needfor consideringalternatives is necessary. ' AntaresGroup Incorporated, 2007. page 4 I i I EnvironmentalAs s es sment Electrícal Supplyfor Herring CoveBeach Facilíties Two of the electric metersare locatedon the rear exterior wall of the bath house building (on the side of the facility facing away from the beach) and provide service for the bath house and the snack bar. From these meters,electric service is branchedto the electrical system for eachbuilding. The third meter is locatedin the field to the northeastof the bath house.This meter servicesthe fee booth and traffic lights. An energy audit revealeda significant potential for energy conservationmeasures to reduce the overall capital and operational costsfor any ofthe alternativesundertaken for this project, as the most cost-effectivemethod for designinga remote power systemis to reduce the power consumptionas much as possible. The site visit revealedthe presenceof many out-of- date appliancessuch as fluorescent lights, refrigerators,upright freezers,chest freezers, electric grills, and a 52 gallon lot water heaterthat could be replacedwith newer more efficient models or equipment.z Itis anticipatedthat over time, the existing applianceswill be replaced with energy-efÍicient and gasmodels. 2 Antares Group Incorp orated,2007 . page 5 EnvironmentalAs s es s ment Electrtcal Supplyfor Herring CoveBeach Facilitíes PROVINCELANDS NG COVE VISITOR ES +r$i .i! FIGURE1-1 Location Map- Herring Cove BeachFacilities in relationto Lower Cape Cod, Massachusetts ITE & f I \ \ CHATHAM+ page 6 EnvironmentalAs s essment Electrical Supplyfor Herring CoveBeach Facilities I.2 PARK SIGNIFICANCE CCNS was establishedto protect the outer portion of Cape Cod, from Chathamto Provincetown. As the largest glacial peninsulain the world, Cape Cod is a striking geographic feature that extendswell out into the Atlantic Ocean.One of its outstanding életn"nts is the Great Beach, a long, unintemrptednatural beach.CCNS also containsa variety of physiogfaphic features- a mosaic of landscapesand their accompanyingflora and fauna that is unique in its combination and diversity. This includes habitat for stateand federally-protectãdspecies and globally rare plant communities. In the national seashore,the relationship of the