BARREN RIDGE RENEWABLE TRANSMISSION PROJECT FINAL ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT/ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT REPORT CHAPTER 3:ENVIRONMENTAL SETTING CHAPTER 3: ENVIRONMENTAL SETTING 3.1 INTRODUCTION This chapter provides a description of the existing environment potentially affected by the construction, operation, maintenance, and decommissioning of the Barren Ridge Renewable Transmission Project (BRRTP). As described in Chapter 2, five Project Alternatives—including the Proposed Action, three additional action Alternatives, and the No Action Alternative (Proposed Action and Alternatives)—are analyzed in detail in this Final EIS/EIR. The Proposed Action and action Alternatives would consist of the following components: (1) Expansion of the existing Barren Ridge Switching Station. (2) Construction of a new electrical switching station in Haskell Canyon. (3) Construction of a new double-circuit 230 kilovolt (kV) transmission line from the Barren Ridge Switching Station to a new switching station located within Haskell Canyon. The length of the new transmission line would vary for each action Alternative and would range from 61 to 83 miles. (4) Upgrade of 76 miles of the existing Barren Ridge – Rinaldi (BR-RIN) 230 kV transmission line with larger capacity conductors between the Barren Ridge Switching Station and Rinaldi Substation. (5) Addition of 12 miles of a new 230 kV circuit on the existing double-circuit structures from Haskell Canyon to the Castaic Power Plant. The action Alternatives would cross a variety of public and private land within the jurisdictions of multiple federal, State and local agencies or political subdivisions. Potential impacts from the Proposed Action or an Alternative are addressed in Chapter 4 of this Final EIS/EIR. 3.1.1 ENVIRONMENTAL SETTING OVERVIEW For the purpose of this Final EIS/EIR, and pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines (Section 15125(a)), the environmental setting used to determine the potential impacts associated with the Proposed Action and Alternatives is based on the environmental conditions that existed in the Project area beginning at the time the Notice of Preparation was distributed and the Notice of Intent was published. The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) requires that an EIS shall succinctly describe the environment of the area(s) to be affected or created by the alternatives under consideration (40 CFR 1502.15). The ―Environmental Setting‖ section in each resource discussion describes existing conditions in the Project area at the time this Final EIS/EIR analysis was conducted. Except where indicated differently, the environmental setting reflects conditions in the Project area under the CEQA baseline identified above. The identification of impacts for the Alternatives is based on changes between existing conditions described in the ―Environmental Setting‖ section and future conditions that could occur with the implementation of each Alternative. The environmental setting that may be affected by the Proposed Action and Alternatives is described in terms of two environments: FINAL EIS/EIR 3-1 BARREN RIDGE RENEWABLE TRANSMISSION PROJECT FINAL ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT/ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT REPORT CHAPTER 3: ENVIRONMENTAL SETTING Human Environment—those physical, social, and economic factors potentially affecting the quality of living conditions, employment, and health of those inhabiting, working in, or visiting the Project area: Air quality Noise Land use Agriculture Recreation Public services and utilities Hazardous waste and materials Traffic and transportation Visual resources Cultural resources Wildfire and fuels Electrical Effects Socioeconomics Natural Environment—those resources related to all living and non-living things occurring naturally in the Project area: Biological resources (vegetation, wildlife, riparian, and threatened, endangered, and other special-status species) Earth Resources (geology, seismicity, soils, mineralogy, and paleontology) Water resources (hydrology and wetlands) Resources within these two basic environments that may be affected by the Proposed Action or Alternatives were inventoried to describe and establish an environmental baseline against which to measure and evaluate the potential incremental impacts that may be caused by the BRRTP. Methods of inventory varied among the various resources; therefore, the inventory areas and methods are summarized in each resource section. The areas covered by each resource investigation along each of the Alternative routes are described as study corridors. The study corridors identified during the siting and routing evaluation should not be confused with agency planning or designated utility corridors, used by the USFS, BLM, and other federal land management agencies to consolidate utility rights-of-way. In some cases, however, the agency utility corridors and the study corridors do correspond. Detailed inventory results for each resource are contained in the BRRTP Technical Reports in Volumes III (Human Environment) and IV (Natural Environment). The Technical Reports also include detailed text, maps (see Volume V), and data tables identifying the locations of environmental resource features mile by mile and values for each Project component of the action Alternatives, including the assumed centerline of the new 230 kV transmission line. The Regulatory Framework for the Project area, including applicable federal, State, and local laws, ordinances, regulations, and standards, is included in Appendix D of this Final EIS/EIR. FINAL EIS/EIR 3-2 BARREN RIDGE RENEWABLE TRANSMISSION PROJECT FINAL ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT/ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT REPORT CHAPTER 3: ENVIRONMENTAL SETTING 3.2 HUMAN ENVIRONMENT 3.2.1 AIR QUALITY Introduction The purpose of the air quality analysis is to evaluate the potential for impacts associated with construction and operation of the Proposed Action, along with each of the proposed transmission line Alternative corridors and proposed new switching station, on the ambient air quality. The air quality analysis shall 1) present the regulatory framework; 2) provide an overview of the technical methodology used in collecting baseline conditions and evaluating impacts; 3) examine the affected environment with respect to air quality; 4) describe the potential impact on air quality from construction and operation of the Proposed Action and Alternatives; 5) evaluate the level of potential impacts on air quality from construction and operation of the Proposed Action and Alternatives; and 6) present specifically recommended mitigation measures, if needed, to reduce potential impacts. Recent regulatory action on both the federal and State level addresses emissions of greenhouse gases and potential global climate change impacts. Under State CEQA guidelines, global climate change is addressed as a cumulative impact. The information and analysis that is presented in this section have been derived from the Barren Ridge Renewable Transmission Project Air Quality Technical Report, contained in Volume III of this Final EIS/EIR. This report is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. While this section presents a summary of the findings of the Air Quality Technical Report, please refer to that report for more detailed information on the Proposed Action and Alternatives’ effects on air quality and climate change. Overview of Methodology and Analysis Area The BRRTP would fall within portions of two different air basins. These are the Mojave Desert Air Basin (MDAB) and the South Coast Air Basin (SCAB). The MDAB includes the desert portions of Kern, Los Angeles, and San Bernardino Counties and the Palo Verde Valley portion of Riverside County. The SCAB includes the non-desert portions of Los Angeles, San Bernardino and Riverside County, and Orange County. These air basins are further broken down into planning areas by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) based upon various emission problems, political boundaries or watershed boundaries. The EPA is responsible for enforcing the Federal Clean Air Act (CAA) of 1970 and its 1977 and 1990 Amendments. Under the CAA, the EPA established the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS), which identify the emission thresholds for criteria pollutants (see Table 3.2.1-3). Criteria pollutants regulated under these standards include ozone (O3), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), carbon monoxide (CO), respirable particulate matter (PM10), fine particulate matter (PM2.5), and sulfur dioxide (SO2). O3 is not a directly emitted pollutant, but is formed through reactions in the atmosphere between ozone ―precursors‖ (oxides of nitrogen [NOX] and reactive organic gases [ROG]) catalyzed by the effects of sunlight. The EPA classifies areas as ―attainment,‖ ―nonattainment,‖ or ―unclassified‖ depending on whether ambient air quality data collected in the area indicate that the area shows compliance with the NAAQS (attainment), FINAL EIS/EIR 3-3 BARREN RIDGE RENEWABLE TRANSMISSION PROJECT FINAL ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT/ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT REPORT CHAPTER 3: ENVIRONMENTAL SETTING shows noncompliance with the NAAQS (nonattainment), or whether there are insufficient data to make a determination of the area’s classification relative to the NAAQS (unclassified). The EPA has transferred a number of responsibilities to the states and in most cases, regional air quality management districts. The BRRTP area falls within three different regional air districts. The Antelope Valley Portion of Los Angeles County is in the Antelope