STATE ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY REVIEW ACT (“SEQRA”) FINDINGS STATEMENT Project Sailfish Lead Agency: Town of Montgomery Planning Board Date Adopted: September 24, 2019 TABLE OF CONTENTS 1.0 INTRODUCTION ..........................................................................................................................1 2.0 DESCRIPTION OF THE PROPOSED ACTION....................................................................................2 2.1 Project Description.............................................................................................................................2 2.2 Purpose and Need..............................................................................................................................3 2.3 Project SEQRA History........................................................................................................................4 2.4 SEQRA Findings ..................................................................................................................................8 3.0 FINDINGS CONCERNING POTENTIAL ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS AND MITIGATION MEASURES.... 9 3.1 Land Use, Zoning, and Public Policy...................................................................................................9 3.2 Visual Character...............................................................................................................................17 3.3 Infrastructure and Utilities...............................................................................................................24 3.4 Traffic and Transportation ...............................................................................................................34 3.5 Community Facilities and Services...................................................................................................47 3.6 Soils and Geology.............................................................................................................................53 3.7 Surface Water Resources.................................................................................................................57 3.8 Wetlands..........................................................................................................................................71 3.9 Cultural Resources ...........................................................................................................................75 3.10 Noise ................................................................................................................................................79 3.11 Flora and Fauna................................................................................................................................82 3.12 Fiscal and Economic Impacts ...........................................................................................................89 3.13 Air Quality ........................................................................................................................................91 4.0 CONSTRUCTION IMPACTS ......................................................................................................... 93 5.0 ALTERNATIVES.......................................................................................................................... 97 5.1 No Action .........................................................................................................................................98 i 5.2 Alternate Site Layout .......................................................................................................................99 5.3 Alternate Site Layout Based on Existing Zoning.............................................................................101 5.4 Alternative Location for Proposed Action......................................................................................101 5.5 Alternative Access Option to Lot(s) Fronting Route 17K ...............................................................101 6.0 POTENTIAL GROWTH-INDUCING ASPECTS ............................................................................... 102 7.0 UNAVOIDABLE ADVERSE IMPACTS .......................................................................................... 105 8.0 IMPACTS ON ENERGY USE....................................................................................................... 106 8.1 Energy Use .....................................................................................................................................106 8.2 Future Physical Risk Due To Sea Level Rise, Storm Surge & Flooding............................................107 9.0 IRREVERSIBLE & IRRETRIEVABLE COMMITMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESOURCES ................ 1078 9.1 Other Issues ...................................................................................................................................108 10.0 CERTIFICATION ..................................................................................................................... 1112 ii STATE ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY REVIEW ACT (“SEQRA”) FINDINGS STATEMENT Project Sailfish Lead Agency: Town of Montgomery Planning Board Date Adopted: September 24, 2019 Pursuant to the State Environmental Quality Review Act (“SEQRA”), Article 8 of the NYS Environmental Conservation Law and its implementing regulations (6 NYCRR Part 617), the Town of Montgomery Planning Board (the “Planning Board”) as the SEQRA Lead Agency makes the following findings. 1.0 INTRODUCTION Name of Action: Project Sailfish Project Sponsor: Bluewater Industrial Partners LLC (“BWI” or the “Applicant”), One Tower Bridge, 100 Front Street, Suite 570, Conshohocken, PA 19428. Contact: Don Chase and Steve Butte (484) 680-1967. SEQRA Classification: Type 1 Lead Agency: Town of Montgomery Planning Board, 110 Bracken Road, Montgomery, New York 12549 (845) 457-2643. Contact: Suzanne Hadden, Planning Board Secretary email: [email protected]. Description of Action: The project consists of the development of a warehouse distribution center located on 187.7 acres of vacant land bordering on interstate highway I-84 and NYS Routes 17K and 747 in the Town of Montgomery. The warehouse distribution center would consist of a building containing 1,010,880 square foot of space and, among other things, 1,060 car parking spaces, 225 trailer parking spaces, wastewater treatment facility (WWTP), water-treatment facility and water tank, stormwater management basins and improvements, accessory driveways to and from the Site, lighting, landscaping, signage, and other related improvements . The Project requires a site plan approval and special exception use permit from the Planning Plan (“Land-Use Applications”). The Project also includes a zoning map amendment from the Town of Montgomery Town Board to rezone approximately 77 acres of the Project Site from the IB Interchange Business Zoning District to the I-2 Industrial Park – Major Access Zoning District (the “Zoning Map Amendment”) (collectively the “Project” or “Proposed Action”) . Project Location: NYS Route 17K and NYS Route 747, Town of Montgomery, New York (“Project Site”). Tax ID No: Section 31, Block 1, Lots 64, 65.22, 89, and 70.2. These four lots will be consolidated into one lot to facilitate the Project. A subdivision is not required. Date Draft Environmental Impact Statement (“DEIS”) Accepted as Complete: December 5, 2018. Date of Public Hearing on DEIS: January 7, 2019 and January 14, 2019 1 End of Public Comment Period on DEIS: January 28, 2019. After the end of the public comment period, the Planning Board continued to accept verbal and written comments from the public and agencies on the DEIS and the Project until the FEIS was deemed complete. In addition, the Planning Board held thirteen public hearings on the Project’s Land-Use Applications. During those hearings, the Board also accepted written and verbal comments from the public and agencies on the DEIS, FEIS and the Project. Any substantive comments received before and after the close of the DEIS hearings were also responded to in the FEIS. In total, the Planning Board afforded the public and agencies almost 8 months to comment on the DEIS and the Project before the FEIS was deemed complete. Date Final Environmental Impact Statement (“FEIS”) Accepted as Complete: August 1, 2019. The Planning Board afforded the public and agencies until August 27, 2019 – 27 days - to consider and comment on the FEIS after its completion. This significantly exceeded the minimum 10-days allowed by SEQRA (6 NYCRR 617.11(a)). SEQRA does not require a public hearing on the FEIS. However, during this period, the Planning Board held 3 public hearings and an extended written comment period on the Project’s Land-Use Applications. During this comment period, the Board also accepted verbal and written comments on the FEIS. In fact, the vast majority of comments received related to the FEIS and the Project’s environment impacts. In total, the Planning Board afforded the public and agencies over 9 months to comment on the DEIS, FEIS, Land-Use Applications and the Project. Throughout the document, as appropriate, measures and obligations referencing “the applicant” also includes the operator or owner or tenant. 2.0 DESCRIPTION OF THE PROPOSED ACTION 2.1 Project Description The Project Site contains 187.7 acres and is proposed to be used for the development of a 1,010,880 square foot warehouse / distribution center, 1,060 car parking spaces, 225 trailer parking spaces, water treatment facility, water tank,