Construct, Rehabilitate and Repair Restrooms Parkwide

Environmental Assessment
September 2004

Grand Canyon National Park proposes to rehabilitate five existing restrooms, replace existing chemical toilets at ten sites with prefabricated vault toilets and construct a new restroom at three sites that currently do not have a toilet. Proposed restroom locations occur on the South Rim, Desert View, North Rim, Bright Angel Trail, Indian Garden and Phantom Ranch.

This Environmental Assessment (EA) evaluates three alternatives for addressing the purpose and need for action, including one no action alternative and two action alternatives. Alternative B would result in a total of approximately 1.9 acres of ground disturbance immediately adjacent to existing disturbed sites, removal of up to 13 small trees, would require up to 22 - 30 helicopter flights for transport of construction materials into the inner canyon and would require up to 8 helicopter flights per year for annual remove of compost from new inner canyon toilets. Alternative C would result in a total of approximately 1.75 acres of ground disturbance immediately adjacent to existing disturbed sites, removal of up to 13 small trees, would require up to 17 to 25 helicopter flights into the inner canyon for transport of construction materials, and would require up to 12 helicopter flights per year for annual removal of compost from new inner canyon toilets. The primary difference between the two action alternatives is in the size of the composting toilet proposed near the Three Mile rest house along the Bright Angel Trail. Alternative B proposes a three-stall composting toilet, while Alternative C proposes a somewhat smaller two-stall composting unit.

Neither action alternative would have more than negligible impacts to soils and water, vegetation, general wildlife populations and species of interest, air quality, floodplains and wetlands, prime and unique farmland, environmental justice or socioeconomics. Alternative B and Alternative C would result in adverse impacts to special status species, wilderness, soundscape, archeological resources, historic resources, cultural landscapes, ethnographic resources, visitor experience and park operations that range from negligible to moderate and are both short- and long-term. Beneficial impacts would occur to historic resources, cultural landscapes, visitor experience and park operations that range from minor to moderate. No impairment of park resources would occur with implementation of any alternative. Public Comment period for the EA ended October 8, 2004.

This Environmental Assessment (EA) is available as a PDF file and as a text file. PDF files retain the look and feel of the original document (including typography, page layout, and graphics), text files do not.

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Finding of No Significant Impact
May 2005

PDF file - FONSI Construct, Rehabilitate and Repair Restrooms Parkwide - 214kb