DOE/EA-1182

FINDING OF NO SIGNIFICANT IMPACT 200 AREA EMERGENCY FACILITIES CAMPUS HANFORD SITE, RICHLAND, WASHINGTON U.S. DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY March 1997

AGENCY: U.S. Department of Energy

ACTION: Finding of No Significant Impact

SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has prepared an Environmental Assessment (EA), DOE/EA-1182, for enhancing fire protection, hazardous materials response, and emergency services to protect Hanford Site workers, property, and the environment. Based on the evaluation in the EA, and considering concerns expressed by the Yakama Indian Nation, DOE has determined that the proposed action is not a major federal action significantly affecting the quality of the human environment, within the meaning of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA). Therefore, the preparation of an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) is not required.

ADDRESSES AND FURTHER INFORMATION:

Single Copies of the EA and further information about the proposed action are available from:

W. A. Rutherford, Director
Site Infrastructure Division
U.S. Department of Energy
Richland Operations Office
P. O. Box 550 A2-45
Richland, Washington 99352
(509) 376-7597

For further information regarding the DOE NEPA Process, contact:

Carol M. Borgstrom, Director
Office of NEPA Oversight
U.S. Department of Energy
1000 Independence Avenue, S.W.
Washington, D.C. 20585
(202) 586-4600 or (800) 472-2756

PURPOSE AND NEED: The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) needs to enhance fire protection, hazardous materials response, and emergency services to protect Hanford Site workers, property, and the environment.

BACKGROUND: The Hanford Fire Department (HFD) provides fire suppression and emergency response capabilities in order to respond to emergency situations which could threaten the operations, employees, or interests of the Hanford Site. Historically, the HFD facilities have been strategically located to respond to emergency situations on the Hanford Site. As the Hanford mission has changed the predominant work centers across the site have changed. Activity in the 100 Areas has declined while 200 Area activity has increased to the point that the major need area for emergency services of all kinds is now in the 200 Area. Over the last 17 years, the HFD services have increased to provide emergency medical ambulance and hazardous materials response capabilities. These two services, in addition to the primary emergency fire and rescue operations, required extra personnel and equipment space. This resulted in severe overcrowding at the 200 Area Fire Station.

The 200 Area Fire Station was designed to house fire equipment built in the 1950's and 1960's. Modern equipment is now larger in size. There is no place to store this equipment out of the weather and in a controlled environment. By storing this equipment outside, the equipment is adversely affected by weather, reducing the service life of the equipment. The existing septic system serving the 200 Area Fire Station does not have sufficient capacity to handle the personnel assigned to this facility. The existing 200 Area Fire Station has a single source of sanitary water for fire protection. The proposed sanitary water pipeline would provide a second water source to the 200 Area Fire Station.

The 200 Area Fire Station is therefore out of compliance with National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) standards NFPA 101 "Life Safety Code," NFPA 1201 Section 17-6 "Requirements for Fire Department Buildings," and NFPA 1221 Chapter 2, "General Requirements: Communication Centers and Fire Stations."

PROPOSED ACTION: The DOE proposes to undertake a number of activities to upgrade the facility. These activities would include upgrading the existing sewer system and providing secondary sanitary water supply to the 609A/C Fire Station Complex; moving an existing modular office facility to the west of the 609 A/C Fire Station Complex to serve as the Emergency Services Headquarters; renovating the 609A/C Buildings into adequate living quarters and vehicle apparatus facility; and adding a new covered Vehicle Storage Area just south of the 609A/C Buildings. The following is a list of specific activities under the proposed action:

1. Upgrade the existing 609A/C Fire Station Complex (200 Area Fire Station) sewer system to accommodate the new facilities. This upgrade would include tieing into the permitted 2607-EP septic system drainfields in the 200 East Area to bring the 200 Area Fire Station into compliance with current environmental regulations. In addition, wastewater generated by the proposed 200 Area Emergency Facilities would be piped to the 2607-EP septic system. Following installation of the pipeline, hydroseeding the sewer pipeline corridor with native plant species would occur between February 15 and April 15 or between September 1 and November 15 for favorable plant growth.
2. Provide a second clean water supply to serve the 609A/C Fire Station Complex and 200 Area Emergency Facilities that would be extended from the Waste Sampling and Characterization Facility (WSCF) facility. The water pipeline corridor would be constructed directly adjacent to an existing, previously disturbed utility corridor along Route 3 and next to the WSCF access road off Route 3. About half of the corridor would be within this previously disturbed utility corridor, and half would be in previously undisturbed sagebrush habitat. Following installation of the pipeline, it would be flushed three times with fresh water, leak/pressure tested, and disinfected. The water pipeline corridor would be hydroseeded with native plant species between February 15 and April 15 or between September 1 and November 15 for favorable plant growth.
3. Relocate an existing modular office, currently located at the WSCF facility, to the previously disturbed area just west of the 609A/C Buildings. The modular office would be utilized as the Hanford Site Emergency Services Headquarters Facility for administration, training, and associated support personnel.
4. Provide a covered Vehicle Storage Area just south of the 609A/C Buildings.
5. Renovate the existing the 609 C Building (currently an administrative area) into living space for 10 fire fighters, 2 captains and 1 battalion chief; with a dispatch office and associated support area. The 609A Building would be renovated into a 4-double bay apparatus area and self-contained breathing air (SCBA) shop. In addition, the driveways, parking lots, and grassy areas would be realigned and modified to accommodate the renovation to the 609A/C Fire Station Complex. These outdoor modifications would all be within currently disturbed areas surrounding the 609A/C Buildings.

ALTERNATIVES CONSIDERED: No-Action: Under the No-Action Alternative, DOE would continue operations with the existing operations, training, and support facilities. NFPA codes and standards would not be met. This alternative does not meet the Purpose and Need for DOE action.

Alternative Sewer System: Under this alternative, a new sanitary sewer system for the 200 Area Fire Station would be installed just south of the existing buildings. The new sewer system would require approximately 1.2 hectares (3 acres) of mostly undisturbed habitat, create a new soil discharge, and cost approximately twice as much as the proposed action to install.

Alternative Sanitary Water Pipeline Routes: An alternative route for the six meters (20 feet wide) corridor for the sanitary water pipeline would be selected along the north side of Route 3 adjacent to but outside of the utility corridor, then due north to the WSCF. This would disturb approximately 1.18 hectares (2.91 acres) of big sagebrush habitat.

Another alternative route for the sanitary water pipeline would go across country from the 200 Area Emergency Facilities directly to the WSCF. The direct corridor route would make the water line shorter but would bisect and disturb approximately 1.2 hectares (3.0 acres) of big sagebrush habitat.

Alternative 200 Area Emergency Facility Sites: Alternative siting locations were evaluated to replace the 200 Area Fire Station. Siting criteria considered were health, safety, environmental impacts, optimized response, construction costs, and long-range planning. Response time from any of the considered siting alternatives to the 200 West Area and the 200 East Area is judged to be approximately 5 to 7 minutes depending on where in the area of emergency is located. The recommended site would utilize the existing infrastructure to the maximum extent possible by locating the replacement facility as close as practical to the existing 200 Area Fire Station.

Alternative siting several meters west of the existing 609A/C Buildings was considered. The alternative would construct a new living space for fire fighters including office space, and a new Emergency Services Headquarters Facility. However, this alternative would disturb approximately 0.84 hectares (2.08 acres) of previously undisturbed habitat, and cost about $2 million more to build and take an extra year to year and a half to complete compared to the preferred alternative. Therefore, this alternative was not selected.

An alternative site located east of the existing 200 Area Fire Station was examined. This site is traversed by electrical and telecommunications lines that would have to be rerouted to allow construction of the replacement facility. The water service line across the site could require excavation and additional protective casing installation at three paved entrances to this alternative location. For these reasons and because of increased cost, this alternative site was not chosen.

Alternative siting north of Route 3 where the existing 200 East/West Steam Line utility corridor parallels the road was excluded from consideration due to the possible high cost anticipated for relocation or removal of portions of the steam line, in addition to construction costs. Also, the site was excluded from consideration because the facility would be within close proximity to the existing meteorology tower.

Alternative Private Response: The alternative of utilizing existing private offsite emergency response units or building new emergency facilities offsite was not considered because of response time. The fastest response from any offsite location would be at least 40 minutes.

ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS:

Cultural Resources: No adverse impacts to cultural resources are expected. A Cultural Resources Review identified no significant cultural properties at the proposed site. The 609A/C Fire Station Complex is a contributing element of the Hanford Site Manhattan Project and Cold War Era Historic District, which has been determined to be eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places. However, documentation of the historic significance of the 609A/C Fire Station Complex would be represented on the Historic Property Inventory Form for the 3709A Fire Station and through preparation of a sitewide historic narrative. Adaptive reuse of the 609A/C complex for living quarters, vehicle apparatus storage, SCBA shop, and office space would continue this facility as a fire station, thereby preserving some features of the historic property. This would support a no adverse impact determination under the National Historic Preservation Act.

Biological Resources: No significant impacts on biological resources are expected. A Biological Survey concluded that the proposed project should have no adverse impact on any plant or animal species presently protected by the Endangered Species Act of 1973. However, the survey recommended that to avoid impact on nesting birds, land-clearing construction activities in undisturbed habitat not take place during the nesting season (April 1 through July 15). In addition, it recommended that following installation of the pipelines, the sewer and sanitary water corridors be reseeded with native plant species. Shrub steppe has been identified by the State of Washington as priority habitat. A total of 1.43 hectares (3.53 acres) of undisturbed shrub steppe habitat would be disturbed. However, all of the sanitary water supply pipeline corridor as well as the sewer pipeline corridor, totalling approximately 2.65 hectares (6.54 acres), would be covered and returned to grade level and hydroseeded with native species following installation.

Land Impacts : No significant impacts to the land are expected. All waste will be disposed of in appropriately permitted disposal sites.

Water and Ground Water: No significant adverse impacts to water are expected.

Air Impacts: No significant impacts to air are expected. Dust from construction activities will be controlled by water spraying.

Safety Impacts: No significant impacts are expected. Construction and operations will conform to recognized safety codes and regulations to ensure a safe working environment.

Socioeconomic Impacts: The proposed action will provide temporary employment for a small number of members of the craft personnel. The number of emergency services personnel will be unchanged by this action. Therefore, no significant socioeconomic impacts are expected from the proposed action.

Environmental Justice: Executive Order 12898, Federal Actions to Address Environmental Justice in Minority Populations and Low-Income Populations, requires that federal agencies identify and address, as appropriate, disproportionately high and adverse human health or environmental effects of their programs and activities on minority and low-income populations. With respect to Executive Order 12898 regarding environmental justice, distributions of minority and low income population groups have been identified for the Hanford Site. The analysis of the impacts in this EA indicates that there will be minimal impacts to both the offsite population and potential workforce by implementing the proposed action, because the proposed action will occur predominately on the Hanford Site and the

For questions or comments about this document, please send email to W. A. Rutherford
Document Number: DOE/EA-1182 (FONSI)
URL: http://www.hanford.gov/docs/ea/ea1182/fonsi.htm