FLOOD06396 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

. . . ~ APPENDIX A ENVIRONMENTAL AND CULTURAL RESOURCES Environmental Evaluation of Riverside Alternative Plan #l. Potential impacts associated with the construction of Alternative plan 1 are discussed in this section. The information discussed has been gained in part from the disclosure of impacts presented in the December 1986 Final Environmental Impact Statement for Remedial Actions at the Former Climax Uranium Company uranium Mill Site, Grand Junction, Mesa County, Colorado (FEIS), prepared by the U.S. Department of Energy, and from Environmental Assessments prepared during the processing of Department of the Army permit numbers 9978, 10134, l0189, l0228, 199000177, and 199000337. The FEIS was prepared for a tailings pile site within about a mile of the subject study area as well as for nearby areas where uranium tailings were used for construction fill. The remaining discussion of impacts was developed from direct environmental reconnaissance and field observations by personnel of Regulatory unit 4, Grand Junction, Colorado. Discussions of impacts are limited to resources that are considered significant. Significant issues include air quality, aesthetic resources, riparian/wetland habitats, noise, threatened or endangered species, land use changes, water quality, fish and wildlife, cultural resources, and contaminated soils. Air Oualitv. Existing air quality at the project site is well within accepted State and Federal standards under most conditions. Standards may be exceeded during temporary inversions in the winter months for those emissions related to extensive local use of wood burning stoves and fireplaces. Impacts to air quality in the immediate Grand Junction area would result from increased emissions due to the operation of heavy equipment and haul traffic for levee construction. Air-quality modeling results presented in the FEIS indicate that the proposed project would result in little deterioration in air quality from gaseous pollutants (sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide, and nitrogen oxide) and that applicable air-quality standards would not be exceeded. The contributors to impacts on air quality for the tailings removal program would be heavy construction equipment, the same as for the levee construction. Particulate emissions, especially those related to fugitive dust, represent the greatest potential for exceeding applicable Federal and State standards. However, these detrimental effects on air-quality could be mitigated using standard particulate suppression techniques. There would not be any detrimental effects on air-quality if the project were not implemented. Esthetics. Esthetics at the project site are currently compromised by the Grand Avenue bridge, local salvage yards, and low income housing. Riverside Park offers some departure from A-I