GENERAL30229

• Permit No: M1999002
• IBM Index Class Name: General Documents
• Doc Date: 1/19/1999
• Doc Name: DRAFT ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT CHAPTER 3
• From: STEIGERS CORP
• To: DMG
• Media Type: D
• Archive: No

CNAPTERTHREE Affected Environment '
several locations with an open groundcover where the viewer has extensive views of the
surrounding landscape. '
On the east facing side of Davis Point the pipeline descends into the Middle Fork of Pazachute
Creek. The scenery in this azea is dramatic with steep cliff faces which can rise several thousand
feet from the valley floor. The proposed pipeline ROW does not follow the existing ROWS off
of Davis Point. The existing ROWS descend the south facing slope into the We:•t Fork of
Parachute Creek and have left highly visible scazs on Davis Point visible to viewers on the ,
Parachute Creek Road. After reaching Parachute Creek the pipeline generally p~uallels the creek
and the road south to the Parachute Site facilities. The Parachute Creek Road is a dead end road
to the public and, therefore, does not receive the volume of traffic that the Piceazice Creek Road
does. The Parachute Creek valley is characterized by agricultural scenes along the valley floor
surrounded on both sides by step cliffs and surrounding ridgetops. '
3.13.4 Parachute Site
The Parachute Site is an existing, disturbed industrial site in the foreground viewing distance '
from travelers along the Parachute Creek Road. Scenic quality is low due to the industrial nature
of the site. The site is also visible from Battlement Mesa, located on the south side of the
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3.14 SOCIOECONOMICS
Implementation of the Preferred Alternative may result in social and/or economic: impacts to
employment, population, housing, local and state tax revenues, the cultural setting and quality of
life of the study area, and to local facilities and services. The existing setting for each of these
topics is described below.

3.14.1 Study Area
The Project Area is located within Rio Blanco and Garfield counties, Colorado. 13ecause these '
counties are the jurisdictions most likely to experience potential socioeconomic itnpacts, they are
considered to be the primary socioeconomic study area. The description in this section focuses
on socioeconomic conditions throughout these counties but also highlights conditions within '
several nearby communities from which workers would be expected to commute. Some workers
may commute from other areas, such as Grand Junction, Carbondale, and Denver However, it
was determined that the majority of socioeconomic effects would take place within Rio Blanco
and Garfield counties.
Several study area towns are within daily commuting distance from the American Soda project
(20 miles or less from the Parachute site or 60 miles or less from the Piceance site). These
include Meeker and Rangely in Rio Blanco County and Rifle, Parachute, Battlem~;nt Mesa, and
Glenwood Springs in Ga~eld County. Other communities such as Grand Junction or ,
Cazbondale are probably too far from the project site for workers to commute on << daily basis.
For this reason, they are not included in the analyses of community-level data.
3-54 Visual Resources '