- Chapters 5 - Unavoidable Adverse Impacts and
Commitments of Resources (14 KB PDF file)
Sec. 102 [42 USC § 4332] (2) (C) of the National Environmental Policy Act and CEQ Part 1502.10 specify the items to be included in the environmental impact statement prepared to assess the potential impact of a federal action. In addition to the statement of purpose and need, descriptions of alternatives considered, and the report on the affected environment and potential environmental impact of the proposed action, NEPA requires consideration of three other aspects of any such action. Brief summaries of these items as they relate to the undersea warfare training range (USWTR) follow. Details are found in Chapter 5.
Unavoidable Adverse Impacts
Unavoidable adverse impacts at sea of the installation of the proposed USWTR include: temporary disturbance to the sea floor during construction; and the possibility of temporary behavioral disturbance to marine mammals within close proximity to mid-frequency sonar systems during anti-submarine warfare (ASW) training. Some hardware items (e.g., MK39 EMATTs, aluminum canisters, etc.) would sink to the bottom after use and be left on the range to deteriorate, be covered by shifting sediments, or be colonized by organisms. Unavoidable adverse ecological impacts would be minor, temporary, and not significant. Unavoidable adverse impacts to the landside portion at the alternate USWTR cable termination facilities may include minor impacts to wetlands. Every effort would be made to avoid wetlands through cable alignment, trenching, and directional drilling.
Relationship Between Local Short-Term Uses of Man's Environment and the Maintenance and Enhancement of Long-Term Productivity
Short- and long-term commitments of labor and capital and the use of non-renewable materials for power and maintenance would result from the construction and operation of the proposed USWTR. Adherence to the proposed mitigation measures (Chapter 6) would minimize the effects of the proposed USWTR operations on both the marine and landside environments. Further, long-term monitoring would improve knowledge of the marine environment in the proposed range area at sea. Consequently, the majority of the effects of constructing and operating the proposed USWTR would be temporary in nature and would have no significant adverse long-term impacts on the maintenance and enhancement of long-term productivity.
Irretrievable and Irreversible Commitments of Resources
Irretrievably and irreversibly committed resources are those that are consumed during the construction and implementation of a project and that cannot be reused. During construction and operation of the USWTR, the non-renewable resources that would be consumed include materials such as: steel, concrete, and fuel used during construction; supplies and energy resources necessary for the training exercises; and devices expended on the range during training.
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