Draft Environmental Assessment: Travis Air Force Base Burke Property Housing

Draft Environmental Assessment: Travis Air Force Base Burke Property Housing
Author:
Publisher:
Total Pages: 0
Release: 1999
Genre:
ISBN:

In support of previously reviewed, approved, and implemented Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) actions, Travis Air Force Base (AFB) proposes to construct military family housing on the 101-acre Burke Property on the north side of the base. The use of the property for that purpose was previously reviewed and approved along with the other BRAC actions in an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), from which this Environmental Assessment (EA) is tiered (40 CFR 1502.20). To meet the BRAC-related housing needs, a design for the construction of 281 units has been developed and is evaluated in this EA. A 226-unit alter- native that could minimally satisfy Air Force policies is also considered, along with No Action, in this EA. This EA focuses on Site Contamination, Biological Resources, and Cultural Resources. For other resource and issue areas, impacts and, where appropriate, mitigation measures associated with the construction of housing on the Burke Property were adequately described in the BRAC ElS and Record of Decision (ROD) (USAF 1994a, b). This EA finds that there are no potentially significant areas of site contamination or cultural resources on the site. With respect to Biological Resources, the 281-unit design would eliminate 2.81 acres of wetland and aquatic habitats, including some areas that may support threatened and endangered species. The 226-unit alternative would eliminate 1.18 acre of wetland and aquatic habitats while avoiding wetlands that may support threatened and endangered species. This EA identifies mitigation measures that, subject to further discussion with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, would mitigate these impacts to less than significance. Other potential short- and long-term impacts associated with the construction and use of housing in proximity to wetland and aquatic habitats on the site would be mitigated to insignificance through measures described in this EA.