Job Corps: Preliminary Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) for the New Job Corps Center in Ft. Devens, MA

DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Job Corps: Preliminary Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI)

for the New Job Corps Center in Ft. Devens, MA

AGENCY: Employment and Training Administration, Labor.

ACTION: Preliminary Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) for the

New Job Corps Center in Ft. Devens, Massachusetts.

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SUMMARY: Pursuant to the Council on Environmental Quality Regulations

(40 CFR Part 1500-08) implementing procedural provisions of the

National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the Department of Labor,

Employment and Training Administration, Office of Job Corps, in

accordance with 29 CFR 11.11(d), gives notice that an Environmental

Assessment (EA) has been prepared and the proposed plans for the

establishment of a Job Corps Center on a portion of former Ft. Devens,

Massachusetts, will have no significant environmental impact, and this

Preliminary Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) will be made

available for public review and comment for a period of 30 days.

DATES: Comments must be submitted by February 10, 1995.

ADDRESSES: Any comment(s) are to be submitted to Lynn Kotecki,

Employment and Training Administration, Department of Labor, 200

Constitution Ave. NW., Washington, DC, 20210, (202) 219-5468.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Copies of the EA and additional information are available to interested

parties by contacting Albert Glastetter, Director, Region I (One),

Office of Job Corps, One Congress Street, 11th Floor, Boston,

Massachusetts, 02114, (617) 565-2167.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The proposed site, located in the abandoned

Verbeck Housing Complex on Ft. Devens, Massachusetts, is comprised of

thirty-five (35) acres. The site is part of the larger Ft. Devens

complex which consists of approximately 9,300 acres, but which is to be

downsized pursuant to a recommendation by the Defense Base Realignment

and Closure Committee. Ft. Devens has served its military role since

1917. The proposed site is located in the Main Post of Ft. Devens,

bordered by West Main Street to the north, and the Town of Ayer to the

east.

Prior to initiating the proposed action, the Verbeck Housing

Complex is scheduled to be razed, along with ancillary facilities that

currently occupy the site. Following the demolition, the proposed Job

Corps Center would be constructed to accommodate 400 full-time

residential students with dormitories, educational/vocational

facilities, food service facilities, medical/dental facilities,

administrative offices, storage and support. Approximately 201,200

gross square feet of new structures is planned. The

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proposed project will be constructed in accordance with local fire,

building, and zoning code requirements and will not adversely impact

local police, fire, or emergency services.

The site is located in a rural/suburban setting with substantial

open space extending in all directions. To the north, across West Main

Street, in Ayer, Massachusetts is a substantial wetland. To the east is

a wooded hill and to the west are large, grassy fields. Towards the

south are playgrounds that surround an elementary school that is part

of Ft. Devens.

The new facilities associated with the Job Corps would make use of

an existing roadway network and infrastructure such as water and sewer

lines, telephone poles, and stormwater drainage systems. The razing

operation will include removal of all asbestos materials, lead-based

paints, underground storage tanks, and contaminated soils resulting

from earlier fuel oil spills as required by local, state and federal

laws. Conversion of this part of Ft. Devens to a Job Corps Center would

be a positive asset to the area in terms of environmental and

socioeconomic improvements and long-term productivity. The Job Corps

program, which will provide basic education, and vocational skills

training, work experience, counseling, health care and related support

services, is expected to graduate students who are ready to participate

in the local economy that, with the loss of Ft. Devens as a significant

employer, is expected to realize an increase in demand for employment.

The proposed project would have no significant adverse impact on

any natural system or resource. The existing buildings that will be

removed are not designated ``historically significant'' and the site

includes no areas of archaeological significance. Construction of new

Job Corps Center buildings will not adversely impact the existing

environment including surface water, groundwater, woodlands, wetlands,

threatened and endangered species in the Ft. Devens area because

operational activities associated with the proposed project do not

represent a significant change from the historical use of the Verbeck

site as a residential area. A short-term impact from construction, such

as fugitive dust emissions, will be mitigated through the use of dust

suppression techniques, thereby reducing dust exposure to areas in the

vicinity of the proposed construction sites. The expected base-wide

remediation of contamination, currently underway by the U.S. Army, both

in the Verbeck site and throughout Ft. Devens, would minimize impacts

from existing sources of contamination upon the natural systems and

resources.

Based upon preliminary analysis, no significant levels of radon

exist on site. Water quality of both the Ft. Devens water supply and

the adjoining Town of Ayer water supply document no levels of lead

present in the drinking water. An asbestos assessment of the existing

building complex is currently underway and all asbestos will be removed

in accordance with all applicable local, state, and federal safety and

health laws, when the buildings are razed. Leadbased paint, abandoned

underground storage tanks, and contaminated soils will be similarly

removed when the site is demolished.

The proposed project would have no significant adverse impact upon

current air quality, noise levels, and lighting. Air quality is good in

the area and the proposed project would not be a source of air

emissions. Operational noise levels of the project are consistent with

rural/suburban areas and, with the exception of the construction

period, would not be source of additional noise in the area. Finally,

street lights for the proposed project can be modified in the final

design to ensure levels of illumination consistent with those in the

surrounding area.

The proposed project would have no significant adverse impacts upon

the existing infrastructure represented by water, sewer and stormwater

systems.Adequate water is available to the site through the Ft. Devens

water supply system or that of the nearby Town of Ayer. Stormwater

runoff is accommodated by an in-place system that can be improved with

minimal repairs. The sanitary sewer collection system is in place and

deemed to be adequate. Wastewater treatment can be achieved at the

nearby Ft. Devens Wastewater Treatment Plant or the Town of Ayer's

Treatment Plant once those facilities have met the state regulations

for treatment and discharge--activities that are currently underway.

The proposed site has an abundance of electrical power and natural

gas delivered to its boundaries, but would require installation of new

distribution systems to bring all facilities up to codes. The proposed

demands on electric power and natural gas, however, are not expected to

have a significant adverse impact on the environment. Similarly,

traffic behavior patterns are not expected to change as a result of the

proposed project; the main intersection (Verbeck Gate) would continue

to provide an adequate level of service onto West Main Street, so no

significant adverse impact is expected.

It is not anticipated that the proposed site will have a

significant adverse impact upon the local medical, emergency, fire and

police facilities, all of which are located in the Town of Ayer, which

is within one mile of the proposed site. The existing facilities will

be adequate to address normal emergencies; however, they can be

supported, if necessary, by other medical facilities such as the seven

hospitals located within a fifteen-mile radius of the site. There are

additional emergency, fire and police facilities in the neighboring

towns of Harvard and Shirley, and in Ft. Devens itself.

The proposed project would not have a significant adverse effect on

the surrounding community, which is characterized by a diverse

ethnicity and offers an abundance of recreational, educational and

cultural opportunities. Similarly, the proposed project would not have

a significant adverse impact on demographics and socioeconomic

characteristics of the area. Rather, the implementation of a Job Corps

Center on the proposed site will help to fill a void created by the

closure of Ft. Devens by providing jobs and educational opportunities

for local residents.

A public forum was held in Fort Devens on February 2, 1994. There

was voiced strong support from the Towns of Ayer, Harvard, and Shirley

for the proposed project. All towns were in favor of siting a Job Corps

Center on Fort Devens, and concluded that the Job Corps program is a

very worthwhile Program and would benefit the area as a whole.

The alternatives considered in the preparation of the EA were: (1)

The ``No Build'' alternative, (2) the ``Alternative Sites''

alternative, and (3) the ``Continue as Proposed'' alternative. The ``No

Build'' alternative is considered inadequate because it would require

fitting the Job Corps program into an existing building complex that is

ill-equipped for its intended use and, due to its age, is characterized

by old, out-of-date systems and potential sources of environmental

contamination (e.g. asbestos, lead-based paint, contaminated soils).

Alternative locations, meanwhile, are determined to be not available

because all locations were originally evaluated through a formal rating

process nationwide before selecting the Ft. Devens site. The Proposed

Project meets both the goals of the Job Corps and the location

requirements. After construction, the new facilities would be suitable

for their intended purpose in the Job Corps, and would be

environmentally safe and

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consistent with current building codes and safety practices.

Based on the information gathered during the preparation of the EA

for the Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration,

the Office of Job Corps finds that the location of a Job Corps Center

at the former Verbeck Housing Complex on Ft. Devens, Massachusetts,

will not cause any significant impact on the environment and,

therefore, recommends that the project continue as proposed. This

proposed action is not considered to be highly controversial.

Dated at Washington, DC, this 23rd day of December, 1994.

Peter E. Rell,

Director of Job Corps.

[FR Doc. 95-667 Filed 1-10-95; 8:45 am]

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