Job Corps: Preliminary Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) for the New Job Corps Center Located Off Granite Road in Maple Heights, Ohio

DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Employment and Training Administration

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

for the New Job Corps Center Located Off Granite Road in Maple Heights,

Ohio

AGENCY: Employment and Training Administration, Labor.

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

New Job Corps Center to be located at the end of Granite Road in Maple

Heights, Ohio.

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SUMMARY: Pursuant to the Council on Environmental Quality Regulation

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

National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), and 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 a new Job

Corps Center will have no significant environmental impact. 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 August 24, 1998.

ADDRESSES: Any comment(s) are to be submitted to Amy Knight, Employment

and Training Administration, Department of Labor, 200 Constitution

Avenue, NW, Room N-4659, Washington, DC 20210, (202) 219-5468 ext. 103

(this is not a toll-free number).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Copies of the EA and additional

information are available to interested parties by contacting Richard

Trigg, Regional Director, Region V (Five), Office of Job Corps, 230

South Dearborn Street, Chicago, IL 60604, (312) 353-1311 (this is not a

toll-free number).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

The proposed development site is located approximately one and one

quarter miles (1\1/4\) south of the Maple Heights City Hall and is

located at the end of Granite Road in Maple Heights, Cuyahoga County,

Ohio. The proposed development site is located to the northeast of

Granite Road and southeast of Pennsylvania Avenue. The EA indicates

that the site is on an approximate 24 acre wooded and undeveloped

parcel. The site is located in an urban, light industrial area with

adjacent residential developments within one quarter (\1/4\) of a mile.

The property is currently owned by the Maple Heights Development

Company. The site does not contain any structures, and historical

aerial photographs indicate that the property has been wooded dating

back to 1951.

The proposed Job Corps Center will be designed to accommodate

approximately 430 Job Corps students (380 residential and 50 non-

residential students). The proposed Center will consist of nine

buildings, including dormitories, educational/vocational facilities,

food service facilities, recreational facilities, administrative

offices, storage and support facilities, with a total building area of

114,275 net square feet. The proposed project will be constructed in

accordance with local fire and building code requirements.

The construction of the Job Corps Center on this undeveloped parcel

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

socioeconomic improvements, and long-term productivity. The proposed

Job Corps Center will be a new source of employment opportunity for

people in the Maple Heights, Ohio area. The Job Corps program provides

basic education, vocational skills training, work experience,

counseling, health care and related support services. This program is

designed to graduate students who are ready to participate in the local

economy.

The proposed project will not have any significant adverse impact

on any natural system or resource. There are no ``historically

significant'' buildings on the site and no areas of archaeological

significance. No threatened or endangered species have been located on

the site.

Air quality and noise levels should not be affected by the proposed

development project in the light industrial area in Maple Heights,

Ohio. Due to the nature of the proposed project, it would not be a

source of air pollutants or additional noise, except possibly during

construction of the facility. The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency

has indicated that construction of a Job Corps Center at the proposed

site will not require permitting under Section 173 of the Clean Air

Act. The proposed project site is located within the Cleveland-Akron-

Lorain air quality region, which includes several non-attainment areas

for the PM-10 and SO2 National Ambient Air Quality Standards

(NAAQS). The proposed Job Corps Center will not significantly increase

the vehicle traffic in the vicinity, and will not be a significant

source of air pollution.

The proposed project will not have any significant adverse impact

on the surrounding infrastructure, represented by water, sewer and

storm water systems. Water and sewage systems will be provided by the

Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District (NEORSD). These systems are

readily accessible and should be sufficient to accommodate the new Job

Corps Center. All wastewater treatment will be handled by NEORSD's

Southerly Wastewater Treatment Facility. The Southerly plant is

operating under an existing National Pollution Discharge Elimination

System (NPDES) permit. Stormwater runoff from parking lots, sidewalks,

and other structures will be managed in accordance with the

requirements of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR), and is

not anticipated to adversely impact area water quality.

The proposed project site is located adjacent to an industrial

park, thus electrical power will be easily accessible. The proposed

demands on electrical power are not expected to have a significant

adverse affect on the environment. Electric utilities and natural gas

are provided by Centerior Energy.

Granite Road leads directly into the proposed project site. Granite

Road connects to Lee Road, to the west, which leads to several other

main thoroughfares within the City of Maple Heights. These roads can be

used to access all aspects of the greater Cleveland area. Roadways will

need to be constructed around the new Job Corps Center, but no

significant adverse affects are expected. The traffic patterns will be

monitored to insure a satisfactory movement of vehicles.

No significant adverse affects should be felt by the local medical,

emergency, fire and police facilities. The closest medical facility,

Bedford Medical Center, is located in the City of Bedford,

approximately 1\1/2\ miles to the east of the proposed project site.

The Job Corps Center will also have a small medical and dental facility

on-site for use by the residents as necessary. Emergency, police and

fire services will be provided by the City of Maple Heights, none of

which will be adversely impacted by the Job Corps Center.

The proposed project population will not have a significant adverse

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sociological effect on the Maple Heights community. This area is

characterized by a fairly diverse ethnicity, and offers educational and

recreational opportunities. Similarly, the proposed project will not

have a significant adverse affect on demographic and socioeconomic

characteristics of the area.

The alternatives considered in the preparation of this FONSI were

as follows: (1) No Action; (2) Construction at an Alternate Site; and

(3) Continue Construction as Proposed. The ``No Action'' alternative

was not selected. The current Cleveland Job Corps Center is located in

a run-down facility that is inadequate to meet the educational,

residential, and recreational needs of the staff, faculty, and students

at the Center. The ``Alternate Site'' alternative was not selected. The

Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration solicited

proposals for relocation properties on two separate occasions, on

February 1, 1997 and November 22, 1997. Of the eight sites reviewed by

the Office of Job Corps, only the subject property was suitable for

construction of a Job Corps Center.

Due to the inadequate facilities currently occupied by the

Cleveland Job Corps Center, the lack of alternative construction sites,

and the absence of any identified adverse environmental impacts from

locating a Job Corps Center at the subject property, the ``Continue

Construction as Proposed'' alternative was selected.

Based on the information gathered during the preparation of the EA,

no environmental liabilities, current or historical, were found to

exist on the proposed Job Corps Center site. It should be noted that no

sampling of the soil, water or air was conducted during the preparation

of the EA. The construction of a Job Corps Center on the undeveloped

parcel located at the end of Granite Road in Maple Heights, Ohio, will

not create any significant adverse impacts on the environment; however,

the site is currently zoned as an industrial district.

Dated at Washington, DC, this 17th day of July, 1998.

Timothy F. Sullivan,

Acting Director of Job Corps.

[FR Doc. 98-19640 Filed 7-22-98; 8:45 am]

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