Department of Agriculture Forest Service June 2010 Environmental Assessment 6200 South Administrative Site Proposed Property Sale Uinta-Wasatch-Cache NF Salt Lake Ranger District Salt Lake County, Utah
TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER 1 PURPOSE AND NEED 1.1 BACKGROUND.. 2 1.2 PURPOSE AND NEED..... 2 1.3 PROPOSED ACTION... 3 1.4 DECISION TO BE MADE. 3 1.5 PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT. 3 CHAPTER 2 ALTERNATIVES 2.1 ALTERNATIVES INCLUDED FOR DETAILED STUDY 4 2.1.1 PROPOSED ACTION ALTERNATIVE... 4 2.1.2 No Action Alternative... 4 CHAPTER 3 - AFFECTED ENVIRONMENT AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONSEQUENCES 3.1 CUMULATIVE EFFECTS.. 7 CHAPTER 4 - CONSULTATION AND COORDINATION 8 CHAPTER 5 - REFERENCES CITED.. 8 EXHIBIT A - SITE MAP.. 9 1
CHAPTER 1 PURPOSE AND NEED 1.1 Background The Forest Service proposes to sell the 6200 South Administrative Site located in the City of Holladay, Utah, Uinta-Wache-Cache National Forest (U-W-C NF) by using the Forest Service Facility Realignment and Enhancement Act of 2005 (P.L. 109-54, 119 Stat. 559-563; 16 U.S.C. 580d, as amended) (FSFREA). This Act provides authority to the Secretary [of Agriculture] to convey an administrative site, or an interest in an administrative site, that is under the jurisdiction of the Secretary by sale, lease, exchange, or by a combination of sale and exchange, or by such other means as the Secretary considers appropriate. The 6200 South Administrative Site was acquired through two transactions, an exchange and a donation, described as follows: Exchange: By Warranty Deed from the University of Utah, a Body Corporate and Politic of the State of Utah, Grantor, dated March 20, 1998, recorded April 21, 1998, as Entry No. 6934849, in Book 7951, pages 1076-1078, Official Records, Salt Lake County Recorder s Office. Also, that certain Correction Warranty Deed by said Grantor to correct an error in the legal description of original Warranty Deed, dated October 15, 1999, recorded October 28, 1999, as Entry No. 7499594, in Book 8319, pages 560-561, Official Records, Salt Lake County Recorder s Office. The exchange was completed under the authority of the Act of October 23, 1962 (P.L. 87-869, 76 Stat 1157, as amended); the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of October 21, 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1716; P.L. 94-579; 90 Stat. 2743, as amended); and the Federal Land Exchange Facilitation Act of August 20, 1988 (43 U.S.C. 1716(note); P.L. 100-409; 102 Stat. 1086). Donation: By Warranty Deed from the University of Utah, a Body Corporate and Politic of the State of Utah, dated March 20, 1998, recorded April 21, 1998, as Entry No. 6934850, in Book 7951, pages 1079-1081, Official Records, Salt Lake County Recorder s Office. The donation was completed under the authority of the Act of October 10, 1978 (P.L. 95-422, 92 Stat. 1065; 7 U.S.C. 2269). In response to the authorities provided in FSFREA, the U-W-C NF conducted a review of government-owned administrative facilities located on the NF or in communities surrounding the NF. They decided that the 6200 South Administrative Site could be disposed of using authorities available for real property disposal. Section 504 (d)(4) of FSFREA requires the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321, et seq.) be applied to the conveyance of administrative sites. 2
The 6200 South Administrative Site consists of approximately 4.17 acres of land located at the southeast corner of an urban lot at 6200 South and 3000 East Streets in Holladay, Salt Lake County, Utah. There is commercial development with high rise buildings surrounding the parcel, and the parcel is often used by construction vehicles for parking heavy equipment. 1.2 Purpose and Need The purpose of this proposed sale is to dispose of an administrative site that does not serve adequate ingress and egress for Forest Service business related traffic; nor does it have City of Holladay support for FS office construction. Under FSFREA authority, the funds generated from this conveyance will be available to the Secretary of Agriculture for the acquisition, improvement, maintenance, reconstruction, or construction of a facility or improvement for the National Forest System (NFS); the conveyance of other administrative sites under improvement; and/or for brokerage services associated with this sale. The sale of the 6200 South Administrative Site will provide a portion of funding toward a new government-owned facility for the Salt Lake Ranger District (RD). A new government-owned facility will provide improved shop and warehouse space, storage for fire engines and related equipment, and parking for employees and visitors. In addition, the new facility will substantially reduce administrative costs over the long-term. This decision will enable the U-W-C NF to be more efficient and effective in meeting our administrative needs, in addition to being more efficient and cost effective over the long-term. Moreover, the efficiencies gained from this sale will enable the Forest to better meet our shortand long-term priorities for caring for the land and serving people on the Salt Lake RD and on the U-W-C NF. 1.3 Proposed Action The Proposed Action is to sell the 6200 South Administrative Site through a competitive bid process as defined in FSFREA on the open market where the person or persons offering the highest purchase price would become the owner of the land. 1.4 Decision to be Made The decision to be made regarding this proposal is whether or not to proceed with the sale of the site as described in the Proposed Action. Brian Ferebee, the U-W-C NF Supervisor is the delegated Responsible Official for the decision. 1.5 Public Involvement This property has been the subject of several previous environmental reviews. Originally, information was sent to stakeholders in May 2006 and again in June 2008 that proposed the disposal of this parcel by land exchange. The anticipated land exchange was terminated in 2009 and disposal of the subject parcel is now proposed to be by competitive sale. A Notice of Proposed Realty Action (NOPRA) for the proposed sale of the property was published in The Salt Lake Tribune on October 22, 2009, the paper of record for decisions made by the Regional Forester or his designee. No comments were received. 3
A new scoping period and opportunity to comment was initiated in March 2010. Local interested parties, Congressional representatives, and Native American Tribes were notified of the Proposed Action on March 15, 2010. A NOPRA was published in The Salt Lake Tribune on March 20, 2010. This scoping period generated one letter of comment from Salt Lake City Public Utilities which wanted to advise the Forest Service that Salt Lake City owns a 33-foot wide waterline easement through the property and that any sale of this property will be subject to said easement. CHAPTER 2 ALTERNATIVES 2.1 Alternatives Included for Detailed Study Two preliminary alternatives will be considered in detail in this EA, as directed in Section 504 (d)(4) Environmental Review, including the Proposed Action and No Action alternatives. Other potential alternatives were not identified through the scoping process. 2.1.1 Proposed Action Alternative - Dispose of the 6200 South Administrative Site Using FSFREA This Alternative would dispose of the 6200 South Administrative Site using the FSFREA of 2005 as described in Section 1.1 of this EA. This alternative allows for the sale of the 6200 South Administrative Site by the tools made available in FSFREA. The use of this Act will enable the U-W-C NF to retain the receipts from the sale to apply to the purchase and construction of a future Salt Lake RD Office. The selected tool for the disposal of the site is a competitive bid process using General Services Administration (GSA) as the agency conducting the sale. GSA has a well-developed process for the sale of federally owned facilities and land, as well as the necessary skills and abilities to ensure the bidding process receives as wide spread distribution as possible. 2.1.2 No Action Alternative - Retain Ownership of the Property The alternative to selling this property is to retain ownership of the property as an administrative site for the U-W-C NF. The outcome of retaining the site would result in further maintenance costs to the Forest. It would also deny the U-W-C NF the benefit of receiving sales proceeds to benefit other Forest facilities. The 6200 South site would remain in United States ownership and could be used in the future for administrative site purposes. 4
CHAPTER 3 - AFFECTED ENVIRONMENT AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONSEQUENCES This section of the Environmental Assessment (EA) discloses environmental effects of the Proposed Action, as contrasted with the No Action Alternative, and how the Proposed Action addresses the purpose and need. This disclosure is limited to discussion of those effects relative to two sources: (1) significant issues, as defined under the NEPA; and (2) disclosures required to support a Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI), as outlined in 40 CFR 1508.27(b), also called Consequences Related to Environmental Significance. This EA analyzes and documents the context and intensity of the environmental effects of the sale of this property. The EA does not include an exhaustive, comprehensive description of the affected environment. Aspects of the environment are described only at a level of detail commensurate with anticipated impacts, as required under the NEPA. Sale: Sale of this property would remove it from exclusive Federal jurisdiction. When transferred, the land subsequently (and only after transfer) becomes subject to City of Holladay land use decisions and taxing authorities. Future development and use would be determined by subsequent owners and would be subject to State and local zoning, permitting, and land use controls. As discussed above, public and internal scoping did not reveal any significant issues. Because no significant issues were identified during the scoping process, the discussion of effects that follows is done within the framework of relevant Federal laws. Endangered or Threatened Species or its Habitat that has been Determined to be Critical under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 Data for threatened, endangered, candidate, and Forest Service sensitive species was gathered using information collected by U-W-C NF personnel. On October 12, 2005 (updated May 4, 2010), the Forest Wildlife Biologist and Forest Fisheries Biologist concluded there are no threatened or endangered species (TES) affected by the Proposed Action. Wetlands and Floodplains On October 12, 2005 (updated May 4, 2010), the Forest Hydrologist concluded the subject property contains no wetlands or floodplains. Therefore, the sale of this property would not result in the loss of wetlands or floodplains to the United States. This sale meets the requirements, goals, and intent of Executive Order (EO) Nos. 11988 and 11990. 5
Environmental Justice (P.L. 91-646) EO 12898, issued in 1994, ordered Federal agencies to identify and address the issue of environmental justice, i.e., adverse human health and environmental effects of agency programs that disproportionately impact minority and low-income populations. The U-W-C NF prepared a Civil Rights Impact Analysis and found that the Proposed Action would not impact any socially disadvantaged groups. Consistency with the Revised Forest Plan for the U-W-C NF The Proposed Action complies with the 2003 W-C NF Resource Management Plan. The Facilities Master Plan, dated October 28, 2004, does not specifically address the subject site because it has no developed facilities. However, on page 8 of the Plan it recommends a better site be acquired for the Salt Lake RD facility. This is also consistent with the A-94 Lease vs. Buy analysis of 2005 and the Preliminary Project Analysis dated 2006. Migratory Bird Treaty Act On January 10, 2001, President Clinton signed an EO outlining responsibilities of Federal agencies to protect migratory birds. Upon review of the information regarding neo-tropical migratory birds, it is determined that the Proposed Action complies with this EO. Other Considerations for Land Conveyances and Required Disclosures Minerals A Mineral Report was completed on July 18, 1997, and supplemented by the Regional Geologist on March 7, 2007 (updated June 10, 2010). It is filed in the project file, and is incorporated by reference herein. The Report determined there was low potential for locatable, leasable, or saleable minerals. Archeology/Cultural/Historic The Forest Archeologist completed a cultural resource investigation on April 9, 2007(updated May 4, 2010). The project was presented to the Skull Valley Band of Goshute and the Northwest Band of Shoshone in January 2007 and again through scoping in April 2010. The Tribes did not raise any concerns or issues. The determination that the site is not eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places was concurred with by the Utah State Historic Preservation Office on April 19, 2007. Threatened and Endangered Species There would be no significant impacts to any species of concern, per Wildlife Biologist, Fisheries Biologist, and Botanist Specialist s Reports dated October 2005 (updated May 4, 2010). 6
Hazardous Materials Field surveys of the parcel proposed for sale found no indications of hazardous materials. The complete Specialist Report is included in the project file. Road Access The current access condition of the site is less than desirable. Discussions were held with the City of Holladay in an attempt to improve the access condition. These efforts did not result in any improvement so the property will be sold with the access condition As Is. Since the parcel is isolated from other NFS lands, there will be no need to reserve Federal access across the parcel. Noxious Weeds The Proposed Action does not violate EO 13112, signed February 1999. 3.1 CUMULATIVE EFFECTS There are no direct or indirect effects; therefore there are no cumulative effects. 7
CHAPTER 4 CONSULTATION AND COORDINATION ID TEAM MEMBERS: Steve Scheid USFS Environmental Coordinator Charlie Condrat USFS Hydrologist Paul Cowley USFS Fisheries Biologist Michael Duncan USFS Botanist Paul Flood USFS Soil Scientist David Hatch USFS Landscape Architect Catherine Kahlow USFS District Ranger, Salt Lake RD Karen Hartman USFS Wildlife Biologist Tom Flanigan USFS Archeologist Howard Kahlow-R4 Lands Adjustment Zone The Forest Service consulted the following individuals, Federal, State, and local agencies and non-forest Service persons during the development of this EA: FEDERAL, STATE, AND LOCAL AGENCIES: Wasatch Cache National Forest Salt Lake Ranger District Salt Lake County Salt Lake City State of Utah Congressional Representatives Native American Tribes Citizen Interest Groups CHAPTER 5 REFERENCES CITED (USDA 2003) USDA Forest Service 2003 Revised Forest Plan Wasatch-Cache National Forest. Wasatch-Cache National Forest, Salt Lake City, Utah. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination in all its programs and activities on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, disability, and, where applicable, sex, marital status, familial status, parental status, religion, sexual orientation, genetic information, political beliefs, reprisal, or because all or part of an individual s income is derived from any public assistance program. (Not all prohibited bases apply to all programs.) Persons with disabilities who require alternative means for communication of program information (Braille, large print, audiotape, etc.) should contact USDA's TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TDD). To file a complaint of discrimination, write to USDA, Director, Office of Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Avenue, S.W., Washington, DC 20250-9410, or call (800) 795-3272 (voice) or (202) 720-6382 (TDD). USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer. 8
Exhibit A Site Map 6200 South 3000 East Holladay, Utah 5570 FSFREA Conveyance 9