SBCT Final EIS - Govsupport.us

Chapter 5 – Environmental Consequencesincrease the number of Soldiers training at all ranges, thus increasing the total number of rounds fired.Although mitigation will considerably reduce wildfire risk, the impacts from a wildfire may not bereduced to a less than significant level. The mitigation measures below will substantially reduce theimpact but not to less than significant.Regulatory and Administrative Mitigation 1: The IWFMP for Pohakuloa and Oahu Training Areaswas finalized in June 2006. The Army will fully implement this plan for all existing and new trainingareas to reduce the impacts associated with wildland fires. Public and firefighter safety is the firstpriority in every fire management activity. The plan considers the potential need for firebreaks and/orfuel breaks at each installation along with other safety concerns. Several projects are planned as partof implementing the IWFMP are presented here as examples of mitigation measures. Projects aredesigned to increase accessibility for firefighting activities through road construction andmaintenance, limit the spread of wildfire through the establishment of firebreaks and fuel reductionareas, and construction of dip ponds to increase the availability of water for helicopter firesuppression.SBMR: Two fire access roads at SBMP, one existing road surrounding the McCarthy Flats (MF)ranges and a second road encompassing the south range that would be constructed. Dip ponds areproposed for construction at SBMP and SRAA. A new fire access road would be constructed roughlyfollowing the western edge of the existing pineapple fields, connecting with existing plantation roadson the south and with Trimble Road on the north. This fire access road would be 2.4 miles long and20 feet wide. Grass on the Multipurpose Qualification Training Range, South Range Acquisition Area(QTR2), would be kept at stubble height by regular mowing and/or weed whacking. Biodegradableherbicide and mechanical removal would be used to control fuels bounding the fire access road. A dippond is proposed for construction at SRAA. It would be a plastic-lined, earthen pond with a 300,000-gallon capacity.DMR: Two fire access roads are planned for DMR. One or both would be established depending onfeasibility. Both routes would follow existing roads that have gone unused over the years and areovergrown with vegetation. The primary route would be roughly 2,953 feet long, running from thecantonment area to the east side of training area P3. The secondary route would lie to the south of theeastern portion of the primary route. Fuel modification projects under consideration at DMR aremaintenance of fuels along the Dillingham Military Vehicle Trail and may include prescribed burns.Areas that are overgrown would be managed through the application either of herbicide or by cuttingthe grass or shrubs. Prescribed burning would be used within the finished fire access road.Mechanical preparation of the fuels (e.g. cutting) may be necessary in order to provide bettercontainment. No burns would take place outside of the completed fire access roads.KTA/KLOA: A dip pond would be constructed just east of the installation boundary at KTA. It wouldbe a plastic-lined, earthen pond with a 300,000-gallon capacity. There are no plans to construct anyfire access roads at KTA/KLOA. Roads would be maintained and vegetation along the roads wouldbe controlled. Fuels would be managed if they are of a growth form that presents a fire hazard (e.g.grasses and flammable shrubs).PTA: Fire access roads and breaks would continue to be established using existing roads and throughnew construction. The roads would be constructed to be approximately 20 feet wide with a buffer areaof reduced vegetation extending 10 feet to the outside of the road and 30 feet inside. Improvements toexisting roads not meeting this standard would be necessary and would include widening, smoothingof the road surface, and/or the application of surface material. A network of fire access roads wouldbe established along the western boundary of the installation and extend into Kipuka Kalawamauna.February 2008 5-24 2/25th SBCT Final EIS