SBCT Final EIS - Govsupport.us

Chapter 5 – Environmental Consequencesextend slightly beyond the installation boundaries (USAG-HI 2004). The use of blanks and othertraining munitions on the WPAA would produce unweighted peak dB levels in the Zone II range atthe Waikii Ranch and Kilohana Girl Scout Camp near the installation boundary. Ordnance firing anddetonations at PTA might also lead to Zone II noise conditions at the Mauna Kea State Park rentalcabins.Use of blank ammunition and simulator devices in the Keamuku Parcel area may potentially createnoise effects within the Waikii Ranch development and the Kilohana Girl Scout Camp, both of whichshare fence line boundaries with the Keamuku Parcel. Noise from blank ammunition firing would fallbelow the Zone II threshold at approximately 3,500 feet for common types of small arms blankammunition. Thus, noise from small arms firing with blank ammunition could have substantive noiseeffects at Waikii Ranch and the Kilohana Girl Scout Camp when training occurs within a fewthousand feet of these locations.Substantial portions of the Keamuku Parcel are more than 1 mile from the Waikii Ranchdevelopment. An even greater portion of the Keamuku Parcel is more than 1 mile from the KilohanaGirl Scout Camp. Given the large size of the Keamuku Parcel, it is reasonable to expect thatmanagement actions could be taken to reduce the frequency of noise disturbance at Waikii Ranch andKilohana Girl Scout Camp to acceptable levels. Because appropriate management actions could beimplemented to reduce small arms noise effects at Waikii Ranch and Kilohana Girl Scout Camp,noise from ordnance use at PTA would constitute a less than significant impact. Mitigation measuresbelow will reduce noise impacts to those areas to less than significant.Additional Mitigation 2: The Army proposes to establish a minimum 1,000-foot (305-meter) noisebuffer around the Waikii Ranch property and the Kilohana Girl Scout Camp. In addition, the Armywill consider training guidelines that minimize nighttime training activities that involve weapons fireor aviation activity within a minimum of 2,000 feet (610 meters) of those properties. The Army willcontinue to work with affected communities on noise buffers and may adjust the buffer sizedependent upon these discussions.Less Than Significant ImpactsNoise from ordnance use. Unlike SBMR, the other USAG-HI training areas do not have significantexisting noise concerns. Therefore, the minor increase in noise attributable to the proposed action isexpected to cause a less than significant impact at DMR, KTA, and KLOA.Zone III conditions (with an L dn above 70 dBC) would expand slightly but would remain within theboundaries of PTA. Zone II conditions (with an L dn of 62 to 70 dBC) would expand slightly withinthe ordnance effect area at PTA but would contract slightly in the area north of Saddle Road. Therewould be a slight expansion of Zone II conditions in the cantonment area, but this change would notinclude most of the on-post housing units. The Zone II noise contour would not expand toward theKilohana Girl Scout Camp or Waikii Ranch and would actually contract slightly in the eastern portionof the Keamuku Parcel.The Zone II noise at Mauna Kea State Park would expand slightly to include a small amount of landon the west side of Saddle Road, but there would be very little change in the location of the Zone IInoise contour near the picnic area and rental cabins east of Saddle Road. Changes in the SBCTequipment package, firing point locations, and range configurations collectively quantify the overallincrease in munitions use and at the same time account for the limited changes in noise contours whencompared to existing conditions.February 2008 5-61 2/25th SBCT Final EIS