SBCT Final EIS - Govsupport.us

Chapter 5 – Environmental Consequencesunavoidable significant disturbance to soils and vegetation, leading to increased rates of soil erosionon the new ranges at FTC and existing ranges at PCMS.The Army currently implements standard erosion and sedimentation control mitigation measures andwildfire management installation-wide that would reduce many of the potential impacts caused byimplementation of Alternative C. These land management practices are specified in the FTC andPCMS INRMPs and ITAM annual work plan. Some of these measures include:• All construction activities are subject to FTC’s Fugitive Dust Control Plan. Site-specific dustcontrol plans are required for all projects with a footprint larger than 25 acres or disturbed for 6months or longer (state permit), and an El Paso County permit is required for disturbed landgreater than 1 acre. Implementation of BMPs, including dust suppression and establishment ofspeed limits in construction areas, could minimize short-term construction impacts.• Continued implementation of standard BMPs (e.g. silt fences, straw bales) to reduce potential forsoils eroded during construction and demolition to travel off-site and be redeposited downslope orin surface waters.• Continued implementation of environmental and land management programs (LRAM, TRI, andSRA) to balance training requirements and the need to maintain quality training lands forsustained military use. These programs include minimizing the potential for wind and watererosion of soils and indirect impacts to water quality.• Continued education of troops and implementation of training guidelines (e.g., no vehiclemaneuvers on wet soils) to minimize impacts of training activities on soils.• Continued implementation of ITAM erosion control projects and maneuver damage repair orreclamation projects for areas damaged by training activities.5.4.2.1 Impacts from Cantonment ConstructionSignificant Impacts Mitigable to Less Than SignificantImpact 1: Soil Erosion. No cantonment construction would be required at FTC initially toaccommodate the addition of 663 Soldiers, their families, support personnel, and SBCT-specificfacilities associated with the permanent stationing of the 2/25 th SBCT at FTC. The initial needs wouldbe met by the facilities being vacated by the 4/4 th IBCT that the SBCT would be replacing. Incomparison to the existing population of FTC, this increase in personnel and associated facilitiesneeds would not be significantly different than the current needs at FTC that are on-going as part ofthe transformation at FTC and any future construction is likely to occur in previously disturbed areasof the cantonment. Temporarily, Stryker vehicles would be parked in vacant fields within thecantonment area until a future date when permanent parking would be developed to make up theidentified shortfall of approximately 20,000 square yards. Construction of future facilities and thetemporary parking can cause direct, short-term, localized impacts to soils. Construction activities,such as excavation, grading, trenching, and other earth-disturbing activities, could remove vegetationand disturb soils in the immediate construction footprint, increasing the potential for soil erosion.Temporary soil disturbance caused by construction and parking may also result in indirect, short-termsoil erosion and delivery of sediment to streams and wetlands, as well as fugitive dust from themovement of machinery. The impacts of surface water sedimentation and fugitive dust are discussedin Sections 5.4.2 and 5.4.11, respectively. Potential increases in soil erosion caused by futureconstruction or parking in cantonment areas would be temporary because buildings and othercantonment improvement features, such as pavement, lawn, and landscaping would create onlyFebruary 2008 5-133 2/25th SBCT Final EIS