95-673. Job Corps: Preliminary Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) for the New Job Corps Center on Treasure Island, in San Francisco Bay, CA  

  • [Federal Register Volume 60, Number 7 (Wednesday, January 11, 1995)]
    [Notices]
    [Pages 2796-2799]
    From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
    [FR Doc No: 95-673]
    
    
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    DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
    
    Job Corps: Preliminary Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) 
    for the New Job Corps Center on Treasure Island, in San Francisco Bay, 
    CA
    
    AGENCY: Employment and Training Administration.
    
    ACTION: Preliminary Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) for the 
    new Job Corps Center on Treasure Island, in San Francisco Bay, 
    California.
    
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    SUMMARY: Pursuant to the Council on Environmental Quality Regulations 
    (40 CFR Part 1500-08) implementing procedural provisions of the 
    National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), 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 the 
    establishment of a Job Corps Center on Treasure island in San Francisco 
    Bay, California, will have no significant environmental impact. 
    Pursuant to 29 CFR 11.11(d)(1), this Preliminary Finding of No 
    Significant Impact will be made available for public review and comment 
    for thirty (30) days.
    
    DATES: Comments must be submitted by February 10, 1995.
    
    ADDRESSES: Any comment(s) are to be submitted to Lynn Kotecki, 
    Employment and Training Administration, Department of Labor, 200 
    Constitution Ave., NW., Washington, DC, 20210, (202) 219-5468.
    
    FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:Copies of the EA and additional 
    information are available to interested parties by contacting Marta 
    Aguilar-Dugan, Region IX (Nine), Office of Job Corps, 71 Stevenson 
    Street, Suite 1015, San Francisco, California, 94119, (415) 744-6658.
    
    SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The purpose of the proposed action is to 
    create a new Job Corps Center in the San Francisco Bay Area that would 
    provide up to 850 enrollees with training and support services in a 
    residential environment. The Job Corps training and services include 
    basic education, vocational skills training, work
    
    [[Page 2797]]
    
    experience, counseling, health care, and related support services. The 
    program is intended to prepare participants to obtain and hold gainful 
    employment, pursue further education or training, or satisfy entrance 
    requirements for service in the Armed Forces.
        The Proposed Job Corps Center will be developed on land and in 
    buildings now occupied by the United States Navy. The Job Corps would 
    occupy about 35.5 acres of the 403-acre Treasure island. Treasure 
    Island is located adjacent to Yerba Buena Island and the San Francisco-
    Oakland Bay Bridge in San Francisco Bay. Naval Station Treasure Island 
    will be closed by the Department of Defense on September 30, 1997. The 
    Job Corps Center has been proposed as one of the first non-military 
    uses of the base, and is planned for implementation before the base 
    closure is fully complete.
        The Job Corps Center would be planned for an optimum capacity of 
    720 single residents and 130 non-resident students. It is estimated 
    that many of the non-residents would be single parents with up to 60 
    children that would use child care services available to the Job Corps 
    on Treasure island. Therefore, a total of 910 people would be served at 
    the Center.
        The Job Corps would take possession of a total of 470,347 gross 
    square feet of floor space in twelve existing buildings. The streets, 
    sidewalks, parking lots, and utility systems serving the buildings are 
    in place and mature landscaping is found around many of the structures.
        Job Corps' estimates of the rehabilitation work that would be 
    necessary to adapt these buildings to meet the needs of their programs 
    indicates that 3 of the buildings would need no rehabilitation work, 2 
    would require major renovation and the remaining 7 would require minor 
    to moderate modifications. The buildings that would require no work 
    include the following: Building 363, which houses an existing Job Corps 
    sponsored Culinary Arts school (with about 120 students); Building 368, 
    the cafeteria; and Building 364, which would be reserved for future 
    upgrading by Job Corps' vocational training students. Minor 
    rehabilitation, such as upgrading of fire doors, HVAC, electrical and 
    plumbing systems and interior space conversions to meet Job Corps 
    needs, would be undertaken in Buildings 369, 450, 487, 488, and 489. 
    Building 365 would require moderate rehabilitation work to reconfigure 
    the existing space into storage. Loading docks and a freight elevator 
    would be added. An area on the second floor of Building 442, the 3-year 
    old medical/dental building would be reconfigured to provide medical 
    wards.
        The buildings slated for major rehabilitation are Buildings 366 and 
    367. Building 366 would be reconfigured from open bay dormitories to 
    vocational shops. The bathrooms would have to be converted to male/
    female facilities and an interior elevator would be added. Building 367 
    would be reconfigured from an open bay dormitory to classroom space. 
    The bathrooms would also have to be reconfigured and an elevator 
    installed.
        The only new building anticipated at this time would be a building 
    to house recreational facilities for the students on the ``campus''. 
    The size and configuration of the building has not been defined, 
    although it is expected that it would be located on what is now a 1.5-
    acre grassy playing field/landscaped area near Buildings 369, 488 and 
    489, which would be dormitories.
        Treasure Island, the site of the proposed project, is a manmade 
    island of about 403 acres. It was built on Yerba Buena Shoals and a 
    sand spit extending north from Yerba Buena Island between 1936 and 1939 
    as the site for the Golden Gate International Exposition. The island 
    was constructed from sediments dredged from San Francisco Bay. The 
    Exposition or ``World's Fair'' opened on the island in February 1939 
    and had a second run in 1940.
        A few months after the Fair closed, the Navy leased Treasure Island 
    from San Francisco and the Yerba Buena-based Naval activities spread 
    out to cover both islands. The island became a major naval facility 
    during World War II, and has operated as a Naval Base continuously 
    since. After the war, the City of San Francisco agreed to trade the 
    deed to Treasure Island in exchange for Government owned land south of 
    San Francisco where the San Francisco International Airport was 
    eventually built.
        Exiting buildings on Treasure Island, today, includes three Naval 
    training center facilities, 907 family-housing units, 1,000 bachelor 
    quarters, medical/dental clinics, a brig, 5 active piers, recreational 
    facilities, a school and a child-care center, a commissary, a sewage 
    treatment plant, fire station, Naval Public Works department and a 
    variety of other facilities. The Treasure Island Museum is located in 
    the Headquarters building, which is one of only three remaining 
    structures built for the 1939 Exposition.
        Treasure Island is considered an urban setting and is located 
    within the boundaries of the City and County of San Francisco. As a 
    federal/military enclave within the City, the Island has not been 
    subject to local planning and zoning regulations; San Francisco is 
    currently beginning work on a reuse plan for conversion of the Island 
    from military to civilian use.
        The project will help offset the substantial population and 
    employment loses that are occurring in the Bay Area from the Navy's 
    base closure actions affecting Treasure Island and other nearby 
    facilities. The Job Corps will replace more than 10% of the Navy's 
    current Treasure Island population, which will decline to zero by late 
    1997.
        The Job Corps Center will also provide employment opportunities for 
    teachers and support staff, and will purchase goods and services from 
    the surrounding communities. This will offset a small proportion of the 
    economic losses to the region from the base closure actions. The 
    ability of the Job Corps to begin functioning on the site before the 
    Navy leaves Treasure Island in 1997 is considered a benefit, as it will 
    help smooth the transition from military to civilian employment on the 
    site.
        The San Francisco Bay Area is considered one of the most 
    earthquake-prone areas of the United States. Treasure Island lies 
    approximately 11 miles east of the San Andreas Fault and 10 miles west 
    of the Hayward Fault, both major faults. It is estimated that there is 
    a 90 percent probability that one or more large earthquakes (magnitude 
    7 or greater) will occur in the San Francisco Bay region during the 30-
    year period between 1990 and 2020.
        Since there are no active or buried faults located beneath Treasure 
    Island, the risk of ground rupture due to fault displacement is very 
    low. However, the island is potentially subject to violent to extremely 
    violent ground shaking and there is a high potential for liquefaction 
    in the event of major earthquake. Previous Navy studies of buildings on 
    Treasure Island have determined that only Building 2 and 3 are likely 
    to sustain more than 25 percent damage should a significant earthquake 
    event occur. The Job Corps would have no activities in Buildings 1 or 
    2. However, the Job Corps will consider seismic forces and risks to 
    buildings occupants when retrofiting the existing Navy buildings to 
    meet Job Corps requirements.
        The potential for major seismic activity around the Pacific Rim 
    places Treasure Island at risk to damage from Tsunamis. Tsunamis having 
    a wave height or runup of 8 feed at Treasure Island can be expected to 
    occur once every 200 years. The possibility of a Tsunamis is considered 
    to be a low risk, particularly since the Job Corps Center
    
    [[Page 2798]]
    
    would be protected behind the Island's perimeter dike, the top of which 
    is more than 8 feet above sea level. The emergency preparedness and 
    response plan for this facility will consider warning and response 
    protocols for this risk.
        The proposed Job Corps Center will not have any significant impacts 
    on natural systems or resources. Implementation of the existing 
    Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan for Treasure Island will reduce 
    the risks of stormwater pollution of San Francisco Bay as a result of 
    activities on the Island. The project will not introduce any 
    significant new sources of potential pollution to the Island.
        Treasure Island, including the area where the Job Corps activities 
    would be centered is not considered a valuable, unique or sensitive 
    natural area. The Job Corps would utilize existing buildings and urban 
    spaces for the same, or similar uses that have been continuing for 
    decades. The Project is not expected to have any adverse effects on 
    vegetation and wildlife including rare, threatened or endangered 
    species of plants or animals.
        It is not expected that the Job Corps programs will introduce any 
    new stationary sources of air pollutant emissions; however, if any 
    future vocational training programs involve the use of equipment 
    requiring permits to operate from the BAAQMD, such permits will be 
    sought and the conditions met. The majority of the Job Corps students 
    at Treasure Island will be residential students and will contribute 
    proportionately fewer vehicle miles, hence fewer air pollutants, than 
    most residents of the Bay Area. No adverse impacts on air quality are 
    projected.
        No long-term adverse noise impacts are expected. The Job Corps site 
    is outside the traffic noise impact zone of the Bay Bridge, and no 
    significant impacts from local traffic noise is expected. The site may 
    currently be within the 60 dBA CNEL zone of flights from Alameda Naval 
    Air Station. However, since Alameda Naval Air Station is being closed 
    concurrently with Treasure Island, this potential impact will be 
    temporary and no special mitigation is deemed necessary.
        Construction work necessary for the modification and upgrading of 
    some of the existing buildings would result in short-term noise 
    impacts, although most noisy work would occur inside the building 
    shells. Air compressors, trucks, lifts, concrete pumpers, and other 
    equipment would be operated around the buildings undergoing remodeling 
    and could result in short-term noise impacts at surrounding locations. 
    To mitigate these potential impacts, construction activities will be 
    limited to the hours of 7AM to 6PM, and sound control devices and 
    muffled exhausts will be required on noise-generating equipment.
        The existing streetlighting and security lighting systems are 
    expected to remain in place. The addition of the Job Corps Center to 
    Treasure Island will not affect existing views of nighttime lights on 
    Treasure Island from off-site locations. No impacts are expected.
        Treasure Island contains no archeological or prehistoric resources 
    as it was constructed with materials dredged form the bottom of San 
    Francisco Bay.
        The only buildings on the Island found to have historical 
    importance are Buildings 1, 2 and 3. None of these buildings are within 
    the area that would be used by the Job Corps. It is concluded that the 
    project would not have any impacts on historic or archeological 
    resources.
        No electricity, natural gas, telephone or cable telephone services 
    would have to be extended nor would the capacity of any supply lines 
    have to be increased to serve the project.
        The Jobs Corps will be dependent upon the central steam heating 
    system on Treasure Island for space heating. It is now known who will 
    be responsible for this utility service after the Navy leaves. The Job 
    Corps will work with the Navy and City of San Francisco during the Base 
    Closure and Realignment process to ensure that this utility service 
    will remain operational or that a substitute is implemented prior to 
    base closure.
        Water supply for domestic use and firefighting is adequate to meet 
    the project's needs.
        The existing sewage treatment plant has ample capacity to 
    adequately treat and dispose of the sewage generated by the proposed 
    project. Because some of the buildings will be changed from residential 
    to instructional facilities, the Job Corps will generate less sewage 
    from the same complex of buildings than the Navy has in the past.
        Solid waste disposal will continue to be provided by private 
    contractors.
        The project's impact upon daily peak hour traffic on the Bay Bridge 
    by Job Corps personnel will be an addition of fewer than 150 round 
    trips, which is less than 20 percent of the traffic generated by the 
    Naval Station in recent years. This traffic will have little or no 
    effect on the Bay Bridge traffic, and is not considered a significant 
    impact.
        Job Corps personnel will experience difficulty merging onto the Bay 
    Bridge during peak traffic periods, just as Navy personnel do today and 
    have in the past. It is not known if San Francisco's reuse plan for 
    Treasure Island will consider improvements to these sub-standard access 
    ramps. Nor is it known if such improvements are physically feasible at 
    a reasonable cost. The Job Corps will work with the City of San 
    Francisco during the reuse planning process to ensure that access 
    improvements for Treasure Island are carefully considered and 
    evaluated.
        Medical services will be available to Job Corps personnel from the 
    medical/dental clinic which the Job Corps will acquire from the Navy.
        Treasure Island is within the jurisdiction of the San Francisco 
    Police Department. Police services will be provided by the City and 
    County of San Francisco with support from military police as long as 
    the Navy remains on the base. Subsequently, the San Francisco Police 
    Department will be responsible for all calls for service from the 
    Island. The proposed Job Corps Center's potential need for police 
    services is not expected to have a significant impact on the City and 
    County of San Francisco.
        Fire services will be provided by the Navy until base closure. At 
    that time the operation of the Fire Station will be the responsibility 
    of the City and County of San Francisco. San Francisco is also expected 
    to address the fire services in the Reuse Plan.
        Preliminary screening has indicated that radon gas is not a 
    significant concern at Treasure Island. No impacts are expected.
        Asbestos may have been used in the building materials for seven or 
    eight of the twelve structures to be acquired by the Job Corps. The Job 
    Corps will survey the buildings for asbestos-containing materials and 
    abate them as necessary in conjunction with the other rehabilitation 
    efforts required to adapt the buildings to Job Corps uses. Any 
    asbestos-containing materials removed from the buildings will be 
    disposed of at licensed, off-site facilities in accordance with Federal 
    and State regulations. Completion of the abatement program will 
    eliminate any potential health hazards from asbestos.
        Compliance with the Federal Residential Lead-Based Paint Hazard 
    Reduction Act of 1992 by the Navy and/or the Department of Labor is 
    expected to adequately address any potential lead-based paint hazards 
    at the facility.
        Water supplied to Treasure Island is well within the Federal 
    drinking water quality standards for lead. No adverse impacts upon the 
    water supply are expected.
    
    [[Page 2799]]
    
        There are twenty Installation Restoration sites on Treasure Island 
    containing hazardous wastes cataloged by the Navy. None of these are 
    located within the confines of the area that would be transferred to 
    the Department of Labor for the proposed Job Corps facility. Two of the 
    seventy-five Underground Storage Tanks (USTs) on the base are within 
    the boundaries of the Job Corps site. These underground storage tanks 
    have been removed. One of the sites requires further remediation work, 
    consisting of the removal and treatment of soil with petroleum 
    hydrocarbon contamination and, possibly, the treatment of contaminated 
    groundwater. Groundwater beneath Treasure Island is not withdrawn for 
    any domestic or irrigation use. Remediation of this UST site will be 
    completed by the Navy before base closure is complete. The Navy intends 
    to conduct all remediation work with proper site safety protocols; no 
    adverse impacts are projected.
        PCB-containing transformers have been removed from Treasure Island. 
    One of the identified Installation Restoration sites, which will be 
    cleaned, has PCB contamination. This site, however, is far from the 
    buildings that will be utilized by the Job Corps. No impacts from PCB 
    contamination are projected.
        Naval Station Treasure Island is a regulated hazardous waste 
    generator. The sources of hazardous wastes generated on the Island are 
    primarily in the military training and industrial activities on the 
    site, which are concentrated on the eastern and southern sides of the 
    Island. Activities resulting in the generation of hazardous waste do 
    not occur in the residential and administrative buildings that would be 
    used by the Job Corps. The medical/dental building generates small 
    quantities of medical wastes, which are disposed of in accordance with 
    appropriate regulations. It is presumed that these practices will be 
    continued by the Department of Labor, as required by law, upon transfer 
    of the medical building. No adverse impacts to Job Corps personnel is 
    expected as a result of on-site chemical use.
        On February 3, 1994 the San Francisco Board of Supervisors Select 
    Committee on Base Closure conducted a Public Hearing on the proposed 
    location of a Job Corps Center at Treasure Island. The Public Hearing 
    was attended by approximately 37 people, of which 18 offered comments 
    and testimony. Every piece of testimony offered was in support of the 
    project; no testimony was submitted, in person or in writing, that 
    questioned or opposed a Job Corps Center at Treasure Island.
        The Alternatives considered in the preparation of the EA were: (1) 
    The ``No Build'' Alternative, (2) the ``Alternative Sites'' 
    Alternative, and (3) the ``Continued as Proposed'' alternative. The 
    ``No Build'' Alternative would mean that the Department of Labor would 
    not proceed with plans for development of the proposed Job Corps Center 
    on Treasure Island, and a unique opportunity for the youth of the area 
    to educationally benefit from a Job Corps would be forgone. Although 
    choosing the ``No Build'' would result in no environmental impact upon 
    the area, the opportunity to obtain land and buildings that can be 
    adapted to meet Job Corps need would also be lost. The benefits to the 
    City of San Francisco and to the region from the location of an 
    expanded Job Corps presence on Treasure Island would also be foregone.
        The Job Corps has investigated alternative locations in the Bay 
    Area for the proposed center. However, the alternative sites were 
    rejected in favor of Treasure Island because none of these sites have 
    the potential to be adapted to Job Corps functions as quickly or as 
    cost effectively as the Treasure Island site. In addition, two of the 
    sites were within or adjacent to residential areas and the proposed 
    Presidio, much of which will be redeveloped as a Park. The other site 
    was considered significantly constrained due to soil contamination.
        The San Francisco Board of Supervisors Select Committee on Base 
    closure conducted a Public Hearing on February 3, 1994, regarding the 
    proposed location of a Job Corps Center at Treasure Island. The Public 
    Hearing was attended by approximately 37 people. The results of the 
    hearing confirmed that there was unanimous support from all 
    participants at the hearing for a Job Corps Center at Treasure Island.
        Based on the information gathered during the preparation of the EA 
    for the Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration, 
    the Office of Job Corps finds that the development of the Treasure 
    Island Job Corps Center will not cause any significant impact on the 
    environment and, therefore, recommends that the project continue as 
    proposed. This proposed action is not considered to be highly 
    controversial.
    
        Dated at Washington, DC, this 23rd day of December 1994.
    Peter E. Rell,
    Director of Job Corps.
    [FR Doc. 95-673 Filed 1-10-95; 8:45 am]
    BILLING CODE 4510-30-M
    
    
    

Document Information

Published:
01/11/1995
Department:
Labor Department
Entry Type:
Notice
Action:
Preliminary Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) for the new Job Corps Center on Treasure Island, in San Francisco Bay, California.
Document Number:
95-673
Dates:
Comments must be submitted by February 10, 1995.
Pages:
2796-2799 (4 pages)
PDF File:
95-673.pdf