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Job Corps: Preliminary Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) for the Proposed Job Corps Center Located at College Avenue and 6th Street, Ottumwa, IA

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[Federal Register: February 1, 2008 (Volume 73, Number 22)]
[Notices]
[Page 6209-6210]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr01fe08-103]

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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Office of the Secretary

Job Corps: Preliminary Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI)
for the Proposed Job Corps Center Located at College Avenue and 6th
Street, Ottumwa, IA

AGENCY: Office of the Secretary, Department of Labor.
ACTION: Preliminary Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) for the
proposed Job Corps Center to be Located at College Avenue and 6th
Street, Ottumwa, Iowa.

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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,
Office of the Secretary (OSEC) in accordance with 29 CFR 11.11(d),
gives notice that an Environmental Assessment (EA) has been prepared
for a proposed new Job Corps Center to be located in Ottumwa, Iowa and
that the proposed plan for a new Job Corps Center will have no
significant environmental impact. This Preliminary Finding of No
Significant Impact (FONSI) will be made available for public review and
comment for a period of 30 days.

DATES: Comments must be submitted by February 15, 2008.

ADDRESSES: Any comment(s) are to be submitted to Edward C. Campbell,
Realty Officer Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW., Room
N-4460, Washington, DC 20210, (202) 693-2834 (this is not a toll-free
number).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Copies of the EA are available to
interested parties by contacting Michael F. O'Malley, Architect, Unit
Chief of Facilities, National Office of Job Corps, U.S. Department of
Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW., Room N-4460, Washington, DC 20210,
(202) 693-3108 (this is not a toll-free number).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The subject property for the proposed Job
Corps Center (JCC) consists of 28.68 acres of undeveloped land, owned
by Indian Hills Community College. The subject property is located east
of the College Avenue and 6th Street intersection approximately five
miles north of downtown Ottumwa in an unincorporated area of Wapello
County, Iowa. The property is located at the eastern edge of the
Ottumwa Industrial Airport district which is characterized by
industrial and commercial uses, as well as vacant land used primarily
for row crop farming.

[[Page 6210]]

    The proposed Ottumwa JCC will be new construction, which will
utilize a campus setting. The facility will consist of seven buildings,
which will support approximately 300 resident students with 104 staff
members. The proposed buildings include an administrative/wellness
center/maintenance building, two dormitories, an educational/vocational
building, a cafeteria/warehouse building, a student services/welcome
center building and a recreation building. The proposed site also
includes outdoor recreation fields and courts and associated paved
parking areas and drives. The gross area of all of the proposed
buildings will be approximately 150,000 square feet.
    The proposed Ottumwa JCC is not expected to have any negative
impact on the demographics of the surrounding neighborhoods. The
proposed Ottumwa JCC is expected to have a positive impact on the lives
of disadvantaged youths living in the Ottumwa and southeast Iowa areas.
The purpose of the JCC is to provide basic education, vocational skills
training, health care, and work experience, to allow disadvantaged
persons from Ottumwa and surrounding communities to improve their
position in the workplace and society. The goal of the JCC is to allow
the disadvantaged to obtain a better education and to allow
participants to reach a level of economic security above the poverty
line. If these goals are reached, the JCC will have a positive impact
by increasing the current educational and employment levels in the
surrounding communities.
    No proposed or listed endangered or threatened species, critical
habitat or wetlands are known to exist within the proposed project
area. The proposed project is not expected to have an adverse effect on
any archaeological or historical properties since there are no
documented historic or cultural sites within a one mile radius.
    The JCC is also not expected to have an impact on the overall
population numbers in the community based on the estimated 300 students
that will live at the facility. City services, such as Police, Fire and
Emergency Services will not expect additional stress to their current
capabilities since these services are currently providing respective
services to the area. Utility services, such as water, electric, gas
and sanitary sewer, would be able to absorb the additional loads from
the JCC with little to no impact. The development of the property will
involve construction of new water, sanitary and storm sewer lines. The
proposed JCC is not expected to have negative impacts on air quality in
the area, since it does not involve industrial or commercial processes.
    Temporary aesthetic impacts and minor noise impacts are anticipated
during construction activities. Aesthetic impacts will be mitigated
with the development of the property and the noise impacts will be
short-termed and not significant.
    The proposed Ottumwa JCC development is not expected to result in a
significant increase in vehicular traffic, since many of the JCC
students will either live in the dormitories or use public
transportation. While some JCC students may use personal vehicles, the
roadway infrastructure in the area is capable of absorbing the
additional traffic.
    Based on the information gathered during the preparation of the
NEPA Environment Assessment, no environmental concerns were found to
exist on the proposed JCC site other than the proposed site is
considered ``prime farmland'' that is currently being used for row crop
farming. Based on the size of the proposed development and the
significant amount of defined prime farmland in the surrounding areas,
the proposed development of the property is not considered a
significant impact to the agricultural output for the area.
    The alternatives considered in the preparation of this FONSI were
as follows: (1) No Action; and (2) Continue Project as Proposed. The No
Action alternative was not selected. The U.S. Department of Labor's
goal of improving the Job Corps Program by improving the learning
environment at Job Corps Centers would not be met under this
alternative. Due to the suitability of the proposed site for
establishment of a new Job Corps Center, and the absence of any
identified significant adverse environmental impacts from locating a
Job Corps Center on the subject property, the ``Continue Project as
Proposed'' alternative was selected.
    Based on the information gathered during the preparation of the EA,
no environmental liabilities, current or historical, were found to
exist on the proposed Job Corps Center site. The construction of the
Job Corps Center at College Avenue and 6th Street, Ottumwa, Iowa will
not create any significant adverse impacts on the environment.

    Dated: January 28, 2008.
Esther R. Johnson,
National Director of Job Corps.
[FR Doc. E8-1871 Filed 1-31-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510-23-P

 
 

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