Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
during the life of the development. It is unlikely that construction activities would
activate geologic hazards; however, altering drainage patterns or building on steep
slopes could accelerate erosion and create slope instability. It is unlikely that con-
struction activities would activate geologic hazards; however, altering drainage pat-
terns or building on steep slopes could accelerate erosion and create slope instability.
Paleontological Resources
The potential for impacts on paleontological resources is high where grading and
excavation intercept geologic units with important fossil resources. Ground clearing
and vehicular traffic have the potential to impact the fossil resources at the sur-
face. The disturbance caused by all these activities could increase illegal collection
and vandalism. Disturbance that uncovers paleontological resources of significant
importance that would otherwise have remained buried and unavailable could be
viewed as a beneficial impact, provided the discovery results in study, collection, or
recording of the resource.
Transportation
Geothermal development would result in the need to construct or improve access
roads and would result in an increase in industrial traffic. Overweight and oversized
loads could cause temporary disruptions and could require extensive modifications
to roads or bridges (e.g., widening roads or fortifying bridges to accommodate the
size or weight of truck loads). An overall increase in heavy truck traffic would accel-
erate the deterioration of pavement, requiring local government agencies to sched-
ule pavement repair or replacement more frequently than under the existing traffic
conditions. Increased traffic would also result in a potential for increased accidents
within the project area. The locations at which accidents are most likely to occur
are intersections used by project-related vehicles to turn onto or off of highways
from access roads. Conflicts between industrial traffic and other traffic are likely to
occur, especially on weekends, holidays, and seasons of high use by recreationists.
Increased recreational use of the area could contribute to a gradual increase in traffic
on the access roads.
Visual Resources
Impacts on visual resources would be considered adverse if the landscape were sub-
stantially degraded or modified. Construction activities would have only temporary
and minor visual effects, resulting from the presence of workers, vehicles, and con-
struction equipment (including lighting for safety) and from vegetation damage, dust
generation, scarring of the terrain, and altering landforms or contours. Reclamation
following construction to restore visual resources to pre-disturbance conditions
would lessen these impacts.
Socioeconomics
Construction phase activities would contribute to the local economy by provid-
ing employment opportunities, monies to local contractors, and recycled revenues
through the local economy. The magnitude of these benefits would vary depending
on the resource potential. Construction of a typical 50-megawatt (MW) power plant
