Environmental Assessment for Clear AFS Grid Tie-in and Heat Plant, Clear Air Force Station, Alaska

摘要

This Environmental Assessment (EA) is an evaluation of the proposal to tie into the Golden Valley Electric Association (GVEA) electrical grid, construct/install new oil fired boilers to provide heat for the composite area, and install a 1 Megawatt (MW) backup generator for the composite area at Clear Air Force Station (AFS), Alaska. Following completion of the project, the current Central Heat and Power Plant (CHPP) would be decommissioned and eventually demolished. The project would increase energy efficiency, provide a redundant source of electricity and heat and would result in cost savings to the government. Clear AFS is located in east central Alaska approximately 80 miles southwest of Fairbanks in the Tanana Valley. It encompasses 11,438 acres, most of which is undeveloped. The developed portion of Clear AFS consists of approximately 350 acres divided into four main areas: The Composite Area, where most administrative, recreational, and living quarters are located; The Camp Area, where civil engineering, maintenance shops, and security police offices are located; The Solid-State Phased-Array Radar System (SSPARS) Site, which is used to detect missile launches as well as to track moving objects through space; and The Power Plant and old Technical Site facilities (located immediately west of the Power Plant and scheduled for demolition). Clear AFS is bordered to the east by the George Parks Alaska Highway (Alaska State Highway 3, or Parks Highway as referred to in this document), to the north by the community of Anderson, to the south by mostly undeveloped private land, and to the west by the Nenana River. Clear AFS can be accessed from the Parks Highway, which is the highway connecting Anchorage and Fairbanks. Clear AFS supports the 13th Space Warning Squadron (SWS) and the 213th SWS Alaska Air National Guard. The 13 SWS is one of several geographically separated units of the 21st Space Wing, Peterson Air Force Base (AFB), Colorado.