Environmental Assessment for Repairs and Replacement of Overhead Electrical Line, Feeders N1, N3, and N6 Vandenberg Air Force Base, California.

摘要

Pursuant to provisions of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), 42 United States Code (USC) 4321 to 4270d, implementing Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) Regulations, 40 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) 1500-1508, and 32 CFR Part 989, Environmental Impact Analysis Process, the U.S. Air Force (Air Force) assessed the potential environmental consequences associated with repairing and replacing an aging overhead electrical line, Feeders N1, N3, and N6, on Vandenberg Air Force Base (VAFB) in Santa Barbara County, California. These repairs and replacements are needed because existing conditions do not provide a reliable power source required to support launch operations on south VAFB. If these electrical lines are not repaired and replaced, electrical supply to VAFB's Space Launch Complexes (SLCs) may fail. If such failure happens during mission-essential operations, e.g., space launch preparations and space launches, key national defense missions may be delayed. This could negatively impact the United States' security and safety. The Environmental Assessment (EA), incorporated by reference into this finding, analyzes the potential environmental consequences of activities associated with repairing and replacing overhead electrical line, Feeders N1, N3, and N6, and provides protective measures to avoid or reduce adverse environmental impacts. The EA considers all potential impacts of Alternative A (the Proposed Action), Alternative B (the Realigned Alternative), and the No-Action Alternative. The EA also considers cumulative environmental impacts with other projects at VAFB.