Floodplain and Wetland Assessment of the P-Area Trail Extension for a CERCLA Action on the Savannah River Site. Comment period ends October 20, 2022.
Office of NEPA Policy and Compliance
October 4, 2022
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Floodplain and Wetland Assessment of the P-Area Trail Extension for a CERCLA Action on the Savannah River Site
The Department of Energy (DOE) proposes the construction of a trail extension to provide safe passage for off-road utility vehicles accessing surface water sampling locations in headwater wetlands associated with Steel Creek in Barnwell County, South Carolina. Steep slopes in this area create significant hazards for pedestrian access. Surface water sampling is required for compliance with the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act. The proposed activity will require the placement of gabions into 0.037 acre (1,594 square feet) of jurisdictional wetlands; mitigation will be used to compensate for unavoidable wetland impacts. Avoiding wetland impacts would require substantial cutting of steep slopes and removal of mature overstory trees that provide bank stabilization in an area of radiological contamination. The project site is not located in a floodplain. A fifteen (15) day public comment period on the action will be from October 5, 2022 to October 20, 2022.
An electronic copy of the Floodplain and Wetland Assessment can be found below and at the following P-Area Trail Extension CERCLA Action on the Savannah River Site website.
A copy of the Floodplain and Wetland Assessment will be available in the Administrative Record after the end of the comment period. The Administrative Record is available in the information repositories listed below:
- DOE Public Reading Room at the Gregg-Graniteville Library at the University of South Carolina (USC), Aiken campus in Aiken, SC; and
- Thomas Cooper Library Government Documents Department at USC in Columbia, SC.
For additional information, contact Barbara Smoak, Savannah Nuclear Solutions, LLC, email: [email protected].