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HomeMy WebLinkAboutQT Public & EPA Involvement 1.12.16EA Engineering, Science, and Technology, Inc., PBC 2200 Sixth Avenue, Suite 707 Seattle, WA 98121 Telephone: (206) 452-5350 Fax: (206) 443-7646 www.eaest.com 1 January 12, 2016 Vanessa Dolbee, Current Planning Manager City of Renton Department of Community & Economic Development, Planning Division 1055 S Grady Way Renton, WA 98057 RE: Quendall Terminal EIS Appeal Dear Vanessa: Per your request, EA has prepared the following summary of the opportunities that the City of Renton provided for involvement by the general public and U.S. EPA in the SEPA process for the Quendall Terminals project. The attached table summarizes the public’s and EPA’s involvement in the SEPA process, including the following information:  Step in SEPA Process: e.g., DEIS, EIS Addendum, FEIS and EIS Appeal;  Required: whether or not the step is required by SEPA;  Provided: whether or not the step was provided for the Quendall Terminals EIS;  Date(s): the dates on which the step was accomplished for the Quendall Terminals EIS;  Duration: the duration of the step for the Quendall Terminals EIS, including whether it was extended beyond the duration required by SEPA; and  Comments: comments on public/EPA involvement (e.g., the number of comment letters and emails received on the Quendall Terminals EIS Scoping, DEIS and EIS Addendum, and the way in which EPA’s comments were incorporated into the EIS). As shown by the attached table, the City went above and beyond the SEPA requirements to involve the public in the Quendall Terminals EIS process, including: extending the EIS Public Scoping period (from the required 21 days to 70 days); holding a Public Scoping meeting to provide additional opportunity for public comment (which is not required); extending the DEIS public scoping period (from the required 30 days to 60 days); holding a DEIS public hearing to provide additional opportunity for public comment (which is not required); and taking and responding to public comments on the EIS Addendum (which is not required). The attached table also demonstrates that the City provided expanded opportunities for participation by EPA in the Quendall Terminals SEPA process and incorporated their input into the EIS, including: attending three meetings with EPA and the applicant to define the baseline assumptions for site cleanup/remediation that were used in the Draft EIS; and responding to 2 comments in two letters from EPA on the DEIS that ultimately resulted in new baseline cleanup/remediation assumptions that were used in the EIS Addendum (e.g., a new Preferred Alternative with an expanded setback from the Lake Washington shoreline was developed and analyzed in the Addendum). Please let me know if you have any questions on this summary. Sincerely, Gretchen Brunner, Senior Planner EA Engineering, Science, and Technology, Inc. PBC 3 QUENDALL TERMINALS EIS PUBLIC & U.S. EPA INVOLVEMENT PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT Step in SEPA Process Required Provided Date(s) Duration Comments DEIS  EIS Public Scoping Period Yes (21 days1) Yes 2/19/10 – 4/30/10 70 days (extended) 5 letters/emails  Public Scoping Meeting No Yes 4/27/10 1 day 4 commentators  DEIS Public Comment Period Yes (30 days2) Yes 12/10/10 – 2/09/11 60 days (extended) 75 letters/emails  DEIS Public Hearing No Yes 1/04/11 1 day 8 commentators EIS Addendum  EIS Addendum Public Comment Period No Yes 10/19/12 – 11/19/12 30 days 12 letters FEIS  FEIS Yes Yes 8/31/15 N/A - Responded to comments on DEIS and on EIS Addendum3 EIS Appeal  EIS Public Appeal Period Yes (20 days4) Yes 8/31/15 – 9/24/15 20 days 1 appellant U.S. EPA INVOLVEMENT Step in SEPA Process Required Provided Date(s) Duration Comments DEIS  Pre-EIS Mtgs. Re Baseline Assumptions No Yes 3/1/10, 4/22/10, 5/12/10 1 day each - Baseline assumptions used in DEIS were based on input from EPA at Pre- EIS meetings  Comment Letters on DEIS No Yes 1/13/11, 3/12/12 N/A - Baseline assumptions used in EIS Addendum were modified based on comments on DEIS in EPA’s 3/12/12 letter5 1 Per WAC 197-11-408(2)(i) 2 Per WAC 197-11-455(6) 3 Taking and responding to comments on an EIS Addendum is not required by SEPA. 4 Per RMC 4-8-110E.1.b 5 In their 3/12/12 letter, U.S. EPA indicated that the environmental baseline (post-remediation conditions) assumptions represented in the DEIS are reasonable given the expected general outcome of the Record of Decision (ROD), with an increase of the minimum shoreline setback area to 100 feet from the lake (Lake Washington) edge. The Preferred Alternative analyzed in the EIS Addendum incorporated EPA’s recommended shoreline setback.