# 6. CUMULATIVE EFFECTS

# 

This section discusses potential impacts resulting from other
facilities, operations, and activities that in combination with
potential impacts from the proposed project may contribute to cumulative
impacts. Cumulative impacts are impacts on the environment that result
from the incremental impact of the proposed project when added to other
past, present, and reasonably foreseeable future actions regardless of
the agency (federal or non-federal) or person that undertakes such other
actions (40 CFR Part 1508.7). An inherent part of the cumulative effects
analysis is the uncertainty surrounding actions that have not yet been
fully developed. The CEQ regulations provide for the inclusion of
uncertainties in the EIS analysis, and state that "(w)hen an agency is
evaluating reasonably foreseeable significant adverse effects on the
human environment in an EIS and there is incomplete or unavailable
information, the agency shall always make clear that such information is
lacking" (40 CFR Part 1502.22). The CEQ regulations do not say that the
analysis cannot be performed if the information is lacking.
Consequently, the analysis contained in this section includes what could
be reasonably anticipated to occur given the uncertainty created by the
lack of detailed investigations to support all cause and effect linkages
that may be associated with the proposed project, and the indirect
effects related to construction and long-term operation of the
facilities.

Because cumulative impacts accrue to resources, the analysis of impacts
must focus on specific resources or impact areas as opposed to merely
aggregating all of the actions occurring in and around the proposed
facilities and attempting to form some conclusions regarding the effects
of the many unrelated actions. Narrowing the scope of the analysis to
resources where there is a likelihood of reasonably foreseeable impacts
accruing supports the intent of the NEPA process, which is "to reduce
paperwork and the accumulation of extraneous background data; and to
emphasize real environmental issues and alternatives" \[40 CFR Part
1500.2(b)\]. The resources and impact areas that were identified with a
likelihood of such impacts are (1) greenhouse gases including CO~2~
emissions contributing to global climate change, (2) water resources and
related issues such as water consumption and water quality, and
(3) socioeconomic resources and related issues such as traffic and water
and wastewater services.

The lack of impacts to other resources directly affected by the proposed
project precludes other resources from this cumulative effects analysis.
For air quality, the analysis in Section 4.1.2.2 indicated that maximum
predicted concentrations would be less than the significant impact
levels. Therefore, additional modeling including other sources and
background concentrations is not required under air quality guidelines
for regulatory permitting of the facilities (EPA 1990). Correspondingly,
the significant impact levels can be used as thresholds for determining
the potential for cumulative impacts under NEPA. Because the analysis
indicated that maximum predicted concentrations would be less than the
significant impact levels, the proposed facilities would not contribute
to cumulative air quality impacts.

Each resource analyzed has an individual spatial (geographic) boundary,
although the temporal boundaries (time frame) can generally be assumed
to equal the 26-year life expectancy of the proposed facilities. For
greenhouse gases including CO~2~ emissions, a global spatial boundary
was used in the analysis; for water resources, the Susquehanna River
watershed was used as the spatial boundary; for socioeconomic resources,
Schuylkill County was used.

As discussed in Section 4.1.2.2, an increase in CO~2~ emissions at a
specific source is effective in altering CO~2~ concentrations only to
the extent that it contributes to the global total of fossil fuel
burning that increases global CO~2~ concentrations. The proposed
facilities would increase global CO~2~ emissions by about 832,000 tons
per year, which is about 0.003% of global CO~2~ emissions of
26,713 million tons resulting from fossil fuel combustion in the year
2000. Thus, increases from the proposed facilities would be large in
terms of number of tons per year but small in comparison with global
totals.

Water consumption by the proposed facilities would contribute to a trend
of increasing diversion and consumptive use of water from the
Susquehanna River Basin.[^1] The Susquehanna River Basin Commission
(2003) found that diversions and consumptive uses of water from the
27,510-square-mile Susquehanna River watershed increased 85% between
1970 and 2000 (from a daily maximum of 270 million gal per day in 1970
to a maximum of about 500 million gal per day in 2000) and could
increase an additional 55% by 2020. In this region, consumptive uses and
diversions that affect surface waters could adversely affect the
maintenance of minimum stream flows needed to sustain aquatic habitats
or dilute treated wastewater effluents. Langland et al. (2001) did not
find any long-term trend in Susquehanna River stream flow during the
period from 1985 to 1999, but reported large variability in flow.
Increased industrial use of mine pool water has been a small contributor
to the basin-wide trend toward increased consumptive use. Veil et al.
(2003) identified 5 power plants, including the Gilberton Power Plant,
in the anthracite coal mining region that began operation after 1980 and
use mine pool water from the Susquehanna River Basin for cooling and
other purposes. These plants withdraw a total of about 3,600 gpm (more
than 5 million gal per day); the majority of this water is discharged
after use, but a fraction is used consumptively. The proposed
facilities' net consumption of 2,290 gpm (about 3.3 million gal per day)
from the Susquehanna River watershed would contribute to the general
trend of increased water consumption, adding about 1% to the region's
total water consumption as of 1970 or about 0.7% to consumption as of
2000. The 1985--99 stream flow record suggests that the watershed could
accommodate this added consumption.

Several initiatives to enhance water quality are ongoing, planned, or
proposed for the Mahanoy Creek watershed and the adjacent Shamokin Creek
watershed, which is interconnected by underground mine workings with
downstream portions of the Mahanoy Creek watershed. Initiatives being
undertaken by government, voluntary groups, and private entities include
(1) construction and maintenance of artificial wetlands and other
passive treatment systems at sites where acid mine drainage emerges from
abandoned mines; (2) filling of abandoned surface mine pits; and (3)
removal of abandoned coal refuse piles with subsequent grading and
planting of vegetation at the site to reduce the amounts of sediments,
acid mine drainage, and coal waste runoff entering streams (PDEP 2004d).
The proposed project would contribute to efforts to improve water
quality in the Mahanoy and Shamokin Creek watersheds by reducing the
discharge of Gilberton mine pool water to Mahanoy Creek, removing
anthracite culm piles, filling mine pits, and reclaiming mined lands.

Construction and operation of the proposed facilities would have
socioeconomic impacts that could contribute to cumulative impacts on the
area\'s socioeconomic resources. The Pennsylvania Department of
Environmental Protection recently identified 2 areas of proposed future
growth, the Interstate 81 corridor and the State Route 61 corridor,
located within a few miles of the proposed project site in Schuylkill
County (PDEP 2002). Along the Interstate 81 corridor, the Schuylkill
Economic Development Corporation is attracting industrial development to
the Schuylkill Highridge Business Park and Mahanoy Business Park. The
Schuylkill Highridge Business Park is the largest mixed-use business
park in Pennsylvania, with a 2,000-acre corridor along Interstate 81
between exits 116 and 119. The Park\'s first major tenant, Lowe\'s
Companies, Inc., has constructed a 1.2 million square ft regional
distribution center on a 165-acre parcel. Similar developments are
either underway or will begin construction in the Highridge Business
Park within the next few years (SEDCO 2004):

-   Wegman\'s Food Markets, Inc., distribution complex (1 million square
    ft of building space to be constructed by 2008);

-   Robert Patillo Properties, Inc., (455,000 square ft of building
    space already constructed; another 1.8 million square ft to be
    constructed in the near future for a Sears, Inc., distribution
    center); and

-   Wal-Mart, Inc., frozen foods distribution center (900,000 square ft
    of building space to be constructed).

The 500-acre Mahanoy Business Park is located near exit 131 of
Interstate 81 on Morea Road near Mahanoy City, about 3 miles east of the
proposed project site. Although no buildings have been constructed in
the Mahanoy Business Park, the site is serviced by water, wastewater,
and gas lines and is likely to be developed in the future. The Mahanoy
Business Park could accommodate 2 million square ft of building space
(SEDCO 2004). Except for these ongoing and planned industrial
developments within the Schuylkill Highridge Business Park and Mahanoy
Business Park, no plans exist for large-scale industrial, commercial, or
residential developments within the next few years in Schuylkill County
(Frank Zukas, Schuylkill Economic Development Corporation, personal
communication to J. W. Saulsbury, ORNL, September 22, 2004).

The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation has identified 9 future
road projects in Schuylkill County (PDOT 2004), but 6 of them are far
enough removed from the proposed project site that cumulative impacts
are not likely. However, 3 of the 9 road projects could contribute to
cumulative impacts because they are in close proximity to the proposed
project site or are large enough to have countywide impacts: (1) Mahanoy
City Pipe Replacement (under State Route 54 near the Mahanoy City line);
(2) Interstate 81 Bridge Replacement Phase 2 (near Pine Grove Township);
and (3) State Route 924 Rock Scaling (on a 1-mile section north of
Frackville) (PDOT 2004).

Construction of the proposed project could combine with ongoing and
planned activities, particularly industrial development in the
Schuylkill Highridge Business Park and Mahanoy Business Park, to create
cumulative impacts to socioeconomic resources. The largest contribution
to cumulative impacts from the proposed facilities would be the presence
of 1,000 workers during the 6‑month peak construction period. Such a
large work force could combine with other activities to adversely affect
water and wastewater services and the flow and safety of vehicular
traffic. The proposed facilities\' contributions to cumulative
socioeconomic impacts would continue during project operations, but at a
smaller scale because fewer workers would be present.

[^1]: Diversion refers to the transfer of water to a different
    watershed. Water is considered to be used consumptively when
    evaporated, transpired by plants, or incorporated into manufactured
    products.