[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 59 (Monday, March 27, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 16224-16226]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-7472]


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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Employment and Training Administration


Job Corps: Preliminary Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) 
for the Proposed Job Corps Center at the Gillis W. Long Hansen's 
Disease Center, 5445 Point Clair Road, Carville, Iberville Parish, LA

AGENCY: Employment and Training Administration, Labor.

ACTION: Preliminary Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) for the 
proposed Job Corps Center to be located at the Gillis W. Long Hansen's 
Disease Center, 5445 Point Clair Road, Carville, Iberville Parish, 
Louisiana.

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[[Page 16225]]

SUMMARY: Pursuant to the Council on Environmental Quality Regulations 
(40 CFR part 1500-08) implementing procedural provisions of the 
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the Department of Labor, 
Employment and Training Administration, Office of Job Corps, in 
accordance with 29 CFR 11.11(d), gives notice that an Environmental 
Assessment (EA) has been prepared for a new Job Corps Center to be 
located in Carville, Louisiana, and that the proposed plan for a new 
Job Corps Center will have no significant environmental impact. This 
Preliminary Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) will be made 
available for public review and comment for a period of 30 days.

DATES: Comments must be submitted by April 26, 2000.

ADDRESSES: Any comment(s) are to be submitted to Eric Luetkenhaus, 
Employment and Training Administration, U.S. Department of Labor, 200 
Constitution Avenue, NW, Room N-4659, Washington, DC, 20210, (202) 219-
5468 ext. 118 (this is not a toll-free number).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Copies of the EA and additional 
information are available to interested parties by contacting Jose M. 
de Olivares, Region VI (Six) Office of Job Corps, Federal Building Room 
403, 525 Griffin Street, Dallas, TX 75202, (214) 767-2567 (this is not 
a toll-free number).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This Environmental Assessment (EA) summary 
addresses the proposed construction of a new Job Corps Center in 
Carville, Louisiana. The subject property for the proposed Job Corps 
Center is an approximately 28.8-acre parcel within the approximately 
331-acre site formally known as the Gillis W. Long Hansen's Disease 
Center (GWLHDC), operated by the United States Department of Health and 
Human Services (HHS). The GWLHDC has been acquired by the State of 
Louisiana for the purpose of establishing a multi-purpose educational 
and military training facility. Planned programs include not only a Job 
Corps, but also the Youth Challenge Program and a military training 
unit for the Louisiana Army National Guard (LAARNG). The U.S. 
Department of Labor will be leasing the 28.8 acre Job Corps Center site 
from the State of Louisiana.
    The EA indicates that an existing golf course located on the east 
side of the GWLHDC complex will be utilized for the 28.8-acre Job Corps 
Center parcel. The new center will require construction of seven (7) 
new buildings. The proposed Job Corps Center will provide housing, 
training, and support services for 272 resident students. The current 
facility utilization plan includes new dormitories (53,000 square 
feet), a heavy vocational building (17,300 square feet), a cafeteria 
building (10,300 square feet), administration/medical/dental offices 
(11,200 square feet), recreation facilities (18,000 square feet), and 
classroom facilities (21,600 square feet).
    The construction of the Job Corps Center on this proposed site 
would be a positive asset to the area in terms of environmental and 
socioeconomic improvements, and long-term productivity. The proposed 
Job Corps Center will be a new source of employment opportunity for 
people in the Carville, Louisiana area. The Job Corps program provides 
basic education, vocational skills training, work experience, 
counseling, health care and related support services. The program is 
designed to graduate students who are ready to participate in the local 
economy.
    The proposed project will not have any significant adverse impact 
on any natural systems or resources. No state or federal threatened or 
endangered species (proposed or listed) have been on the subject 
property.
    The Job Corps Center construction will not affect any existing 
historic structures on the GWLHDC, and there are no historic or 
archeologically sensitive areas on the proposed property parcel.
    Air quality and noise levels should not be affected by the proposed 
development project. Due to the nature of the proposed project, it 
would not be a source of air pollutants or additional noise, except 
possibly during construction of the facility. All construction 
activities will be conducted in accordance with applicable noise and 
air pollution regulations, and all pollution sources will be permitted 
in accordance with applicable pollution control regulations. The 
proposed Job Corps Center is not expected to significantly increase the 
vehicle traffic in the vicinity.
    The proposed project will not have any significant adverse impact 
on the surrounding water, sewer, and storm water management 
infrastructure. Currently, drinking water at the site is drawn from two 
(2) 400-foot wells and pumped to the GWLHDC water treatment plant via 
pipeline. According to the GWLHDC, the maximum treatment capacity for 
the water treatment plant is 430,000 gallons per day. The projected 
usage requirements for all proposed tenants at the GWLHDC, including 
the Job Corps Center, is less than 200,000 gallons per day. The new 
buildings to be constructed for the proposed Job Corps Center will be 
tied in to the existing GWLHDC water distribution system. The current 
water treatment facility appears more than adequate to support the 
proposed Job Corps Center, and should only require continued 
maintenance and cost effective upgrades.
    The new buildings to be constructed for the proposed Job Corps 
Center will also be tied in to the existing GWLHDC sewer system for 
treatment at the GWLHDC wastewater treatment plant. The wastewater 
treatment plant currently possesses the capacity to effectively treat 
up to 150,000 gallons per day. Based upon the maximum estimated site 
occupancy for all proposed tenants ( 1,250) and using an 
established figure of 60 gallons of wastewater production per day per 
person, the volume of wastewater is estimated at approximately 75,500 
gallons per day. The current system should be more than capable of 
handling the volume of wastewater generated by the proposed Job Corps 
Center and all other proposed uses of the property.
    Currently, all garbage and solid wastes generated at the site are 
disposed under a contract with the GWLHDC. All materials are collected 
and disposed of in accordance with all federal, state and local 
regulations. No solid waste is disposed on site. The proposed Job Corps 
Center will continue to use solid waste contractor to provide waste 
disposal. While the Job Corps Center may increase the amount of solid 
waste generated on-site, this increase will be accommodated through 
additional collection containers (dumpsters) and an increased frequency 
of collection by the contractor. It is not anticipated that this added 
capacity will create a significant impact on the ability of regional 
waste handlers to collect and dispose of waste materials in a safe, 
timely, and efficient manner. Local off-site approved disposal 
facilities should not be impacted by the proposed Job Corps Center.
    Gulf State Utilities provides the primary supply of electricity (a 
4,160 volt power line) to the GWLHDC. The GWLHDC owns and maintains the 
208/480 volt distribution lines throughout the facility. An engineering 
review of the existing electrical infrastructure has determined that 
the existing electrical capacity on the GWLHDC is not adequate to 
provide electrical service to the new buildings proposed for the Job 
Corps Center, so electrical service will

[[Page 16226]]

be extended to the proposed Job Corps Center property parcel in 
accordance with all applicable building codes. This is not expected to 
create any significant impacts to the environment or to the regional 
utility infrastructure.
    The major highway that connects the GWLHDC facility with nearby 
metropolitan cities is U.S. Highway 10, located east of the Carville 
property. No public transportation is available to or from the proposed 
Job Corps Center. Private bus transportation is available from the 
Greyhound Bus Company with a bus station located in St. Gabriel. Rail 
transportation is provided by Amtrak with a station located in Baton 
Rouge. Air transportation is provided by several commercial carriers, 
including American Eagle, Continental, Delta Northwest, and USAirways, 
at the Baton Rouge Metropolitan Airport. The construction of a new Job 
Corps Center will not have any significant impact on the regional 
transportation infrastructure.
    No significant adverse affects to local medical, emergency, fire 
and police services are anticipated. The primary medical provider 
located closest to the proposed Job Corps parcel is the Baton Rouge 
General Medical Center, approximately 15 miles from the proposed Job 
Corps parcel. The Job Corps Center will have a small medical and dental 
facility on-site for use by the residents as necessary. Security 
services at the Job Corps will be provided by the center's security 
staff, with two (2) personnel on the day shift, three (3) on the 
evening shift, and two (2) on the night shift. Law enforcement services 
are provided by the Iberville Parish Sheriff Office Substation, located 
approximately 5 miles from the proposed project site. The local fire 
station is the East Iberville Fire Department located in St. Gabriel. 
The fire department consists of three (3) stations with approximately 
35 volunteers. The GWLHDC has entered into a Memorandum of Agreement 
with the Iberville Volunteer Fire Department for all emergency 
services.
    The proposed project will not have a significant adverse 
sociological affect on the surrounding community. Similarly, the 
proposed project will not have a significant adverse affect on 
demographic and socioeconomic characteristics of the area.
    The alternatives considered in the preparation of this FONSI were 
as follows: (1) No Action; (2) Construction at an Alternate Site; and 
(3) Continue Construction as Proposed. The ``No Action'' alternative 
was not selected. The U.S. Department of Labor's goal of expanding the 
Job Corps Program by establishing new Job Corps Center in under-served 
regions of the United States would not be met under this alternative. 
``Construction at an Alternate Site'' was not selected because the 
Carville site was the only proposed facility in the State of Louisiana, 
and no alternative sites are available for construction within the 
State of Louisiana. Due to the suitability of the proposed site for 
establishment of a new Job Corps Center, and the absence of any 
identified significant adverse environmental impacts from locating a 
Job Corps Center on the subject property, the ``Continue Construction 
as Proposed'' alternative was selected.
    Based on the information gathered during the preparation of the EA, 
no environmental liabilities, current or historical, were found to 
exist on the proposed Job Corps Center site. The construction of the 
Job Corps Center at the Gillis W. Long Hansen's Disease Center, 5445 
Point Clair Road, in Carville, Iberville Parish, Louisiana will not 
create any significant adverse impacts on the environment.

    Dated at Washington, DC, this 21st day of March, 2000.
Mary H. Silva,
Director of Job Corps.
[FR Doc. 00-7472 Filed 3-24-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510-30-U