Amador County – The Amador County Planning Commission last week took public comment on a heavy equipment engineers’ school, which has applied for a use permit on the 1,600-acre Garibaldi Ranch, west of Amador City, and south of Dry Town, in Amador County.
The Commission hosted a public scoping session to take public comment on the potential environmental impacts to be analyzed in a Draft Environmental Impact Report. Operating Engineers Local Union 3 submitted a Use Permit application on Feb. 1, with a plan to relocate its training facility from Rancho Murieta, in Sacramento County.
The scoping session April 12 “received comment on the potential environmental impacts that the project could have,” said Cara Augustin, lead planner on the project for the Amador County Planning Department. About 25 people attended the meeting, and five people spoke, with concerns about impacts on fire prevention, air quality, water quality, noise, and aesthetics.
Augustin said those would be among impacts evaluated in the Draft EIR, along with impacts of the project on agricultural and forest resources; greenhouse gas emission; biological & cultural resources; geology & soils; hazards and wildland fires; hydrology; land use; traffic and transportation; utilities & public services; and cumulative impacts.
The EIR will also look at alternatives for the site or the projects, Augustin said. That includes looking at a different kind of project, changing the project, or alternative sites, such as elsewhere in county or out of the county.
An initial study of impacts showed only three areas considered to have less than significant impact. Those areas are minerals, population & housing, and recreation, and will not be evaluated.
The public has until 5 p.m. Monday, April 25 to submit comments on the project, and list anything they want to see addressed in the EIR. Planning Partners, a consultant hired by the applicant, expects to have the Draft EIR released for public review by September or October.
When the Planning Commission gets a Draft EIR, they will release a public notice and announce a meeting for review and comment by the Commission and the public. When released, a minimum 45-day comment period ensues, to take public input on the Draft EIR, and any comments on the Draft EIR would have to be addressed in the Final EIR. The time frame estimated for release of the Final EIR is December.
Following that is certification that the EIR adequately addresses all impacts. After that, the decision can be made for approval or disapproval of the project based on the project’s merits.
Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
