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HomeMy WebLinkAboutSEPA Att M-4 - Shine Boat ramp BDN, LLC – SEPA Checklist Addendum M-4 Page - 1 SEPA Checklist - BDN, LLC Geoduck Farm – Rev. 9/27/19 Addendum M-4 – Use of Shine Tidelands State Park Boat Launch Ramp Description of Property and Potential Usage. This 249 acre seasonal day use State Park is located at Shine Tidelands State Park Road, Port Ludlow, WA. At its extreme south end, adjacent to the northwestern abutment of the Hood Canal Bridge, is a paved public boat launch ramp. The only part of the park that may be used by BDN is the boat launch area. BDN will use the ramp for the loading and launching of a small watercraft (less than 30 feet.) One light truck vehicle will tow the watercraft to the launch ramp, and will launch and retrieve it. Launching and retrieving will require 15 minutes or less. During planting activities, another light truck vehicle will tow an accompanying open trailer of supplies (with 5’ sides) to be loaded into the boat and used in the planting of parcel 721031007. Planting related activities will involve at most one daily launching and retrieval of the vessel, and Shine Tidelands State Park Boat Launch Ramp May 07 2021 BDN, LLC – SEPA Checklist Addendum M-4 Page - 2 1-3 supply trips by the accompanying trailer. Planting activities will occur once per year, typically in June or July, over a period of 20-25 days. During harvesting activities, another light truck vehicle will tow an accompanying open trailer (with 5’ sides) to be loaded at the launch ramp with harvested geoducks from parcel 721031007. Harvesting related activities will involve at most one daily launching and retrieval of the vessel, and 1-3 trips by the accompanying trailer. Harvesting activities will occur between four and seven years after an area of parcel 721031007 has been planted, and that planted area will typically be harvested over a one year period. Harvesting activities at this location will occur only during daylight hours, over a period of about 5 hours per day, three days a week during that one year period. From usage connected with other previously approved BDN activities, it is clear that the Shine Tidelands State Park boat launch facility has very low public usage, due to the lack of a dock, a poorly configured boat launch ramp, and bad currents at the point of launching. No public use of this area has ever been observed while BDN has conducted any activities there. Nonetheless, BDN personnel will be instructed to allow all members of the public priority in using the ramp. If anyone is present at the launch area when BDN arrives, the BDN personnel will wait until that party completes their use of the ramp before commencing any BDN operations there. Cumulative Impacts of the Use of This Parcel by BDN The SMP defines “Cumulative impacts” or “cumulative effects” as “the combined impacts of a proposed development action along with past impacts and impacts of reasonably foreseeable future development actions. (JCC 18.25.100(3)(aa)). “Reasonably foreseeable” is defined as “predictable by an average person based on existing conditions, anticipated build-out, and approved/pending permits.” (JCC 18.25.100(18)(d)). Similarly, the National Environmental Policy Act (“NEPA”) requires the consideration of the cumulative impacts of the Project, which include both direct effects, defined as those impacts "caused by the action and occur[ing] at the same time and place" and indirect effects, which are impacts "caused by the action and are later in time or farther removed in distance, but are still reasonably foreseeable." 40 C.F.R. § 1508.8. Note that although indirect effects may be removed in distance from the proposed action, they nonetheless must be caused by that action; i.e., there must be a "reasonably close relationship" between the environmental effect and alleged cause. Department of Transportation v. Public Citizen, 541 U.S. 752, 767 (2004). The potential limited use of the Shine Tidelands State Park boat launch facility as described above will have virtually no cumulative impact on the park or any other areas, either nearby or distant. No proposed activities at this location will in any way impact any nearby waterbodies or streams in any way that differs from impacts by the general public using the park. No BDN personnel will ever interfere in any way with use of the ramp or the other areas of the park by members of the public. On average, between 15,000 to 22,000 vehicles per day traverse the adjacent Hood Canal Bridge (Study of SR104:US101 to SR3 and SR3:SR104 to SR305, WSDOT.) The Noise and pollution generated by traffic on the adjacent Hood Canal Bridge dwarfs the miniscule addition of the above-described vehicle and trailer trips.