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HomeMy WebLinkAboutSchedule Rev 2 - FINAL - jkPage | Project Schedule - 1 PROJECT SCHEDULE The DEIS contains conflicting and confusing information concerning the scheduling of the Project. The proposed construction schedule for the Project is described in Section 3.10.2 of the DEIS (pp. 284- 287) entitled “Description of Proposed Construction Schedule and Activities”. According to that section of the DEIS, the schedule will include: • Site Preparation (Tree Removal and Grubbing) and Haul Road Construction (Approximately 2 Weeks); • Phase 1 (Excavation) (completed in approximately five-to-six months); • Phase 2 (Excavation) (completed in approximately 2 to 4 weeks) • Phase 3 (Construction) (completed in approximately six (6) months) The DEIS also notes that the Traffic Impact Study (TIS) (DEIS Appendix O) which makes use of the same schedule “relied upon the construction schedule and details provided by Red Rock Construction [DEIS Appendix F], included in various sections of this DEIS” (DEIS p. 211). However, the DEIS is neither internally consistent, nor consistent with the TIS, in regard to the Project’s schedule. For example, the TIS states that the “proposed excavation plan includes two routes1 for truck movements and would occur over a projected duration of approximately five to six months based upon loads of 30 cubic yards per truck and five-day work weeks” (TIS p.34). This contrasts with the 5.5 to 7 months in Section 3.10.2 of the DEIS. The DEIS text and Appendix F of the DEIS (Construction Schedule and Details, as prepared by Red Rock Industries, Inc.) indicates that Phase 1 excavation will take 5-6 months, and Phase 2 excavation will take 2-4 weeks. This is inconsistent with the Traffic Study descriptions noted above. The DEIS states that 4,500 outbound truck trips will be required to remove the excavated sand from the Project site, and that 40 outbound trips will be made each day. This means that the total number of days required will be 113—or 23 5-day work-weeks. However, given that the DEIS indicates that no work will be performed on Federal or State holidays (there are 6 weekday holidays in the six months between mid-Dec 2023 and mid-June 2024), the total number of weeks required to complete Excavation Phases 1 and 2 would actually be 24. Assuming that the actual number of truck trips required to remove sand is 5,480 (based on truckloads of 25 CY, rather than 30 CY)2 the Project will require 137 days (28 weeks) without taking holidays into 1 The two routes refer to the route for construction Phase 1 and the route for Construction Phase 2. The TIS is clearly referring to both construction phases, combined. 2 The 25 CY limit is based upon the weight of a CY of sand from the Project site (as provided in DEIS Appendix H) and the maximum allowed weight (107,000 pounds) of each outbound haul truck (32,5000 pounds for the unloaded truck plus 74,500 pounds of sand). Page | Project Schedule - 2 account. Including holidays, the total number of weeks required would be 29, without taking into account weather or equipment issues. The DEIS has not adequately addressed concerns regarding potential weather and task delays. The DEIS scope calls for the DEIS to discuss “how the unexpected site conditions, weather, pandemic, and work flow and schedule changes will be addressed to not impact the community?” (p.26). The Planning Board determined that the original DEIS had not adequately addressed this issue because it stated only that “the proposed construction schedule is a maximum time period and considers delays that could occur from unexpected weather and task delays" (original DEIS Page 272). The Planning Board requested that the revised DEIS clarify “What is unexpected weather? What would be considered task delays?” The Applicant’s annotated version of the Planning Board’s comments indicates that the DEIS “Narrative [has been] expanded, as requested. It has not. The revised text states only that: “Task delays could be expected during unexpected snow events or wet weather during site preparation, which would impact work on the site. However, the construction schedule provided in this DEIS includes over-estimates should delay occur” (p. 287).3 There are a number of problems with these statements. Nowhere in the DEIS, or the TIS, is there an estimate of the number of days that the Project may be delayed because of weather-related (or task delay) issues. It should be remembered that most of the Project’s haul-truck traffic will be on the road during the winter months. Nowhere in the DEIS or TIS is there a discussion of what, if any, conditions would determine if the operation of Project haul trucks will be limited or suspended. This is especially important since most of the haul truck traffic to and from the Project site will take place during the winter and spring months. The DEIS states (p. 17) that “Phases 1 and 2 are excavation phases to occur over 5.5 to 6.5 months.” At another point (p. 309) it states that the excavation phase will require from 6-7 months. This inconsistency is complicated further by the fact that the DEIS repeatedly states that Excavation Phase 1 “is proposed to be completed within approximately five-to-six (5-6) months” (DEIS pp. xxx, 18, 34, 209, 239, 284, 286). However, on page 292, it states that “projected truck trips would be 40 entering trucks and 40 exiting trucks per day during the four-month excavation period for Phase 1” (emphasis added). In other words, the DEIS at various points states that the excavation phases will take anywhere from 4.5 to 7 months. According to the DEIS, “Phase 2 [Excavation] would be up to 1 month (2 to 4 weeks) with a commencement date of May 2024” (rev DEIS p. xxx, 18, 34, 286), and “Phase 3 [Construction] would be completed in approximately six (6) months with a commencement date of May 2024” (rev DEIS p.19, 3 It is unclear if this sentence is intended to apply to snow events during all phases of the Project and only to wet weather during the site preparation phase, or to snow and wet weather during all phases of the Project. Page | Project Schedule - 3 286). This suggests that excavation and construction phases will overlap. If so, the impact assessments in the DEIS (notably the noise assessment) need to be revised to reflect this fact. As noted above, even without taking into account “delays that could occur from unexpected weather and task delays,” the Project cannot be completed within five months. If, in fact, because of weight limitations, the total number of truck trips will greater than assumed in the DEIS, the Project could not be completed in six months even if there were no “weather-related (or task delay) issues.” Assuming that there will be no delays is a totally unrealistic assumption. The schedule, as proposed, does not (contrary to the claim in the DEIS) appear to take into account adverse weather conditions, or time lost to things such as equipment breakdowns. Potential Delays in Project Start Date As noted above, the Project schedule as described in the DEIS calls for the excavation phases, which will include thousands of truck trips by 22-wheel tractor trailer haul trucks, to end, under the most optimistic schedule given in the DEIS, on or about early June, 2024. Under the maximum time period described in the DEIS for the excavation phases, it would end in mid-July, 2024. However, if these time frames have been underestimated, as seems likely, because the number of haul truck trips has been underestimated, or if the start date of the Project is delayed for any reason, then haul truck traffic will be traveling on local roads during the summer or even fall. These are the periods that experience the highest traffic volumes along the Project truck route, notably along Sound Avenue, and there are long- standing well documented community concerns about summer and fall traffic. ANY increase in traffic on Sound Avenue during the summer and fall constitutes a significant adverse environmental impact. Many of the analyses in the DEIS (notably traffic) are based upon a Project start date 4 in early December 2024. A December or January Project start date will be the only Project start date that would result in the six months of Excavation Phase haul truck traffic avoiding the peak summer/fall traffic season on Sound Avenue. If the December 2023 start date cannot be met, then the Project start should be delayed until December 2024. Should this happen, much of the data in the DEIS will have aged to the point that it cannot be used. This is especially true in regard to traffic and economic impacts. The proposed Project schedule calls for Phase 3 (Construction) to “occur over approximately 6 months with a commencement date of May 2024. During Phase 3, it is expected that work would be performed 6 days per week (Monday-Saturday) with time limited to 7:00 am to 7:00” (DEIS p. 19). Should there be any delay in the start of Phase 3, resulting in construction taking place between October thru early March, some portion of each workday will occur after sundown. For example, in early December, sunset in Mattituck is as early as 4:21 PM. This is more than 2.5 hours before the end of the proposed work day. In the absence of lighting the work area, construction would have to halt at the onset of darkness. 4 The DEIS states that Excavation Phase 1 would “commence in mid-December 2023” (p.284). Clearing and grubbing of the Project site would precede this by two weeks. The December 2023 start date appears to be very optimistic given the likelihood of future litigation challenging the Planning Board’s decision. Page | Project Schedule - 4 This would result in the lengthening of the overall Project schedule. Alternatively, temporary lighting could be used to allow construction to continue after dark. This possibility, with its attendant lighting impacts is not addressed in the DEIS. Another potential cause of a delay is the fact that the Northern Long-Eared Bat (NLEB), an endangered species, may be present in the Project area. For this reason, the DEIS has proposed as mitigation that all tree clearing activities (destruction of LLEB habitat) be conducted, in accordance with USFWS and NYSDEC requirements be conducted between December 1 and February 28.5 For that reason, any delay of Project start past February 28 would require a delay until the following December 1. 5 The proposed mitigation was based on the assumption that the NLEB was a threatened species. However, On March 31, 2023 the NLEB officially became an endangered species.