Chapters 1 - U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Chapter 5
Measures shall be implemented to prevent visible dust emissions from leaving the project
site boundary, including, but not limited to, watering prior to and during any earth
movement; watering exposed soil three times per day, as applicable; installing wind
fencing; covering excavated materials to prevent erosion; and stopping work during high
wind conditions.
The load of all haul vehicles shall be covered to reduce fugitive dust generated during the
transport of materials and any stock piled material shall be covered to reduce the
production of dust.
Construction equipment and vehicles shall not track dirt and dust onto public roads and all
equipment and tires shall be washed/swept prior to leaving the project site.
All equipment used on the site shall meet SCAQMD standards.
The additional activities proposed under Alternative B would not generate any additional vehicle
trips following project completion, therefore, these proposal would not generate any long-term air
emissions beyond those already described for Alternative A. Through the implementation of the
measures described above, short-term emissions generated as a result of the proposed restoration
would not contribute significantly to a cumulative increase in short-term emissions.
Compliance with SCAQMD rules and regulations, as well as the implementation of the air quality
measures described above, would ensure that air emission from the implementation of this
alternative would not contribute significantly to a cumulative increase in emissions. Finally, the
proposals in this alternative are not expected to exceed SCAQMD thresholds and Federal “de
minimis” levels, however general conformity analysis may be implemented in the future when
more detailed information about the restoration proposal is available.
Pest Management
Several pesticides are used on the Refuge including herbicides to control invasive plants and
insecticides, applied by OCVCD, to control mosquitoes. Pesticides in general can volatilize from
soil and plant surfaces and move from the treated area into the atmosphere. The potential for a
pesticide to volatilize is determined by the pesticide’s vapor pressure. Surflan AS is considered
non volatile, while Aquamaster, Glyphosate Pro 4, and Habitat are volatile. Because all of these
products are used at such low volumes on the Refuge, even the volatile products quickly become
diluted in the atmosphere, minimizing the effect on local air quality. The potential for adverse air
quality impacts as a result of pesticide use is further reduced through compliance with all federal,
state, and local pesticide use laws and regulations, as well as Departmental, Service, and NWRS
pesticide-related policies. This includes compliance with the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and
Rodenticide Act of 1996 (FIFRA), which requires all pesticides to be applied at the rates and with
the application equipment specified on the pesticide label. The IPM Plan (Appendix C) includes a
number of BMPs that would be implemented in association with pesticide use of the Refuge to
further minimize potential effects to air quality. Some of these BMPs include:
Refuge staff will use low impact herbicide application techniques (e.g., spot treatment,
cut stump, oil basal, Thinvert system applications) rather than broadcast foliar
applications (e.g., boom sprayer, other larger tank wand applications), where practical;
Refuge staff will use low volume rather than high volume foliar applications when the
low impact methods described above are not feasible or practical, to maximize
herbicide effectiveness and ensure correct and uniform application rates;
5-22 Seal Beach National Wildlife Refuge