Final FONSI and EA for hot cargo pad on Kirtland AFB - Kirtland Air ...

<strong>Final</strong> <strong>EA</strong> Addressing Construction, Operation, <strong>and</strong> Maintenance of a Hot Cargo Pad
(i.e., st<strong>and</strong>ard glass windows will shatter <strong>and</strong> unstrengthened buildings will receive 5 percent damage)
(USAF 2009). The IB distance applies to several different types of ESs, including buildings <strong>and</strong>
operations involving people not related to munitions/explosives work, joint DOD/non-DOD use runways,
<strong>and</strong> high-density PTRs.
3.12.2 Existing Conditions
Pad 5 is the only <strong>cargo</strong> <strong>pad</strong> at Kirtl<strong>and</strong> AFB with a sufficient surrounding clear zone to accommodate <strong>hot</strong>
<strong>cargo</strong> (i.e., weapons, ammunition, explosives, <strong>and</strong> other hazardous <strong>cargo</strong>). However, Pad 5 is
deteriorating due to cracking, spalling, <strong>and</strong> failing of the <strong>pad</strong>’s Portl<strong>and</strong> cement concrete caused by ASR,
<strong>and</strong> disintegration of the taxiway’s asphalt due to age. The condition of Pad 5 was rated SERIOUS (just
above FAILED) <strong>and</strong> assigned a C-17 FOD rating of POOR (lowest possible rating) in a 2004 Air Force
Civil Engineering Support Agency airfield condition survey. The report ranked replacement of Pad 5 as
the installation’s highest priority (KAFB undated).
The deficient condition of Pad 5 <strong>and</strong> its taxiway have the potential to jeopardize aircraft safety, <strong>and</strong> delay
or abort critical <strong>hot</strong> <strong>cargo</strong> missions due to FOD <strong>and</strong> aircraft tire-cut potential. In addition, the existing
lighting at Pad 5 is not sufficient <strong>and</strong> further jeopardizes aircraft safety. During the past 5 years,
approximately $1 million has been spent on repairs to the <strong>pad</strong> <strong>and</strong> taxiway, but a stable state of repair is
difficult due to its continual use (<strong>hot</strong> <strong>cargo</strong> is continuously flown in <strong>and</strong> out of Kirtl<strong>and</strong> AFB) <strong>and</strong> repairs
are ongoing.
3.13 Socioeconomics <strong>and</strong> Environmental Justice
3.13.1 Definition of the Resource
Socioeconomics. Socioeconomics is the relationship between economies <strong>and</strong> social elements such as
population levels <strong>and</strong> economic activity. Factors that describe the socioeconomic environment represent
a composite of several interrelated <strong>and</strong> nonrelated attributes. There are several factors that can be used as
indicators of economic conditions <strong>for</strong> a geographic area, such as demographics, median household
income, unemployment rates, percentage of families living below the poverty level, employment, <strong>and</strong>
housing data. Data on employment identifies gross numbers of employees, employment by industry or
trade, <strong>and</strong> unemployment trends. Data on personal income in a region are used to compare the be<strong>for</strong>e <strong>and</strong>
after effects of any jobs created or lost as a result of a proposed action. Data on industrial, commercial,
<strong>and</strong> other sectors of the economy provide baseline in<strong>for</strong>mation about the economic health of a region.
Environmental Justice. Consideration of environmental justice concerns includes race, ethnicity, age,
<strong>and</strong> the poverty status of populations in the vicinity of a proposed action. Such in<strong>for</strong>mation aids in
evaluating whether a proposed action would render vulnerable any of the groups targeted <strong>for</strong> protection in
EO 12898, Federal Actions to Address Environmental Justice in Minority Populations <strong>and</strong> Low-Income
Populations, <strong>and</strong> EO 13045, Protection of Children from Environmental Health Risks <strong>and</strong> Safety Risks.
EO 12898 pertains to environmental justice issues <strong>and</strong> relates to various socioeconomic groups <strong>and</strong> the
disproportionate effects that could be imposed on them. EO 13045 ensures consideration of
environmental health <strong>and</strong> safety risks to children from proposed actions. Appendix A includes additional
in<strong>for</strong>mation on EOs 12898 <strong>and</strong> 13045.
3.13.2 Existing Conditions
Demographics. The population of the Albuquerque Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA), defined by the
U.S. Census Bureau as Bernalillo, S<strong>and</strong>oval, <strong>and</strong> Valencia counties, was estimated to be 829,644 people
Kirtl<strong>and</strong> AFB, NM January 2011
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