Resources

3.13.3 Cumulative Environmental Effects Related to Socioeconomic Resources

As noted in Table 3.2-1, the geographic scope for socioeconomic resources is Carbon County since it is the only county anticipated to be affected by the Project and where most workers would be expected to reside during construction and operation of the Project. It is the county that would experience the greatest effects associated with employment, housing, public services, transportation, traffic, property values, economy, and taxes. As detailed in Table 3.2-2, all identified reasonably foreseeable future actions occur within the geographic scope for socioeconomic resources.

Given that socioeconomics and environmental justice are highly interrelated, this section is supported by the assessment of impacts on environmental justice (Section 3.14).

Issues Identified for Analysis

Socioeconomic issues that could be cumulatively affected by the Project and past, present, and future actions include recreational values and visitor spending, housing and public services, property values, and future business and industrial activity.

The construction and operation of projects could diminish the natural appearance and undeveloped character of recreation areas, which could have an effect on recreation values. If visitation were to decrease due to the presence of these projects and other industrial developments, it could also affect visitor spending and the local economy.

Construction activity would expand regional economic development through increased employment and income in the region. As construction workers spend money in the local area, revenues will increase for local businesses (e.g., hotels, restaurants, gas stations, and grocery stores), supporting jobs, and incomes for these businesses and their employees. In remove areas near the Project, it is likely that construction workers would live temporarily in nearby communities during construction. The potential for cumulative socioeconomic impacts on population, employment, and housing exist where there are multiple projects proposed in an area that have overlapping constructions schedules and/or project operations that could affect similar resources. Concurrent and similar projects could result in a demand for labor that cannot be met by the region’s labor pool, which could lead to an influx of nonlocal workers. Socioeconomic resources potentially affected could include the availability of housing and accommodations as well as the availability of public and social services to accommodate the temporary workers.

Rangeland and cropland in Carbon County could be disturbed on private lands as well as in grazing leases on BLM-administered land. Additional development such as pipelines or other transmission lines, could adversely affect these ranching resources.

Results

Construction activity has the potential to affect temporary housing, recreational and scenic values, and bring a temporary construction workforce to local communities, requiring housing and public services. The potential for cumulative effects between the Project and present and future activities, including transmission, wind facilities, natural gas, and mining