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discharges.Notwithstanding existing regulatory controls,water quality in the Sacramento and San Joaquin
<br /> Valleys continues to degrade. It is concluded that regional water quality would continue to be substantially
<br /> affected(or impaired)under future cumulative conditions.
<br /> The MHMP,the Mountain House Master Drainage Plan,Mountain House Stormwater Management Plan,and
<br /> the MHCTP all include specific drainage improvements, water quality protection measures,runoff controls,
<br /> stormwater/sewer maintenance, and management plan directives with which development within the Mountain
<br /> House community must comply.Again,these measures are designed and intended to avoid water quality
<br /> degradation in receiving waters(Old River).The proposed project would replace the existing agricultural uses on _
<br /> the project site with urban uses,and as indicated in Section 4.8,"Water Quality,"would result in a reduction in
<br /> existing constituent loading in runoff from the project site with implementation of the BMPs and other water
<br /> quality requirements of the above identified plans.Furthermore,discharges of runoff from Mountain House to
<br /> Old River would require permitting by the Central Valley RWQCB; such permits are designed to avoid
<br /> significant impacts on receiving water quality.Therefore,the proposed project,like the balance of Mountain
<br /> House(as long as it implements the required BMPs),would result in a less-than-considerable contribution to
<br /> regional degradation of regional water quality.A less-than-significant cumulative impact would occur.
<br /> 6.3.8 PUBLIC HEALTH AND SAFETY
<br /> Sites or areas that,over the years,have continued to pose potential risks to human health and safety include a variety
<br /> of hazards such as underground hazardous material pipelines(fossil fuels and natural gas),waste disposal areas or
<br /> hazardous materials/storage sites, certain manufacturing plants, dairies,pre-1980 structures containing asbestos or —
<br /> lead-based paints,aboveground storage tank/underground storage tank storage,transformers containing
<br /> polychlorinated biphenyls(PCBs),and electromagnetic fields. Several regulating agencies on both the federal(i.e.,
<br /> U.S. Environmental Protection Agency[EPA],Occupational Safety and Health Administration[OSHA],Nuclear
<br /> Regulatory Commission)and state(i.e.,California EPA[Cal/EPA], California OSHA[Cal/OSHA],Office of
<br /> Emergency Services [OES],and State Water Resources Control Board[SWRCB]through individual RWQCBs)
<br /> levels maintain rigid control over the management,use,and ultimate end disposal of materials deemed hazardous. _
<br /> Although extensive survey data have increased our knowledge of the whereabouts and nature of many of these sites,
<br /> there still remain numerous undocumented sites.Moreover,numerous sites that are known but have yet to complete
<br /> their removal and/or cleanup prescriptions still pose an ongoing threat to human health and safety.
<br /> Apart from clearly identifiable hazardous sites,human safety is at risk any time there are unmonitored structures,
<br /> infrastructure,or facilities.Examples include commercial and commuter rail lines,domestic-waste disposal
<br /> facilities,vacated or dilapidated buildings,transport of hazardous materials,waterways(including flood control
<br /> bypasses), sewage disposal/settling basins,road maintenance activities, and any construction site. The physical
<br /> dangers resulting from this category of sites are more subtle and are compounded when young children are
<br /> present;hence,the importance of school siting and other areas frequented by school-age children(e.g.,day care -
<br /> centers,public playgrounds). In addition to the above,pipelines, gas lines, and transmission lines bisect the
<br /> project site. The MHMP and the mitigation measures in Section 4.9, "Public Health and Safety,"would reduce
<br /> impacts associated with this infrastructure.
<br /> Regionally, as with any area subject to urban growth, such risks associated with these facilities are an ever-present
<br /> reminder of the dangers related to these facilities and locations. Standard due-diligence protocols associated with
<br /> industry Phase I and II Environmental Site Assessments have been largely successful in providing the
<br /> documentation necessary to accurately assess the dangers connected to these facilities(although their intent is based
<br /> primarily on liability awareness and they have focused on hazardous materials for the most part);however,these
<br /> protocols are typically initiated only through a commercial or business transaction.The result is that the
<br /> overwhelming majority of facilities and locations that could be deemed to present both a health and safety risk
<br /> remain undocumented.Therefore, it is anticipated that these risks would only increase as urban encroachment and
<br /> the potential for human exposure increases in the future.Accordingly,impacts on public health and safety would —
<br /> likely increase in the future on a regional basis.
<br /> EDAW College Park at Mountain House Specific Plan III Draft EIR
<br /> Cumulative Impacts 6-10 San Joaquin County
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