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• The primary or secondary impacts of the project would generally commit future generations to similar uses. • ..The project involves uses from which irreversible damage could result due to project. potential environmental accidents associated with the P �r This section also states that irretrievable commitments of resources should be evaluated to ensure that current consumption is justified. k Implementation of the project alternatives would result in increased short-term production from the project site in the form of aggregate resources. Short-term agricultural productivity would be eliminated, but would be reestablished to agriculture and other open space uses after completion of the project and reclamation of the mined lands. Implementation of the project alternatives would require the irreversible commitment of natural resources, because the project would permit mining and processing of minerals that would not be replenished within normal planning horizons, and would decrease the availability of aggregate resources in the future. Implementation'of the proposed'project would contribute to the permanent conversion of agricultural land to non-agricultural uses within the County. The mining project over the next 56 years would result in the conversion of 54 acres of agricultural land to non- agricultural uses (i.e., pit walls and haul roads). The project alternatives would result in the irretrievable commitment of energy resources (primarily in the form of fossil fuels, including fuel oil, natural gas, and gasoline for automobiles, trucks, and construction equipment) to fuel mining, processing, and subsequent reclamation activities. I 5.3 IDENTIFICATION OF ENVIRONMENTALLY SUPERIOR ALTERNATIVE i 4" Section 15126(4)(4) of the CEQA Guidelines requires that an EIR identify an environmentally superior alternative. If that alternative is the No Project alternative, then the EIR must also identify an environmentally superior project alternative. Environmentally Superior Alternative Based on the environmental impact analysis provided in Chapter 4.0, Alternative 4 (No r Project) is the environmentally. superior alternative. As described in Chapter 3.0, Alternative 4 assumes that existing land uses at the project site would continue and no mining or processing of aggregate materials would occur. As a result, the impacts associated with mining operations, such as traffic, noise, and air quality, would not occur. Therefore, Alternative 4 would be environmentally superior to the other alternatives. i Draft Environmental Impact Report 5-3 ER-96-3 VF