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Visual Impact Assessment Griffith Energy Storage Project 3.1.6 Decommissioning and Site Reclamation The Project has an expected useful life of 30 years. If operations at the site are terminated,the facility would be decommissioned.The Property would be returned to a stable condition comparable to pre- Project conditions in accordance with applicable land use regulations in effect at the time of decommissioning. During decommissioning and site reclamation,the Project would require approximately 15 acre-feet of water for uses similar to those needed during construction. Many of the Project components, including the BESS and onsite substation,would be recycled when the Project's operating life is over. 3.2 Methodology 3.2.1 Visual Impact Criteria For this analysis,the significance criteria outlined in Appendix G of the California Environmental Quality Act Guidelines, as amended,are applied to determine the Project's impact to existing visual resources.The California Environmental QualityAct-definedaesthetic issues of concern are: • Would the proposed Project cause substantial adverse effects on a scenic vista? • Would the proposed Project cause substantial damage to scenic resources, including, but not limited to,trees, rock outcroppings,and historic buildings,within a state scenic highway? • In non-urbanized areas,would the proposed Project substantially degrade the existing visual character or quality of public views of the site and its surroundings? (Public views are those that are experienced from publicly accessible vantage point.) • Would the proposed Project create a new source of substantial light or glare that would adversely affect day or nighttime views in the area? 3.2.2 Visual Change Criteria Visual impacts are generally defined in terms of a project's physical characteristics and potential visibility,as well as the extent to which the project's presence would change the perceived visual character and quality of the environment in which it would be located.Tetra Tech followed the contrast rating system used by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management(BLM)to objectively measure potential changes to the visual environment(BLM 1986).The BLM's contrast rating system is commonly used by federal agencies to assess potential visual resource impacts from proposed projects. Potential visual impacts were characterized by determining the level of visual contrast introduced by the Project based on comparing existing conditions and photograph simulations.Visual contrast is a means to evaluate the level of modification to existing landscape features. Existing landscape is defined by the visual characteristics(e.g.,form, line,color,and texture) associated with the landform (including water),vegetation,and existing development. The BLM's Visual Resource Inventory(VRI) classification system is a baseline description of the existing scenic values in the environment.The VRI developed by the BLM identifies the visual resources of a given area and, based upon specific standards,assigns an inventory class to each area.This process, OTETRA TECH 10 August 2023