Almost one year ago this month, I was contacted by Assistant Chief Brian Dubreuil, the New Boston Fire Department Administrator and Deputy Emergency Management Director, who asked if we could help the Town with a grant application for a new fire station. This was an exciting opportunity because the Town had been investigating improvements to the existing fire station (that was constructed in 1973) since 2007. Our team addressed NEPA requirements to replace the aging and structurally deficient existing fire station!
Funding this Massive Project
The Town of New Boston has a federal military facility within its boundary, the New Boston Space Force Station, which made the Town eligible to receive funding from the US Department of Defense’s Office of Local Defense Community Cooperation (OLDCC). The OLDCC Defense Community Infrastructure Pilot Program was created to assist state and local governments in addressing deficiencies in community infrastructure supportive of a military installation.
Where Environmental Permitting Comes in
Receiving federal grant funding comes with some amount of effort, and one important piece is addressing NEPA requirements. The National Environmental Policy Act, or NEPA, was created in 1970 to ensure that all federally funded or authorized actions receive review of the environmental effects of the proposed action, and that such review should be readily available to the public. NEPA documentation is a skill set that the Hoyle Tanner environmental team has polished as we regularly complete NEPA review for our transportation projects through FHWA and FAA and have completed NEPA with other federal agencies including US Fish and Wildlife, the US Department of Agriculture, Northern Border Regional Commission, and the Department of Energy. Because each federal agency has its own unique set of regulations for enacting NEPA, completing NEPA for the OLDCC under the Department of Defense was a new opportunity for our team to take on, and this project could not have been more worthy.
Why the Existing Fire Station Was no Longer Suitable
The current fire station has many deficiencies, including insufficient apparatus bay space, equipment storage, office and training space; it lacks an exhaust system for all apparatus, decontamination areas, showers and onsite gear washing equipment, with no available space for any of these items to be added, and has limited parking space. The station also experiences flooding in the basement during large storm events. Upgrading the current station site to address these deficiencies was determined to be infeasible as there is not enough area within the site to accommodate such changes and land bordering the station is unavailable for use.
Potential locations for the new fire station have been evaluated since 2012, and the Town requested a vote to approve purchasing a site for the new fire station in 2014, which was approved. Since that time, despite the urgent need, the required additional funding needed for construction, which increased over time to the 2023 costs of approximately $9.3 million, was not approved by the voters (so the federal funding is paying for it, without additional funds from the Towns people).
What we Had to Review at the New Location
We jumped on board with the Town staff and Northpoint Engineering, LLC to evaluate the natural, cultural and human resource impacts that could be affected by the project, including wetlands, floodplains, economic justice, cultural or archaeological resources, transportation concerns, noise, and air quality, to name just a few. We first worked with OLDCC staff to prepare a Scoping Notice for distribution to let the community know an Environmental Assessment (EA) was being prepared, and then, over a short nine-month period, a Draft EA was prepared and issued to the public for review and comment. The great news for all involved was that the site chosen was an ideal location for the Town and had almost no resource concerns that needed to be avoided, minimized or mitigated. The OLDCC staff worked diligently with us and the design team to review and authorize the EA so that it was finalized on July 25, just in time for grant issuance.
NEPA Help for Your Community
We are pleased that we could assist the Town in this important project and were happy to be able to attend the groundbreaking ceremony! Contact our team if you have NEPA projects you need assistance with, we are always happy to help!
