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Ecological Monitoring & Compliance: Hanford, WA

Ecological Compliance Assessment

Form: Request for Cultural and Ecological Review

The Ecological Compliance Assessment portion of EMC directly supports Hanford Site Operations by:

  • ensuring DOE compliance with federal and state wildlife resource regulations
  • analyzing impacts of site operations on ecological resources, including federally-listed species
  • preparing documentation in support of site NEPA analyses
  • preparing mitigation plans for minimizing impacts to protected species and habitat
  • conducting informal consultation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service when warranted.
Ecological compliance assessment on the Hanford Site is guided by the Biological Resources Management Plan and the Biological Resources Mitigation Strategy, and the compliance review process is described in the Ecological Compliance Assessment Management Plan.

Baseline field surveys of the Hanford Site are performed annually, and the species and habitat information is preserved in an electronic database for DOE. This database includes a GIS interface to map proposed DOE actions and compares these actions to distributions of critical species and habitats. Ecological impact reviews are conducted and documented for all projects on the Hanford Site with the potential for impacting the biological environment. These reviews include a brief description of the proposed action as it pertains to the biological environment, a complete description of the species and habitats that will be affected, an analysis of the significance of the impacts, and identification of mitigation needs.

Ecological Compliance Reviews are required for:

  • Any action that requires an excavation permit
  • Any action that would disturb existing vegetation
  • Alterations to building exteriors (due to potential nesting of migratory birds)
  • Demolition of abandoned facilities (due to potential for nesting birds and roosting bats)
  • Any other activity with the potential to impact biological resources.
Those planning an activity that may require an Ecological Compliance Review should submit a Request for Cultural and Ecological Review early in the project planning process so that appropriate field surveys, if needed, may be scheduled for the spring when most biological activity occurs on the Hanford Site.

Hanford Site Annual Baseline Survey Maps

The following maps describe plant communities within the industrial areas of the Hanford Site. Plant communities are mapped on a scale that is useful for determining impacts to habitat units, approximately 100 m2, based on walking surveys conducted annually during the spring when plant species can be reliably identified. Community boundaries are mapped using GPS. Boundaries are remapped as needed, for example, if construction activities encroach on a habitat, and species composition records are kept on an annual basis.

2004 Survey Maps

EMC

Population Monitoring & Characterization

Compliance

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