Pahrump/ Nye County Fairgrounds

BEC Environmental, Inc.

Pahrump/ Nye County Fairgrounds

BEC Environmental, Inc. (BEC) was retained by the Town of Pahrump to perform an Environmental Assessment (EA) and Phase I Environmental Site Assessments (ESAs) of the Pahrump Fairgrounds Development Area, located at 4670 South Highway 160, Pahrump, Nevada 89048, within a portion of Nye County Assessor’s Parcel Number (APN) 027-741-01. The 75.5-acre project area, within the larger Pahrump Fairgrounds parcel, included the construction of a stormwater detention basin, the extension of a drainage channel to the basin and additional drainage channels, a parking lot, and a community development building. The project was funded, in part, by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program. BEC prepared the Phase I ESA in conformance with the scope and limitations of American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) Standard E 1527-13 for the subject site. The assessment revealed no evidence of recognized environmental conditions in connection with the property. BEC oversaw development of a Cultural Survey and prepared the draft Section 106 Consultation Package for the Pahrump Fairgrounds Development Area project. Nye County, on behalf of the Town of Pahrump, submitted the Section 106 package to the Nevada State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) with a finding of No Historic Properties Affected. The SHPO concurred with this finding. BEC evaluated the potential presence of threatened and endangered species within the project area. Presence-absence surveys were conducted for Mojave Desert tortoises within the proposed project area and on the portions of the adjacent parcel considered potential Mojave Desert tortoise habitat by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). The results were summarized within a Biological Evaluation and Nye County and the State of Nevada concurred with a Finding of No Effect. BEC incorporated the findings of these studies and evaluated the potential impacts on other required compliance and environmental assessment factors in a draft Environmental Assessment. As part of the Environmental Review package, BEC also drafted comment and consultation request letters, tribal outreach letters, and public notices.