| Draft Environmental Impact Statement Shorts School Road Am Antenna Structures 14 2.3 Alternatives Pursuant to WAC 197-11-440(5)(d), SEPA analysis of alternate locations other than the location under consideration is not required for a private project on a specific site. The lead agency is required to evaluate only the �no action� alternative plus other alternatives for achieving the proposal�s objective on the same site. However, for this project there are existing documents that provide information regarding the site selection process undertaken by the Applicant for the project. Four site-specific locations and four general areas have been evaluated to determine the feasibility of relocation to those sites. See Appendix A, Engineering Report: Site Selection Rationale for New KRKO Facility (Hatfield & Dawson, July 26, 2001). See also Appendix B, Excerpts of the Environmental Assessment: KRKO-AM, S-R Broadcasting, Co., Inc. Master Planned Antenna Site, Snohomish, Washington, pages 12 �15, (LSI ADAPT, July 28, 2001). These previously prepared technical reports and excerpts are included as Appendix A and B to this Draft EIS. The Environmental Assessment and the Site Selection Report prepared in 2001 analyzed four alternative locations for this project, including the existing Larimer Road location, the KCIS-AM transmitter site in Mill Creek, a location in the Tualco Valley north of the prison farm, and the Shorts School Road site. Each location was measured against 14 criteria designed to evaluate the feasibility of those sites for an AM transmitter facility. See Table 2. Site Selection Criteria on page 15 of this Draft EIS. The Applicant�s site selection process was also considered during the 2002 public hearings on the proposal. Testimony by both project proponent and opponent consulting engineers indicated that in order to improve its broadcast capability, KRKO should move its transmitter to a new location in the Snohomish River Valley, although proponents and opponents differed on a preferred location. Proponent engineering testimony presented the Shorts School Road site as the most appropriate. Opponent engineering testimony identified no locations on elevated terrain (i.e. all terrain surrounding the Snohomish River Valley) that would be acceptable for AM engineering purposes.14 Ground conductivity data introduced into the record from the KCIS transmitter site, measurements to the west and southwest from the current KRKO transmitter site, and test measurements made from a newly proposed transmitter site near Carnation demonstrated the deficiencies found in sites immediately proximate to high hillsides (closer than 2,000 feet) of glacial till or on areas surrounding the Snohomish and Snoqualmie River Valleys.15 Both the opponent and proponent engineers agreed that a location in the Snohomish River Valley, the location of both KRKO-AM and KWYZ-AM for over 40 years, was best for AM signal transmission, though they disagreed on location, the opponent engineer suggesting a location 1,000 feet east of the current KRKO transmitter site, and the proponent engineer testifying regarding the current alternative on Shorts School Road. The stated goal of the Applicant for the proposal is to cover, both for commercial and emergency broadcast purposes, the maximum amount of Snohomish County possible. A location 1,000 feet east of the current KRKO transmitter site would not meet FCC directives to minimize the number of residences within the 1V/m contour. Given the proposed transmitter signal strength 14 February 11, 2002 Hearing Record Tapes from George Frese 15 February 7, 2002 Hearing Record Tapes, Site Selection, Steven Lockwood |