PROJECTS
Computational Research and Theory (CRT) Project
In 2007–2008, Impact Sciences prepared an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for a laboratory project proposed by the University of California at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) located in Berkeley, California. The proposed Computational Research and Theory CRT project would construct a new 139,000-square-foot laboratory on the Berkeley Lab to house supercomputers. The project EIR was tiered from a program EIR and an Initial Study was prepared to focus the EIR analysis on a handful of key issues. Key environmental issues involved impacts to visual resources, biological resources, geology and soils, hydrology and water quality, and traffic. The complex EIR was completed on schedule in less than one year. Although a CEQA lawsuit was filed by local groups, it was dropped when the judge ruled that a National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) document should be prepared.
The United States Department of Energy (DOE) retained Impact Sciences to prepare an Environmental Assessment (EA) for this project. The document was completed to the DOE’s satisfaction and a Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) was approved. The court ruled that the EA/FONSI satisquare feetied NEPA requirements and that an Environmental Impact Statement was not needed. The project has since been constructed.