Ecological Scoping Assessment Sample Clauses

Ecological Scoping Assessment. An ecological scoping assessment, including a preliminary conceptual site exposure model (PCSEM), was conducted for the facility in Appendix C and is summarized below. The primary purpose of the ecological scoping assessment was to determine whether further ecological evaluation is warranted (NMED 2017). As part of the scoping process, a March 10, 2021, site visit and NMED Site Assessment Checklist were completed. The facility is located in a primarily industrial area along Bloomfield Highway. The facility is covered by a thick non-natural cover with no vegetative communities present within the fence line of the facility. No ecological habitat or potentially suitable habitat for the federally threatened or endangered species is present. No surface water bodies, waterways, or wetlands are located within the site or immediately adjacent to the site. No sensitive environments are present in the vicinity of the facility. No natural habitat is present on adjacent light industrial and agricultural properties (Figure 2-1). The thick gravel or concrete that covers the property eliminates viable habitat, forage material, and subsequently, other food sources. No complete terrestrial exposure pathways exist to lower-trophic- level terrestrial receptor communities (plants, soil invertebrates, amphibians, and reptiles) from direct contact with surface or subsurface soil or to upper-trophic-level terrestrial receptor populations (birds, mammals, amphibians, and reptiles) from incidental ingestion of surface soils or exposure via terrestrial food webs. A transport pathway from the site vadose zone to groundwater, through two aquifers, and subsequent discharge to the offsite San ▇▇▇▇ River is unlikely. This pathway is insignificant/incomplete for the facility because of site size, low levels of detections in soil (Table 2-1), and dilution and attenuation through two aquifers prior to reaching the river. SPLP results (described in Section 2.4.3),