The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is seeking comments from the public on a draft Environmental Assessment of plans for proposed new construction, renovation and upgrading of existing buildings, facilities, access roads, parking areas and utilities on approximately 40 acres of land located at the Mingo Job Corps Center on Mingo National Wildlife Refuge in Stoddard County, Missouri. Written comments on the draft EA will be accepted through Dec. 14, 2001.
If implemented, the project will improve outdated Job Corps Center facilities, decrease current overcrowded conditions, and permit development and construction necessary to maintain services and programs, and provide safe and adequate infrastructure needed to insure participation of students in training programs.
Three alternatives are presented in the draft EA, including:
Alternative A: No Action - No new activities would be implemented with this proposal. The existing arrangement of offices, classrooms, shops, dormitories and other buildings would remain the same and would continue to be used.
Alternative B - Partial Upgrade of Center: The Facility Survey completed by the Department of Labor included a plan of the new construction for a five-year period. This alternative would construct a new welding shop, a new security building, expand the administration building, construct an addition to the gym, renovate the recreation hall into an office building, construct a new flammable storage building, and renovate the west end of the dispensary into a Health Occupations classroom. This alternative would involve limited construction on the site and major rehabilitation of existing facilities. This alternative would take approximately five years to implement.
Alternative C - Complete Upgrade of Center (Preferred Alternative): This alternative would involve major construction of new facilities and expansion of old facilities. All old temporary facilities on the Center would be demolished. Facilities would be constructed and renovated to meet all the needs of the students and staff in space and safety issues. This alternative would include constructing a new welding shop, new administration building addition with a pass office in it, new health occupations building, an addition to Dormitory 4 (female), an addition to the gym, new Dormitory 1 (male), new dispensary, storage addition to the kitchen, a new storage building, new pavilion by Gritman Lake, fire cache, outdoor club building (meeting room and storage) and rehabilitate the sewage lagoons. This alternative would take approximately 15 years to implement.
Copies of the draft EA are available at the Mingo Job Corps Center Office of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service located at 4253 State Highway T, Puxico, Missouri 63960, phone: 573-222-2620. The document is also available on the Internet at http://midwest.fws.gov/nepa Written comments on the draft EA will be accepted through Dec. 14, 2001. Please send comments to Don Riggle at the Mingo Job Corps Office address above or via electronic mail to: riggled@jcdc.jobcorps.org.
