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Hazardous Materials <br />Affected Environment <br />Facilities or properties that have released hazardous material or waste to the environment, or that <br />manage hazardous material or waste in significant quantities, are required to report these activities <br />to both federal and state regulatory agencies. The first step in evaluating a potential for hazardous <br />material impacts on the environment involves reviewing current databases maintained by these <br />agencies. <br />The alternative courthouse sites have been evaluated and classified according to whether <br />1) chemical releases to the environment have been identified, or 2) hazardous materials have been <br />managed, with no release identified. Regulatory files have been reviewed and compiled for each <br />alternative courthouse site having a reported environmental release of a hazardous substance, in <br />order to determine the magnitude of environmental impact, the potential to affect project <br />construction, and the potential to affect public health and safety. <br />Historical information was reviewed for the vicinity of each alternative courthouse site to <br />identify historical activities that may have affected soil and ground water. Sources reviewed <br />include the following: <br />' Sanborn fire insurance maps compiled from the late 1800s to 1969, when <br />available <br />' Historical aerial photographs with coverage from the 1940s to the 1990s <br />' City directories dating from the late 1800s to the present <br />' Property title records dating from 1950 to the present <br />^ Records of previous environmental site investigations provided by <br />property owners at some of the project alternative locations. <br />A site reconnaissance provided verification of property configurations, interviews with property <br />representatives, and first-hand knowledge of site settings, including the surrounding environs. <br />-; The results of these investigations are presented in the phase I environmental site assessment <br />reports for the federal courthouse alternatives (Herrera 2000a,b). Based on these results, soil and <br />ground water sampling has been performed at each site to verify the conditions identified. <br />New Federal Courthouse 97 Final EIS <br />