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REQUEST FOR COUNCIL ACTION <br /> DATE: 5/21/2012 <br /> ITEM NO: <br />12.a <br />Department Approval City Manager Approval <br />Item Description: Make a decision regarding the citizens’ petition for an Environmental <br />Assessment Worksheet for the proposed Wal-Mart store at County Road C <br />and Cleveland Ave <br />. <br />1.0B <br />ACKGROUND <br />1 <br />A citizens’ petition for an Environmental Assessment Worksheet (EAW) for the <br />2 <br />proposed Wal-Mart store at County Road C and Cleveland Avenue was submitted to the <br />3 <br />Minnesota Environmental Quality Board (EQB); the petition, in its entirety, is included <br />4 <br />with this report as Attachment A. The EQB rules require the responsible governmental <br />5 <br />unit (RGU—the City of Roseville, in this case) to decide whether an EAW is needed as a <br />6 <br />result of such a petition in light of the existing Alternative Urban Areawide Review <br />7 <br />(AUAR) environmental assessment. <br />8 <br />2.0REQBRAUAREAWEIS <br />EVIEW OF ULES ON S AND S AND S <br />9 <br />2.1To begin this review, a brief comparison of AUARs, EAWs, and Environmental Impact <br />10 <br />Statements (EISs) may be useful. As the Minnesota Administrative Rules establish, the <br />11 <br />content and format of an AUAR is broad-ranging like an EAW, addressing concerns like <br />12 <br />water quality, soil conditions and contamination, traffic, dust, noise, and air emissions <br />13 <br />from vehicles and stationary sources, but an AUAR also provides an in-depth level <br />14 <br />analysis comparable to that of an EIS for direct, indirect, and cumulative potential effects <br />15 <br />typical of urban residential, commercial, warehousing, and light industrial development <br />16 <br />and associated infrastructure. An AUAR also establishes a plan for mitigating the <br />17 <br />potential environmental impacts identified in the analysis. The Rules also note that the <br />18 <br />adoption of an AUAR does not constitute a finding that each potential project within the <br />19 <br />designated boundary has or may have the potential for significant environmental effects; <br />20 <br />instead the adoption of an AUAR is a proactive step to provide thorough environmental <br />21 <br />review for all proposed development, major and minor, within a specified area. <br />22 <br />2.2Minnesota Administrative Rules Part 4410.3610 centers on AUARs. Subpart 1 says two <br />23 <br />main things about AUARs; to paraphrase: <br />24 <br />a. <br />A City may use an AUAR instead of an EAW or an EIS to review anticipated <br />25 <br />residential, commercial, warehousing, and light industrial development and <br />26 <br />associated infrastructure in a particular geographic area within its jurisdiction, if the <br />27 <br />City has adopted a comprehensive plan that includes at least a land use plan, a public <br />28 <br />facilities plan, and an implementation plan. <br />29 <br />b. <br />An AUAR may not be used as the environmental review when certain proposed <br />30 <br />projects would trigger a mandatory EAW or EIS. <br />31 <br />PF12-001_RCA_EAW_052112 <br />Page 1 of 3 <br /> <br />