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Vantage to Pomona Heights Chapter 3 230 kV Transmission Line Project FEIS Affected Environment PAGE 3-213 3.9 SOCIOECONOMICS As was done in the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) and Supplemental Draft Environmental Impact Statement (SDEIS), this section describes the existing conditions (affected environment) and considers issues related to socioeconomics along all Action Alternatives presented in the DEIS and SDEIS, including those raised during scoping. This Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) section consolidates and builds on the information presented in the January 2013 DEIS as well as the January 2015 SDEIS and includes references to those documents throughout the text where appropriate. This FEIS identifies the New Northern Route (NNR) Alternative – Overhead Design Option as the Environmentally Preferred Alternative and has selected the NNR Alternative – Overhead Design Option as the Agency Preferred Alternative. 3.9.1 Data Sources The socioeconomic analysis relies primarily on standard secondary data sources such as census data from the U.S. Bureau of the Census (primarily from decennial censuses covering population, income, and housing characteristics), employment and income data from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis and U.S. Department of Labor, and state-level data from the Washington Office of Financial Management (OFM) and Washington Employment Security Department (WESD). Data from local counties (county budgets) and cities were frequently used. Personal contacts were also made, particularly for information on tax revenues and transient housing. 3.9.2 Current Conditions and Trends, Regional Overview (Project Study Area) 3.9.2.1 The Project Study Area The Project Study Area and Local Area for this analysis are defined based on the geographic extent of potential Action Alternative impacts. The impacts of the Action Alternatives would arise from employment and income generated by their construction and operation. In response to job opportunities, workers would be hired 1) from the local labor force, who would commute to the site or to local businesses with that hiring increase due to the proposed Project and 2) from areas outside the local labor market area, who would relocate to the area either long-term or for only the term of their employment on the Project (likely occupying transient housing such as hotel/motels and recreational vehicle [RV] parks). Populations would increase due to this in-migration, as would demand for housing and public services. Tax revenues would accrue to local taxing jurisdictions, such as counties. The Action Alternative routes are located in four counties: Yakima, Kittitas, Grant, and Benton. Impacts of the Action Alternatives in Benton County would be negligible because only a maximum of about four miles of Route Segment 3c would be located in the remote far northwest portion of the County, approximately 40 miles from any Benton County communities; thus, Benton County is not included in the Project study area (property tax revenues to Benton County are described). Figure 3.9-1 depicts the Project study area, including its primary communities. Socioeconomic data, such as from the U.S. Department of Commerce (Bureau of Economic Analysis [BEA]), WESD, and Washington OFM are often tabulated at the county level, making the county level of analysis convenient for most statistical tabulations. Thus, the Project study area for the Socioeconomics section is defined as Yakima, Kittitas, and Grant counties. The county seats of the three counties could experience some impacts and, thus, Ephrata (Grant County), Yakima (Yakima County), and Ellensburg (Kittitas County) are at times included. The Local Area is defined to better reflect the fact that much of the area in the Project study area will not be appreciably affected due to distance from the Action Alternatives. Communities that could experience