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Vantage to Pomona Heights Chapter 4 230 kV Transmission Line Project FEIS Environmental Consequences PAGE 4-233 Table 4.9-5 Current and Project Labor Income by Action Alternatives ACTION ALTERNATIVE LABOR INCOME WAGE AND BENEFIT PAYMENTS INCOME MULTIPLIER Alternatives A-H $5,500,000 $4,000,000 1.38 NNR Alternative* $3,936,943 $2,881,302 1.37 NNR Alternative - MR Subroute $4,478,322 $3,300,667 1.36 *Agency Preferred Alternative Only very minor differences among Alternatives A-H would occur because wages paid and purchases of local goods and services vary by extremely small amounts. Population and Housing Only three or four of the on-site construction jobs would be filled by workers from the Study Region labor supply. The remainder, plus the average of five visiting personnel, would be filled by in-migrating or visiting workers who would not bring dependents and who would choose transient housing. It is also likely that the firms directly supplying goods and services for construction (aggregate, business services, etc., shown in Table 4.9-2) would recognize the sales to the Project as temporary and either increase the hours of existing employees or make temporary hires that would be unlikely to be filled by in-migrants. The remaining jobs created by Project construction may not be recognized by firms as temporary due to construction and some in-migration could occur in response to this increase in employment, but would be limited by the presence of substantial numbers of unemployed local persons who would be more likely to take these jobs. A high estimate is that 15 to 20 jobs created by the Project could be filled by in-migrants or by local persons who otherwise would leave the Study Region. This estimate includes the three or four jobs expected to be filled by local hires and the 8 to 12 jobs created by induced and indirect effects shown in Table 4.9-4. As the Study Region employment base increases over time, these persons could remain as permanent residents even after the temporary demand increase due to Project construction is done. Average household size in the Study Region was 2.74 in 2010 (Table 3.9-3, Section 3.9.2.3). If in- migrants bring with them households of this size, the population impact of the Project would be 43 to 58 persons. This estimate may be high as persons who migrate for employment opportunities generally have smaller household sizes than the general population. This represents an unnoticeable increase in the 2013 Study Region population of 386,970 (0.01 percent). The supply of rental housing in the Study Region is somewhat tight and is expected to remain so, as the housing construction sector nationally is expected to continue to recover very slowly. However, with 4,149 vacant units for sale or for rent in 2010, of which 2,686 were for rent (Table 3.9-3, Section 3.9.2.3), the local rental and ownership housing supply can readily accommodate an increase in demand of an estimated 15 to 20 units. Itinerant workers at the site would add to the temporary population of the Study Region, particularly in nearby communities that have available transient housing. These persons would number an average of approximately 45 persons: 40 in-migrating construction workers on-site, plus about five visitors; during the peak period of construction, transient workers would number about 50 persons. Some of the itinerant construction workers would travel via RVs, increasing demand for RV spaces, with the remainder seeking hotel rooms and a few renting temporary housing. As described in Section 3.9.2.3, RV and hotel spaces close to the Action Alternatives are likely to be available in Yakima, Ellensburg, and Vantage. If demand for RV and hotel units originates in one location along the route (such as if construction proceeds from one end to the other), the demand increase due to the Project could strain the nearby supplies and workers may have to find hotel or RV spots at