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Vantage to Pomona Heights Chapter 4 230 kV Transmission Line Project FEIS Environmental Consequences PAGE 4-247 Only the minority group of Latinos was present to a greater degree in the Block Groups as a whole than in the general population of the four-county Project study area. This remained true in the analysis of individual Action Alternatives, with the exception of Block Group 2, Census Tract 1 described above, which had additional high proportions of two other minority groups. Using the 150 proportion threshold, all Action Alternatives considered were extremely similar. Only three Block Groups presented in Table 4.10-1 are not found within three miles of all Action Alternatives. These three Block Groups are located in Grant and Benton Counties along the Columbia River and are not within three miles of the NNR Alternative - MR Subroute. Block Group 4, Tract 114.02 in Grant County contains the Vantage Substation. All Block Groups from Table 4.10-1 located in Yakima County are within three miles of the Pomona Heights Substation. Therefore, given the substation locations are already established, it would not be possible to route the transmission line anywhere to avoid these Block Groups. 4.10.2.2 Low Income Populations Overall, the Project study area has somewhat more poverty than the four-county Project study area (Benton, Grant, Kittitas, and Yakima counties). The Project study area population contained 16.5 percent of persons who had incomes below the poverty level in 1999. For all Census Block Groups within three miles of any Action Alternative, the percentage was slightly higher, at 17.7 percent. The distinction among Action Alternatives was very small, with all Action Alternatives having 18.3 percent of the population below poverty level except for the NNR Alternative with or without the MR Subroute. The NNR Alternative contained a population 18.2 percent below poverty level. As with the racial and ethnic analysis, there was no difference between the NNR Alternative without the MR Subroute and the NNR Alternative with the MR Subroute in terms of what Census Block Groups are within three miles. Using the threshold of population living under twice the poverty level, the area within three miles of any Action Alternatives was generally poorer than the Project study area as a whole. As with the analysis for race and ethnicity, the next step in the evaluation was to examine each Action Alternative and develop lists of potentially affected Block Groups. Block Groups with 150 percent of the proportion of persons with incomes below the poverty threshold were selected as potentially affected. With the Project study area proportion being 16.5 percent, the selection of Block Groups with over 24.7 percent of their population with incomes below the poverty level is the 150 percent threshold; similarly, Census Block Groups with over 56.9 percent of population being under twice the poverty threshold were included. The resulting list of potentially affected Block Groups was the same for the every Action Alternative, with one exception: Block Group 4, Census Tract 9814, Grant County is not within three miles of the NNR Alternative with or without the MR Subroute. All other potentially affected Block Groups applied to all nine Action Alternatives. These results are displayed in Table 4.10-2. Table 4.10-2 Potentially Affected Census Block Groups Based on Populations with Incomes Below Poverty Level BLOCK GROUP ACTION ALTERNATIVES TOTAL BELOW POVERTY LEVEL BELOW 1.5 TIMES POVERTY LEVEL BELOW TWICE POVERTY LEVEL # # % # % # % Block Group 2, Census Tract 1, Yakima County A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, NNR - MR Subroute 1,043 561 53.8 755 72.4 842 80.7 Block Group 1, Census Tract 1, Yakima County A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, NNR - MR Subroute 868 441 50.8 635 73.2 734 84.6