LA-RICS CA Project-Wide Management

FCS is overseeing the environmental compliance process for the Los Angeles Regional Interoperable Communication System (LA-RICS) project. This includes authoring environmental documents necessary to facilitate the construction and establishment of a land mobile radio (LMR) system for first responders in Los Angeles County. The LMR Project would install, operate, and maintain LMR antennas and support equipment on existing or new monopoles and lattice tower support structures or on the rooftops of existing buildings at sites located primarily in Los Angeles County. The LMR sites would contain the infrastructure and equipment necessary to provide day-to-day voice and narrowband data radio communications coverage for emergency responders throughout the County. In addition to overall program and environmental compliance management, FCS’s responsibilities also include preparation and implementation of a Mitigation Monitoring Reporting Program, preparation and execution of mitigation plans, preparation and distribution of informational species-specific pamphlets, conducting required mitigation field monitoring, and development of a Workers Environmental Awareness Program (WEAP) and conducting multiple WEAP training sessions for project construction personnel.

FCS provided biological, archeological, and paleontological monitoring and reporting services during the construction of more than 60 land mobile radio facility sites across the County. These included biological surveys for nesting birds, raptors, special-status plants, protected amphibians, desert tortoise, and Catalina Island fox.