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June 24, 2026 Negative Declaration – National Grid Gowanda State Road Substation Attachment A Attachment A of Part 3 of Full Environmental Assessment Form (FEAF) PROJECT DESCRIPTION: The Petitioner, Niagara Mohawk Power Corporation d/b/a National Grid (“National Grid” or the “Applicant”), is seeking special use permit approval and site plan approval from the Town of Eden for the construction of a new electric substation (the “Project”) located at 9733 Gowanda State Road (Tax Map No. 253.00-1-9.121) in the Town's Agricultural Priority (“AP”) zoning district (the “Project Site”). Public utility substations are a use subject to special use permit and site plan approval within the AP District. The Project includes approximately four (4) acres of ground disturbance, the realignment of existing transmission lines, the installation of new sub-transmission connections, and the construction of two access driveways onto Gowanda State Road. The Project Site was previously used for agricultural purposes and was created through a subdivision approved in May 2025. According to the Applicant, the Project is intended to provide increased electric grid capacity, reliability, and resiliency to the National Grid system, assuring the continued provision of essential utility services to the Town and surrounding service area. No signage is proposed in connection with the Project other than safety and contact signage to be mounted on the substation's perimeter security fence; no separate Sign Permit is anticipated to be required. No on-site parking is required, and vehicular traffic to the Project Site will be limited to occasional visits by authorized National Grid personnel for maintenance and repair purposes. The substation is an unmanned facility that will operate on a continuous (24 hours per day, 7 days per week) basis. Exterior lighting will consist of six (6) proposed Holophane Predator LED luminaires (or equivalent), mounted approximately 31 feet above grade (from top of concrete) and angled approximately 50 degrees from the ground plane, directed toward the interior of the substation yard. The nearest proposed light fixture will be located approximately 200± feet from the nearest occupied structure. LEAD AGENCY DESIGNATION AND COORDINATED REVIEW: The Town Board has completed a coordinated environmental review of the Project pursuant to SEQR and issued this Negative Declaration during its meeting held on June 24, 2026. The Town Board (or its designee) issued a lead agency solicitation letter to the involved and interested agencies, including the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (“NYSDEC”), the New York State Department of Transportation (“NYSDOT”) given the Project Site's frontage on Gowanda State Road, a state highway corridor, the Erie County Department of Public Works (“ECDPW”), and the Erie County Department of Environment and Planning (“ECDEP”). The thirty (30) day comment period for involved agencies to object to the Town Board's request to act as Lead Agency has expired. None of the involved agencies objected to the Town Board's request to be the designated lead agency, and the Town Board thereafter assumed the role of lead agency for the coordinated environmental review of the Project. The Project has been classified as a Type I action pursuant to 6 NYCRR Part 617 of SEQR, and has been the subject of a coordinated environmental review. Within Part 2 of the Full Environmental Assessment Form, the Town Board, with the assistance of the Planning Board and the Town’s Engineering Consultant, has determined that the potential environmental impacts associated with the Project are no more than small to moderate, and that none of the identified impacts will result in a potentially significant adverse environmental impact. Reasoned Elaboration in Support of Issuance of a Negative Declaration: Based on its evaluation of the criteria for determining significance listed in Section 617.7(c) of the SEQRA Regulations, the Town Board, acting in its capacity as Lead Agency, has determined that all identified areas of environmental concern have been thoroughly evaluated (the “hard look” requirement) and that the Project will not result in any potentially significant adverse impacts on the environment. Criteria 1: A substantial adverse change in existing air quality, ground or surface water quality or quantity, traffic or noise levels; a substantial increase in solid waste production; a substantial increase in potential for erosion, flooding, leaching or drainage problems. Traffic and Access: The substation is an unmanned facility that does not require on-site parking. The Applicant has represented that vehicular trips to the Project Site will be limited to occasional visits by authorized National Grid vehicles for maintenance and repair, and that no regular employee, customer, or visitor traffic will be generated. Two access driveways are proposed onto Gowanda State Road. Given the absence of regular traffic 3