Public Notice - FEMA Draft Environmental Assessment for Colonel's Island Flood Project
Federal Emergency Management Agency PUBLIC NOTICE Notice of Availability of the Draft Environmental Assessment For the Colonel’s Island Terminal Flood Mitigation Project
Posted 7/13/2023
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) hereby gives notice to the public of its intent to assist in the funding of a project located in the Brunswick, Georgia. This notice applies to the Hazard Mitigation Assistance Program (HMGP) application for the elevation of Parcel B parking lot.
This public notice concerns activities pertaining to the efforts. Southeast Georgia experienced two Presidentially declared disasters within less than two years, Hurricane Matthew in October 2016 (DR-4284) and Hurricane Irma in September 2017 (DR-4338) with each resulting in extensive flooding in coastal Georgia.
The need for this project is for GPA to have a reliable space at Parcel B to store and process automobile units with minimal to no flooding damages. The CIT experienced significant flooding that damaged thousands of automobile units. An estimated 7,000 units were damaged on the paved areas of Parcel B and surrounding parcels. The Parcel B parking lot received severe flood damage due to its relatively low elevation as compared to adjacent parcels. The purpose of the action alternatives presented in this EA is to consider alternatives that would reduce the risk of flooding and property loss and the associated threats to human health, safety, and welfare. These are consistent with the objectives of FEMA’s HMGP to reduce the impact of natural disasters on the built environment. This disaster declaration authorized the DHS' FEMA to provide federal assistance that includes HMGP to the designated areas under Section 404 of the Stafford Act.
An Environmental Assessment (EA) has been drafted in accordance with National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the President’s Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) regulations for implementing NEPA (40 Code of Federal Regulations [CFR] 1500-1508) and regulations adopted pursuant to the Department of Homeland Security Directive 023-01, Rev 01, and FEMA Directive 108-1. An alternatives analysis was performed, which included the evaluation of the the proposed action and no action alternative Further detailed descriptions of all alternatives may be reviewed in the draft EA conducted by FEMA or by contacting FEMA-R4EHP@fema.dhs.gov for a copy. The draft EA is available for public comment and can be viewed on FEMA’s and the applicant’s website at the following locations:
- FEMA WEBSITE LOCATION: https://www.fema.gov/emergency-managers/practitioners/environmental-historic/nepa-repository
- The Georgia Ports Authority WEBSITE LOCATION: https://gaports.com/organization/public-notices/
A hardcopy of the draft EA is available for review at the https://gaports.com/organization/public-notices/ and https://www.fema.gov/emergency-
managers/practitioners/environmental-historic/nepa-repository, to be accessible at any time of day.
The Endangered Species Act (ESA) requires federal agencies to consult with the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) for effects to federally listed threatened and endangered species. FEMA has determined that the proposed project has no effect on listed threatened or endangered species.
The National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) requires federal agencies to consider the effects of their undertakings on historic properties. FEMA consulted with the State Historic Preservation Officer (SHPO) and federally recognized 10 (ten) Tribes with an ancestral interest Hardin County, Kentucky. FEMA received concurrence from SHPO and Tribes for a determination of No Historic Properties Affected.
Presidential Executive Orders 11988 and 11990 require that all federal actions in or affecting the floodplain or wetlands be reviewed for opportunities to relocate and evaluated for social, economic, historical, environmental, legal, and safety considerations. The project location is is located within a special flood hazard area, per Glynn County Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) number 13127C0218H , dated 1/5/2018. Wetlands within the project area include marshland approximately 88 feet from the project area.
President Biden issued new Executive Orders 13985 and 14008 in January 2021 to further address the need to achieve environmental justice and equity across the federal government. The issuance of the new executive orders more than 20 years after Executive Order 12898 was signed indicates the administration’s directive to federal agencies to renew their energy, effort, resources, and attention to environmental justice. FEMA is working with recipients/subrecipients to identify communities with Environmental Justice concerns and provide an avenue for local groups and non-profits with an Environmental Justice mission to self-identify so that FEMA Programs can start to work with them on specific projects from the beginning of the application process.
This will serve as the final public notice regarding the above-described action funded by the FEMA Hazard Mitigation Assistance Program (HMGP). Interested persons may obtain information about these actions by emailing FEMA-R4EHP@fema.dhs.gov. Comments should be sent in writing with the subject line “FEMA HMGP-4284-0059- Colonel’s Island Terminal Flood Mitigation Project” at the above address within 30 days of the date of this notice.
