Public Notice: City of Wauchula Public Works Fueling Station Hardening Project
JOINT FEDERAL, STATE, LOCAL
PUBLIC NOTICE
07/24/2019
The Federal Emergency Management Agency and Florida Division of Emergency Management have received the following application for Federal grant funding. Final notice is hereby given of the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) consideration to provide funding in the form of Hazard Mitigation Grant Program. Funds will be provided in accordance with Section 404 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, Public Law 93-288, as amended.
Under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), federal actions must be reviewed and evaluated for feasible alternatives and for social, economic, historic, environmental, legal, and safety considerations. Under Executive Order (EO) 11988 and EO 11990 FEMA is required to consider alternatives to and to provide public notice of any proposed actions in or affecting floodplains or wetlands. EO 12898 also requires FEMA to provide the opportunity for public participation in the planning process and to consider potential impacts to minority or low-income populations.
Funding for the proposed project will be conditional upon compliance with all applicable federal, tribal, state and local laws, regulations, floodplain standards, permit requirements and conditions.
Applicant:
City of Wauchula
Project Title:
HMGP-4337-727 Hardee County City of Wauchula Public Works Fueling Station Hardening Project
Location of Proposed Work:
The project located at 175 Griffin Road is on City of Wauchula property behind a security fence with a locked entrance gate.
Proposed Work and Purpose:
Hardening fueling station at City of Wauchula Public Works Project will increase fueling capacity, adding generator power included within a storm hardened facility for refueling, repair and maintenance of vehicles and equipment providing protective emergency services and essential utility restoration efforts during extended periods of power outages and interruption of utility services such as a major wind event experienced during the occurrence of Hurricane Irma on 9/10-9/11, 2017.
Project Alternatives:
The alternatives to the project that have been and will be considered are 1) the no action alternative and 2) The alternative to the completion of this project during extended power outages and interruption of other utility services is to transport by small utility trailer a 550 gallon tank to the local bulk supplier or nearest bulk supplier (30 miles away) if local supplier cannot fill 550-gallon tank to keep vehicles and equipment engaged in restoration efforts refueled.
These alternatives to the proposed project are not viable because under:
Alternative 1) Transporting a 550-gallon tank on a small utility trailer during a time when road transportation has been interrupted with damage to bridges and road systems or flooding could make this effort dangerous.
and Alternative 2) Obtaining a bulk supply of fuel when fuel supply sources are scarce, as in the Hurricane Irma event keeping vehicles and equipment engaged in protective emergency services and restoration of interrupted utility services refueled could become difficult or impossible. Lack of utility services provided by the City of Wauchula for an any extended period will create conditions critical to the health, safety and welfare of the citizens of the Wauchula community dependent upon the utility services provided.
Comment Period:
Comments are solicited from the public; local, state or federal agencies; and other interested parties in order to consider and evaluate the impacts of the proposed project. The comments should be made in writing and addressed to the Florida Division of Emergency Management, Bureau of Recovery and Mitigation, 2555 Shumard Oak Blvd., Tallahassee, FL 32399-2100. These are due within 15 days of this notice The State will forward comments to applicable regulatory agencies as needed. Interested persons may submit comments, obtain more detailed information about the proposed action, or request a copy of the findings by contacting:
Local Contact / Title: Holly Smith / City Clerk Phone: (863) 773-3535
Agency: City of Wauchula Email address: hsmith@cityofwauchula.com
Mindy Yang, State Environmental Specialist (850) 815-4581
Florida Division of Emergency Management Mindy.Yang@em.myflorida.com