JOINT FEDERAL, STATE, LOCAL PUBLIC NOTICE

JOINT FEDERAL, STATE, LOCAL PUBLIC NOTICE

The Federal Emergency Management Agency and North Carolina Emergency Management have received the following applications for Federal grant funding. Notice is hereby given of the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s consideration to provide funding in the form of a Hazard Mitigation Grant.

Under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), federal actions must be reviewed and evaluated for feasible alternatives 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 provide public notices of any proposed actions in or affecting floodplains or wetlands. EO 12892 also requires FEMA to provide an opportunity for public participation in the planning process and to consider potential impacts to minority or low-income populations.

Funding for the proposed projects will be conditional upon compliance with all applicable federal, tribal, state and local laws, regulations, floodplain standards, permit requirements and conditions.

Applicant: Town of Beaufort, North Carolina

Project Title: Town of Beaufort Elevation Project

Location of Proposed Work: The area affected by this project consists of potentially one (1) property located on the following streets in Town of Beaufort: Ann Street.

Maps of the project areas associated with the grant applications can be reviewed by contacting Ms. Kate Allen at 252-728-2141 x 223.

Proposed Work and Purpose:

The finished floors of the residential structures will be elevated above the base flood elevation with free board to reduce the impacts of flooding events.

Project Alternatives:

Not taking a mitigation action is an option, but not an acceptable one. The reasoning for rejecting the No Action Alternative is that doing so will not mitigate any risks.  The entire project area would remain in danger from future flood events. Without acquiring these structures, damages and the risk of potential loss of life will continue to be a threat.  

The second alternative is to acquire the structures. The property owner does not want to abandon this structure and there are high up-front costs. Therefore, the most effective mitigation action is to elevate the structure in-place from the high-risk area.

Applicant: Town of Beaufort, North Carolina

Project Title: Town of Beaufort Generator Project

Location of Proposed Work: The area affected by this project consists of potentially two (2) properties; the Town of Beaufort Town Hall & Public Works Office.

Maps of the project areas associated with the grant applications can be reviewed by contacting Ms. Kate Allen at 252-728-2141 x 223.

Proposed Work and Purpose:

The generator is required to ensure that backup power is maintained at all critical and essential facilities during natural disaster events. 

Project Alternatives:

Not taking a mitigation action is an option, but not an acceptable one. The reasoning for rejecting the No Action Alternative is that doing so will not mitigate any risks.  The entire project area would remain in danger from future flood events. Without acquiring these structures, damages and the risk of potential loss of life will continue to be a threat. 

The second alternative is to build redundancies of the power grid to the point there would never be any power outages.  This is a cost prohibitive alternative. Installing a generator as backup power at this facility will help to ensure continuity of operations during disasters or other events where power may be lost.

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 Town of Beaufort, Attn: Ms. Kate Allen, or emailed k.allen@beaufortnc.org by December 1, 2019.