JOINT FEDERAL, STATE, LOCAL
PUBLIC NOTICE
(APRIL 5, 2023)
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 New Port Richey
Project Title:
4486-132-R (172) City of New Port Richey, High, Beach, and Gulf Streets, Drainage
Location of Proposed Work:
The area affected by this project consists of the following locations:
High Street east of Maple Street, east to the intersection of Beach Street and High Street, North on Beach Street to Gulf Drive, West on Gulf Drive for 200’ the north through an acquired easement located at 5831 Gulf Drive.
Proposed Work and Purpose:
The City of New Port Richey proposes drainage improvements to mitigate flooding in the Beach Street area, located in New Port Richey, Florida. The project proposes to improve the existing stormwater drainage system in the area by the installation of approximately 2,125 linear feet of 14-inch x 23-inch Elliptical Reinforced Concrete Pipe (ERCP) and 36-inch Reinforced Concrete Pipe (RCP) with a 36-inch outfall into the Pithlachascotee River. The new stormwater drainage line shall supplement and run parallel to the existing remaining 24-inch drainage system running on Maple Street. The project starts at High Street near its intersection with Maple Street by the construction of two new inlets to collect runoff and the installation of approximately 360 linear feet of 14-inch x 23-inch ERCP going east to Beach Street to connect into a manhole. At this point, the system turns north with the construction of approximately 980 linear feet of 36-inch RCP running along Beach Street to a manhole located at the intersection with Gulf Drive. From here the flow is directed west on Gulf Drive through a new 36-inch RCP line of approximate 170 linear feet to a new manhole receiving the existing 24-inch system coming from the south along Maple Street. Now the system turns north with the construction of approximately 540 linear feet of 36-inch RCP along an existing drainage easement to outfall throughout a new headwall at the Pithlachascotee River. Additionally, the proposal includes a continuous deflective separation (CDS) unit, new inlets and manholes, connections to the existing system, a 30-inch mitered section at the existing river outfall, baffle box, riprap and manatee barriers at the pipes outlets, utility adjustments, and necessary sidewalk/driveway demolition and restoration in the project area. Currently, the High Street and Maple Street area has a history of recurrent floods with water backing up flooding roads and above the finish floor elevations of the residential buildings. The area acts as a bowl receiving runoff from four sub- basins, trapping stormwater during normal to high intensity rain events with water levels raising too fast for the current 24-inch pipe size to be able to drain and mitigate flooding waters. The project shall resolve the lack of conveyance capacity in the neighborhood by allowing a larger volume of stormwater to drain from the area, preventing costly structural and social damages to at least 18 residences, traffic downtime, and to allow the roads to remain open to residents and emergency vehicles during and after storm events.
Project Alternatives:
The alternatives to the project that have been considered are 1) The no action alternative 2) acquisition/demolition of impacted structures. These alternatives to the proposed project are not viable because under Alternative 1) repetitive flooding is not alleviated and the needs of the community would not be served; and Alternative 2) acquisition of properties does not retain fabric of the community, does not improve roadway flooding and is cost prohibitive, and therefore not practicable.
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 Mitigation, 2555 Shumard Oak Blvd., Tallahassee, FL 32399-2100. These are due within 30 days of this notice (May 5, 2023). 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:
Martin Field, Construction Service Manager (727) (841-4543) City of New Port Richey fieldm@cityofnewportrichey.org
Kayla Born, State Lead Environmental Specialist (850) 273-9289
Florida Division of Emergency Management Kayla.Born@em.myflorida.com