DR-4344-CA Public Notice 005

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is proposing to assist in the funding of a project in Sonoma County, California. Funding would be provided through the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP) as authorized by Section 404 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Assistance and Emergency Relief Act. FEMA has prepared a draft Supplemental Environmental Assessment (SEA) for the proposed project pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act and FEMA’s implementing Instruction. The draft SEA evaluates alternatives for compliance with applicable environmental laws, including the National Historic Preservation Act, Executive Orders 11990 (Protection of Wetlands), 11988 (Floodplain Management), and 12898 (Environmental Justice). The alternatives evaluated in the draft SEA are: (1) no action, and (2) the Proposed Action to implement erosion and sediment control measures along with revegetation on land in Hood Mountain Regional Park, which was affected by the 2017 Nuns Fire.

The SEA evaluates potential impacts of the proposed alternative on the human and natural environment. FEMA prepared an SEA because the type of action proposed does not fall under the range of actions evaluated in the December 2014 Final Programmatic Environmental Assessment for Recurring Actions in Arizona, California, and Nevada (PEA). However, FEMA determined that the activities conducted under the Proposed Action are similar to the activities evaluated in the PEA, and therefore, the potential impacts of the Proposed Action would be similar to the impacts described in the PEA.

The draft SEA is available for agency and public review on FEMA’s website fema.gov/emergency-managers/practitioners/environmental-historic/region/9 and the County’s website at parks.sonomacounty.ca.gov/Learn/Natural-Resources/Restoration. If no substantive issues are identified during the comment period on the draft SEA, FEMA will finalize the SEA, issue a Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI), and fund the project. The FONSI will be posted to the same website as listed above. FEMA will not publish another public notice for this project unless substantive comments on the draft SEA are received.

The deadline for submitting written comments on the draft SEA is Friday October 23, 2020. Comments should be mailed to: Regional Environmental Officer, FEMA Region IX, 1111 Broadway, Suite 1200, Oakland, CA 94607-4052 or comments can be submitted via e-mail (preferred) to fema-rix-ehp-documents@fema.dhs.gov; please include “Hood Mountain” in your subject line.