DR-4399-FL Public Notice 002 - Alligator Drive

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) hereby gives notice to the public of its intent to reimburse eligible applicants for eligible costs to repair or replace facilities damaged by Hurricane Michael (FEMA-DR-4399-FL) occurring October 7, 2018 to October 19, 2018. This notice applies to the Public Assistance (PA) project for Alligator Drive Road Repairs in Alligator Point, Franklin County, Florida, implemented under the authority of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, 42 U.S.C. §§ 5121-5207.

Under a major disaster declaration, FEMA-DR-4399-FL, signed by the President on October 11, 2018,

Franklin County was designated as adversely affected by the disaster and eligible for PA funding.

This public notice concerns activities pertaining to the Alligator Drive repairs with hazard mitigation protection to prevent future storm erosion damage. The project consists of a 1,160-foot section of Alligator Drive. The hazard mitigation proposal includes adding additional base material to elevate the road structure, and installing 6-foot concrete shoulders on each side of the road right-of-way, vinyl sheet piles to a depth of approximately 10 feet on the landward side of the road, a 9-foot concrete sloped pavement splash pad along the coastal edge of the road, a concrete class II bulkhead, and steel sheet piles to a depth of approximately 15 feet between the road structure and the rip rap along the coastline. A stormwater treatment system for runoff will also be installed adjacent to the road and will include six (6) stormwater swales with an approximate combined size of 14,400 square-feet along the landward side of the road and a stormwater swale pond with an approximate size of 4,294 square-feet on the west side of the project area. The swales will be connected underground by Reinforced Concrete Pipes (RCP). Franklin County has coordinated with the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) to obtain all necessary permits and will comply with all applicable permit conditions.

FEMA has prepared a Supplemental Environmental Assessment (SEA). An alternatives analysis was performed, which included the evaluation of the no action alternative, repair to pre-disaster conditions, and the proposed action. Further detailed descriptions of all alternatives may be reviewed in the SEA conducted by FEMA or by contacting FEMA-R4EHP@fema.dhs.gov for a copy. The draft SEA is available for public comment and can be viewed on the Florida’s Division of Emergency Management (FDEM) and the applicant’s website at the following locations:

https://www.floridadisaster.org/globalassets/dem/recovery/fema-environmental- assessments/supplemental-environmental-assessment-alligator-drive-road-repairs-2020.pdf

https://www.franklincountyflorida.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Supplemental-Environmental- Assessment-–-Alligator-Drive-Road-Repairs.pdf

A hard copy of the SEA is available at the Franklin County Planning Office, located at 34 Forbes St. Apalachicola, FL 32320, during normal business hours.

The Endangered Species Act (ESA) requires federal agencies to consult with the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) for affects to federally listed threatened and endangered species. FEMA consulted with the USFWS and received concurrence that the proposed project may affect but is not likely to adversely affect the loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta), green sea turtle (Chelonia mydas), and West Indian manatee (Trichechus manatus).

The National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) requires federal agencies to consider the effect of their undertakings on historic properties. FEMA consulted with the State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) and received concurrence for a determination that the proposed project would have no adverse effect on historic properties. Tribal consultation letters were submitted to the Alabama-Quassarte Tribal Town, Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida, Muscogee (Creek) Nation, Poarch Band of Creek Indians, Seminole Tribe of Florida and Seminole Nation of Oklahoma. No responses were received.

Presidential Executive Orders (EO) 11988 and 11990 direct federal agencies to avoid to the extent possible the impacts associated with the destruction or modification of floodplains and wetlands. Agencies are directed to avoid construction and development in floodplains and wetlands whenever there are any practicable alternatives. The project is located in the VE Zone, otherwise known as the Coastal High Hazard Area, per Franklin County Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) Panel Number 12037C0315F, dated 2/5/2014. Alligator Drive is the only access and evacuation road for the community of Alligator Point and relocation is not feasible due to the lack of undeveloped land to relocate the road. The proposed actions of the elevation of the road, installation of concrete shoulders on each side of the road right-of-way, vinyl sheet on the landward side of the road, concrete sloped pavement splash pad along the coastal edge of the road, concrete class II bulkhead, steel sheet piles between the road structure and the rip rap along the coastline, and construction of stormwater treatment system are functionally dependent upon Alligator Drive as the actions are needed to protect the only access and evacuation road for the community of Alligator Point. Repairing Alligator Drive with hazard mitigation will protect the road from further damage allowing the community to safely commute and evacuate when necessary.

This will serve as the final public notice regarding the above-described action funded by the FEMA PA program. Interested persons may obtain information about these actions or a specific project by writing to the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Region 4, 3003 Chamblee-Tucker Road, Atlanta, Georgia 30341, or by emailing FEMA-R4EHP@fema.dhs.gov. Comments should be sent in writing with the subject line, FL-4337-PW-01152, Franklin County, at the above address within 30 days of the date of this notice.