DR-4663-KY FINAL PUBLIC NOTICE 001 (Involving Road Repairs)

Project Title(s): FEMA- DR-4663-KY, involving road repairs.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) hereby gives final notice to the public of its intent to reimburse various state, county, and local road and highway departments and districts with Public Assistance (PA) federal grant funds for the proposed repair or replacement of disaster damaged linear facilities throughout the area serviced under their authority and jurisdiction. These facilities were damaged by severe storms, straight-line winds, tornadoes, flooding, and landslides that occurred during the incident period of July 29, 2022, through August 11, 2022, and subsequently declared major disaster FEMA-DR-4663-KY as signed by the President on July 29, 2022.

A cumulative Initial Public Notice was published and posted September 29, 2022, for DR-4663-KY. Comments and other information received were fully evaluated by FEMA along with evaluation of social, economic, environmental, and safety considerations. This serves as a cumulative Final Public Notice for FEMA’s funding action for certain roadway repairs located within the floodplain. This Final Public Notice concerns road repair activities that substantially conform to their pre-disaster design and dimensions, allowing minor upgrades for mitigation and standard methods of repair as defined in this section. These sites and activities may be in Special Flood Hazard Areas (SFHAs) or may affect floodplains or wetlands.

The proposed action scopes of work (SOWs) include: the repair or replacement of fill, gravel, asphalt, chip and seal, and concrete road surfaces and sub-bases; removal of debris from, reestablishment, or regrading of roadway ditches; in-kind replacement of lost roadway shoulder fill material including previously existing quantities of rip rap that washed out; and repair or replacement of existing culverts, low water crossings, bridges, or other water conveyance structures NOT on designated Waters of the US (WOTUS).

Minor mitigation or standard methods of repair allowable under this programmatic final public notice include: the replacement of lost fill material on roadway shoulders with riprap; the stabilization of roadway embankments with rail and cribbing or gabion baskets, where no alternative is practicable and addition or upgrade of existing culverts, low water crossings, bridges, or other water conveyance structures NOT on designated Waters of the US (WOTUS). All other mitigation methods or standard methods of repair must be reviewed individually. This notice does not apply to projects involving polybags or other methods of repair that include the addition of uncured concrete. 

FEMA has determined that the only practicable alternative is to fund the repair of several roads already located within the floodplain prior to the event. Other alternatives considered included relocation and abandonment. These alternatives were ultimately dismissed due to the resulting adverse social and economic impacts to the local community as well as potential limitations of safety response times.

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. This action complies with the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) requirements.

For the above stated actions, this will be the final public notice provided. Other activities and those involving facilities that do not meet the criteria described above are required to undergo more detailed review including study of alternative locations. Subsequent project-specific final public notice(s) regarding such projects will be published, if necessary, as more specific information becomes available.

The National Historic Preservation Act requires federal agencies to consider the effect of their undertakings on historic properties. Actions affecting buildings, structures, districts, or objects that are greater than or equal to 45 years of age or that affect known archeological sites or undisturbed ground will require further review.

The projects occupancy within the floodplain was determined by referencing the relevant Community Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRMs), on 12/28/2022. Projects will be in the designated counties of Breathitt, Casey, Clay, Cumberland, Floyd, Harlan, Johnson, Knott, Lee, Leslie, Letcher, Lincoln, Magoffin, Martin, Owsley, Perry, Pike, Powell, Whitley, and Wolfe.  Site specific flood map information is available on request and will be included in the Record of Environmental Consideration (REC).

Comments:                                            

This will serve as the final public notice regarding the above‐described action(s) funded by the FEMA PA program. Interested persons may submit comments, questions, or requests for project-specific maps 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, “FINAL PUBLIC NOTICE FEMA-4663-DR-KY, involving road repairs” at the above addresses within 15 days of the date of this notice.