U.S. Department of Homeland Security
9221 Ward Parkway, Suite 300
Kansas City, Missouri, 64114-3372

 

PUBLIC NOTICE OF AVAILIBILITY
CITY OF IOWA CITY ANIMAL CENTER ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT
IOWA CITY, JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA
FEMA-1763-DR-IA

Interested parties are hereby notified that the Federal Emergency Management Agency
(FEMA) is proposing to fund the construction of a new Iowa City Animal Center in Johnson 
County, Iowa under the authority of Section 408 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and 
Emergency Assistance Act, 42 USC 5121-5206, as amended (Stafford Act, Public Law 93-288.  
FEMA was authorized under a Presidential disaster declaration (FEMA-1763-DR-IA) to provide 
Federal disaster assistance to City of Iowa City, Johnson County, Iowa, as a result of the 
devastating flood that impacted Johnson County, Iowa, beginning on June 9th, 2008.  The 
Proposed Action would require the replacement of the Iowa City Animal Center as it currently 
operates out of a temporary facility because the current structure was extensively damaged from 
the flood beginning June 9th, 2008.  The Animal Center provides essential services to the Johnson 
County area communities. These services include animal adoption, licensing and tagging animals, 
free education programs, investigation of animal cruelty complaints, and a public lending library 
devoted to animal care books, magazines, and videos. The proposed site of the new Iowa City 
Animal Center is located on Napoleon Lane, west of South Gilbert Street and north of 
McCollister Boulevard, east of the Iowa River. The Animal Center serves as a vital resource for 
abandoned and abused animals that is required for the residents of the region, and therefore 
action is needed to restore these essential public services to the population of the City of Iowa 
City and surrounding Johnson County communities. 

Per the National Environmental Policy Act (42 U.S.C. 4371 et seq.), and associated 
environmental statutes, a Draft Environmental Assessment (DEA) was written to evaluate the 
proposed action’s potential impacts on the human and natural environment. The DEA 
summarizes the purpose and need, site selection process, affected environment, and potential 
environmental consequences associated with the proposed action. The public comment period 
will be from June 14 to July 14, 2011. Written comments on the DEA can be faxed to FEMA’s 
Iowa Closeout Center at (515) 223-7216 or emailed to Fema-ICC-EHP@dhs.gov.

The DEA can be viewed and downloaded from FEMA’s website at: 
http://www.fema.gov/plan/ehp/envdocuments/index.shtm  If no substantive comments
are received, the Draft EA will become final and this initial Public Notice will also serve
as the final Public Notice.