FEMA PUBLIC NOTICE OF AVAILABILITY Draft Environmental Assessment for The Lafourche Parish Sheriff’s Office Training Facility Lafourche Parish, Louisiana HURRICANE GUSTAV-1786 DR-LA Interested parties are hereby notified that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has prepared a Draft Environmental Assessment (EA) and Draft Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) for the proposed Lafourche Parish Sheriff’s Training Facility located at 3451 Highway 182, Raceland, Louisiana. The Lafourche Parish has submitted an application for Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) funding under FEMA’s Public Assistance Program being administered in response to FEMA-1786-DR- LA, in response to Hurricane Gustav. The Presidential Disaster Declaration FEMA- 1786-DR-LA was signed on September 2, 2008 for this event. On September 1, 2008, the high velocity winds from Hurricane Gustav caused extensive damage to the Lafourche Parish Sheriff’s Office Training Facility, located on US-90 Business Route, South of Raceland, Louisiana. The mailing address of this facility is 3451 Hwy. 182 Raceland, LA. The cost to repair the damage to the facility exceeded 50 percent of the cost to replace the facility, making the replacement of the facility an eligible cost for FEMA Public Assistance [per 44 CFR 206.226(f)]. The Lafourche Parish Sheriff’s Office, which owns and operates the facility, would like to demolish the existing 1,120-square foot mobile home and construct a new 7500-square foot facility approximately 300 yards from the original location. The new site is located on the existing firing range of the applicant’s property. The Lafourche Training Facility is used by the Lafourche Parish Sherriff’s Office, as well as over 13 additional law enforcement agencies. Hurricane Gustav caused significant damage to the facility and it must be repaired or replaced to fully resume its function. As the repair cost is beyond 50 percent of the replacement cost, the FEMA Public Assistance program can assist with funding the replacement of the facility. Prior to the disaster, the Lafourche Sheriff’s Office recognized that the facility was undersized and required greater capacity to meet the demand for its services. In response to the need to increase the size and capacity of the facility, the Sheriff’s Office would like to construct a larger building, with floor space of approximately 7,500 square feet (compared to the original 1,120 square-foot building). In addition, the Lafourche Parish Sheriff’s Office would like to place the facility in a location that is less susceptible to flooding. Per the National Environmental Policy Act (42 U.S.C. 4371 et seq.), and associated environmental statutes, a Draft EA was written to evaluate the proposed action’s potential impacts on the human and natural environment. The Draft EA summarizes the purpose and need, site selection process, affected environment, and potential environmental consequences associated with the proposed action. The Draft (FONSI) is FEMA’s finding that the proposed action will not have a significant effect on the human and natural environment. The public comment period will be for 15 days, from Tuesday, September 29, 2009 to Wednesday, October 14, 2009. Written comments on the proposal may be mailed to: DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY Federal Emergency Management Agency Environmental/Historic Preservation Lafourche Parish Sheriff’s Training Facility 1250 Poydras Street Box 43 New Orleans, LA 70112 Or emailed to: FEMA-NOMA@dhs.gov or faxed to FEMA’s Transitional Recovery Office in New Orleans at 504-762-2871; and verbal comments will be accepted at 504- 762-2361 between the hours of 7:30 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. The Draft EA can be viewed and downloaded from FEMA’s website at www.fema.gov/plan/ehp/envdocuments/ea- region6.shtm and is also available for public review at the Raceland Branch of the Lafourche Parish Library located at 177 Recreation Drive, Raceland, LA 70394. If no substantive comments are received, the Draft EA and associated Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) will become final and this initial Public Notice will also serve as the final Public Notice for work in the floodplain in accordance with 44 CFR Part 9.12.