Federal Emergency Management Agency PUBLIC NOTICE Notice of Availability of the Draft Environmental Assessment (DEA) for Elkins Lake Hazardous Fuels Reduction Project Huntsville, Walker County Texas HMGP-DR-1791-TX Project #197 Interested persons are hereby notified that Walker County has applied to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) through the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP) for program funding under Section 404 the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act. FEMA’s Hazard Mitigation Grant Program provides grants to states and local governments to implement long-term hazard mitigation measures that reduce the loss of life and property due to natural disasters and to enable mitigation measures to be implemented during the immediate recovery from a disaster. FEMA proposes to provide funding to Walker County through the Texas Division of Emergency Management (TDEM) for vegetation management and fuels reduction activities on 7.91 acres of land just south and east of the Elkins Lake neighborhood of Huntsville, TX (from Latitude: 30.66481; Longitude: -95.52194 to Latitude: 30.66680; Longitude: -95.51549). The proposed project is to prune and remove some vegetation on a forested tract along Augusta Drive in order to reduce the risk of wildland fire and reduce fire hazard to nearby homes. In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969, National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA), Executive Order 11988, Executive Order 11990, and the implementing regulations of FEMA, an Environmental Assessment (EA) was prepared to assess the potential impacts of the proposed action on the human and natural environment. The Draft EA summarizes the purpose and need, alternatives, affected environmental, and potential environmental consequences for the proposed action. The Draft EA is available for comment and can be viewed and downloaded from FEMA’s website at http://www.fema.gov/plan/ehp/envdocuments/ea-region6.shtm or viewed at the following locations: Huntsville Fire Station #1 and Huntsville Fire Station #2 between September 30 and October 14 from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm Monday-Friday: * Huntsville Fire Station #1: 1987 Veterans Memorial Blvd. Huntsville, TX * Huntsville Fire Station #2: 2109 Sam Houston Ave. Huntsville, TX The comment period will end 15 days from the initial notice publication date of September 30, 2010. Written comments on the Draft EA can be mailed, emailed, or faxed to the contact below. If no substantive comments are received, the Draft EA will become final and a Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) will be issued for the project. Substantive comments will be addressed as appropriate in the final documents. Dorothy Weir Environmental Specialist, FEMA Region VI 800 N Loop 288, Denton, TX 76209 Fax: 940-383-7299