Federal Emergency Management Agency PUBLIC NOTICE Notice of Availability of the Draft Tiered Site-Specific Environmental Assessment (Draft SEA) for the Nettleton School District Middle School Safe Room Jonesboro, Craighead County, Arkansas HMGP-DR-1819-AR Project #44 Interested persons are hereby notified that Nettleton School District 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 HMGP 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 Nettleton School District through the Arkansas Department of Emergency Management (ADEM) for the construction of a community safe room at the Nettleton Middle School, located at 2305 Promise Lane (Latitude: 35.81613; Longitude: -90.65346), Jonesboro, Craighead County, AR. The proposed project aims to protect the students, faculty, and staff at the Nettleton School District, and the general public from the risk of tornadoes and other high wind events. A Programmatic Environmental Assessment (PEA) for Hazard Mitigation Safe Room Construction was prepared and a Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) was issued in June 2, 2011, in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA), the Council for Environmental Quality (CEQ) regulations implementing regulations of NEPA (40 CFR Parts 1500 – 1508), the National Historic Preservation Act, and the implementing regulations of FEMA (44 CFR Parts 9 and 10). FEMA’s environmental planning and historic preservation review reveals that all environmental areas of concern are appropriately accounted for in the PEA with the exception of floodplain impacts. A Tiered Site-Specific Environmental Assessment (SEA) has been prepared in accordance with the June 2011 PEA to focus on Executive Order (EO) 11988 requirements and floodplain impacts of the proposed project. The SEA evaluates alternatives that provide for compliance with EO 11988. The alternatives evaluated include (1) No Action and (2) the Proposed Action, Construction of a Stand-Alone Safe Room at Nettleton Middle School Campus. The proposed project is located within Zone AE of the 100-year floodplain. The Draft SEA summarizes the purpose and need, alternatives, affected environment, and potential environmental consequences for the proposed action. The Draft SEA 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. An electronic copy can also be requested from Dorothy Weir at dorothy.weir@dhs.gov. The Draft SEA can be viewed at the Nettleton Administration Building, 3300 One Place, Jonesboro, AR, 72404, from 8:00 am to 3:00 pm Monday-Friday, between October 29, 2011 and November 14, 2011. The comment period will end 15 days from the initial notice publication date of (October 29, 2011). Written comments on the Draft SEA can be mailed, emailed, or faxed to the contact below. If no substantive comments are received, the Draft SEA 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 dorothy.weir@dhs.gov Fax: 940-383-729