Federal Emergency Management Agency
PUBLIC NOTICE
Notice of Availability of the Draft Environmental Assessment forWadena County Fairgrounds Reconstruction Project

A Public Notice regarding an Environmental Assessment (EA) prepared for the proposed Wadena County Fairgrounds Reconstruction Project.Interested persons are hereby notified that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)/Department of Homeland Security (DHS) are proposing to assist in the funding of the reconstruction of the Wadena County Fairgrounds that was damaged by a tornado in 2010.  Federal funding will be used for the following elements: redesign and construction of the drainage system, building site work, utilities, sidewalks, turf establishment, parking lots and roads and the construction of the following buildings the Judges/Announcer Stand, New Ideas Building, Show Arena, Grandstand, Sheriff’s Storage Facility and Old 4H building.  The Wadena County Fairgrounds is located at 400 Ash Avenue, NW, Wadena, MN 56482. 
 
In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969 and the implementing regulations of FEMA, an EA is being prepared to assess the potential impacts of proposed alternatives on the human and natural environment. This also provides public notice to invite public comments on the proposed project in accordance with Executive Order 11988, Floodplain Management, and Executive Order 11990, Protection of Wetlands. In addition, this notice and the draft EA provide information to the public on potential impacts to historic and cultural resources from the proposed undertaking, as outlined in the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) of 1966.

The draft EA is available for review between June 1, 2012 and June 30, 2012 at the Wadena County Auditor’s Office at 415 Jefferson St, Wadena, MN 56482 between 8:00AM and 4:30PM Monday through Friday. The draft EA is also available for review online at the FEMA website: http://www.fema.gov/plan/ehp/envdocuments/ea-region5.shtm.

Written comments regarding this environmental action should be received no later than 5 p.m. on July 2, 2012 by Nicholas Mueller, Acting Regional Environmental Officer, FEMA, 536 South Clark Street, 6th Floor, Chicago, IL 60605-1521, or at nicholas.mueller@dhs.gov.

If no substantive comments are received by the above deadline, the draft EA and associated Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) will become final and be published by FEMA. Substantive comments will be addressed as appropriate in the final documents.

The public may request a copy of the final environmental documents from Nicholas Mueller at the address listed above.