DR-4344-CA Public Notice 018

INITIAL PUBLIC NOTICE: City of Santa Rosa Community Wide Infrastructure Flood Mitigation Project, Sonoma County, California | HMGP-4344-542-147

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) intends to provide federal financial assistance under the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP) to the City of Santa Rosa in Sonoma County, California, to construct earthen berms, floodwalls, and floodgates around the Laguna Treatment Plant. The proposed action would mitigate impacts from flooding. Pursuant to Executive Order 11988 (Floodplain Management), Executive Order 11990 (Wetlands Management), and FEMA’s implementing regulations at Title 44 of the Code of Federal Regulations Part 9, FEMA hereby provides interested parties with a notice of its intent to carry out an action affecting a floodplain and wetland.

The purpose of the proposed action is to reduce flood hazards to the Laguna Treatment Plant. The proposed action consists of the following: 1) construction of approximately 3,100 feet of earthen berms; 2) construction of cast-in-place concrete floodwalls where berms do not fit; and 3) installation of passive floodgates over roadways.

The project area is in both the 500-year floodplain and 100-year floodplain as depicted on the FEMA Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) panel 06097C0857F, effective date October 16, 2012. The FIRM shows that portions of the project area lie within Zone X (shaded), an area that has a 0.2-percent probability of flooding every year, Zone AE, an area that has a 1-percent probability of flooding every year and where predicted floodwater elevations have been established, and a floodway.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service National Wetlands Inventory map shows freshwater emergent and forested/shrub wetlands within the project area. It was confirmed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) that the project would impact approximately 0.24-acre of wetlands and would be authorized under the nationwide permit program.

Additional information about FEMA’s proposed action, including maps showing the potential impacts on floodplains and wetlands, may be obtained by writing the FEMA Region IX Environmental Officer at FEMA, 1111 Broadway, Suite 1200, Oakland, California 94607, or fema-rix-ehp-documents@fema.dhs.gov, or calling (510) 627-7027. All requests should be received within 15 days after publication of this notice.