FEDERAL

EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY

PUBLIC NOTICE OF AVAILABILITY FOR THE

DRAFT

ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT FOR THE OUACHITA PARISH

GEORGIA STREET PUMP STATION AND FORCE MAIN PROJECT,

IN MONROE, OUACHITA PARISH, LA, HMGP-4263-0013-LA

Interested persons are hereby notified that the Ouachita Parish Police Jury has applied to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), through the Governors Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness (GOHSEP) for Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP) funding under Section 404 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act. FEMAs HMGP provides grants to states, tribes, territories, 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. This notice also serves as FEMAs final notice under Executive Order 11988 for Floodplain Management as the proposed action is located within the regulatory floodplain.

FEMA proposes to provide funding to Ouachita Parish to construct a new pump station with detention pond; construct a new force main; and upgrade an existing outfall into the Ouachita River to accommodate the flows from the new pump station. The proposed pump station measures approximately 320 feet (ft) by 120 ft and would be constructed on 1.4-acre property owned by the City of Monroe and located on the east side of Georgia Street (St.) between Parker St. and Lock Drive (32.47909, -92.101934). The pump station would be constructed to house three (3) - 22,500 gallons per minute (gpm) pumps powered by diesel engines to ensure operation during power outages. The third pump would serve as a backup. The force main from the pump station to the Ouachita River would be approximately 5,250 ft in length and extends from the existing Plum St. outfall facility at the Ouachita River at South Ground St. and Plum St. to near the intersection of Georgia St. and Parker St. A 42-inch high density polyethylene (HDPE) force main pipe would discharge water collected at the pump station into the Ouachita River at the existing Plum St. outfall structure. Five (5) roadway crossings would be required, and the force main would be buried under several private driveways that would be reconstructed. The crossing at the Union Pacific Railway would require a horizontal bore and steel casing. The force main construction would impact local utilities (e.g., water, sewer, gas and phone lines) in the existing right of way. The existing outfall structure itself would require some modifications to handle additional flow velocity and depth. The structure would be widened from 8 ft to 18 ft and the headwall would be raised from 5.5 ft to 7 ft. The proposed pump station and force main piping would collect and discharge floodwaters from the approximately 285-acre watershed area into the Ouachita River at a rate up to 45,000 gpm.

The Proposed Action includes, and the Draft Environmental Assessment (EA) also considers, several additive alternate upgrades if there is enough available funding under the FEMA grant, which is dependent on materials and construction costs. Alternate upgrades include pump upgrades, increasing the pump motor size, adding structural support to accommodate additional weight, a backup generator, and a tower to support supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) equipment.

A Draft EA has been prepared to assess the potential impacts of the Proposed Action and alternatives on the human and natural environment in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA), the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) regulations implementing NEPA (40 CFR Parts 1500 1508), FEMAs Instruction 108-1-1 for implementing NEPA, the National Historic Preservation Act, Executive Order 11988, Executive Order 11990, and 44 CFR Part 9. The Draft EA evaluates alternatives that provide for compliance with applicable environmental laws. The alternatives evaluated include (1) No Action; and (2) Proposed Action as described above.

The Draft EA is available for review at the following locations: Ouachita Parish Library, Main Branch, 1800 Stubbs Avenue, Monroe, LA 71201 and the Ouachita Valley Library Branch, at 601 McMillian Road, West Monroe, LA 71291 Mondays through Thursdays 9:00am to 7:00pm; Fridays 9:00am to 6:00pm; and Saturdays 9:00am to 5:00pm. The Draft EA is also available online at FEMAs website https://www.fema.gov/emergency-managers/practitioners/environmental-historic/nepa/environmental-assessment-georgia.

This public notice will run in the NewStar, for five (5) days from Monday, April 22, 2024, to Friday, April 26, and for two (2) days in the Ouachita Citizen on Thursday, April 25, 2024 and Thursday, May 2, 2024. There will be a 30-day comment period beginning on April 22, 2024, and concluding on Tuesday, May 21, 2024, at 4:00pm. Written comments on the Draft EA may be mailed to: Dorothy Cook, Environmental Protection Specialist, FEMA Region 6, 800 N Loop 288, Denton, TX 76209, or e-mailed to fema-liro-ehp-hma@fema.dhs.gov.

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.

All other questions regarding disaster assistance should be directed to FEMAs Helpline at 1-800-621-3362 or visit www.DisasterAssistance.gov.

April 22-26, 2024 10076973