IBX News

City of New Bern issued the following announcement on Mar. 21.

City of New Bern has applied for Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Public Assistance (PA) Program funding through North Carolina Emergency Management (NCEM) as a sub- recipient.

Under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), federal actions must be reviewed and evaluated for feasible alternatives and for social, economic, historic, environmental, legal, and

safety considerations. Under Executive Order (EO) 11988 and EO 11990, FEMA is required to consider alternatives, and to provide a public notice of any proposed actions in or affecting

floodplains or wetlands. EO 12898 also requires FEMA to provide the opportunity for public participation in the planning process and to consider potential impacts to minority and low-income

populations. This notice may also fulfill requirements under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA).

Funding for the proposed project will be conditional upon compliance with all applicable federal, tribal, state, and local laws, regulations, floodplain standards, permit requirements and conditions.

Sub-Applicant: City of New Bern

Project Title: 94666-Henderson Park Restrooms; PW-04-NC-4393-PW-02599, Alternate Project

Location of Proposed Work:

FEMA_FinalPublicNotice_HendersonPk

Special Flood Hazard Area Zone:

The City of New Bern intends to implement an alternate project. It will demolish the Henderson Park Restroom and refurbish the park to restore the facility’s function and minimize future flood

damage. All work is located in an AE zone (1% Annual Chance Flood Hazard). Confirmation of location in a Special Flood Hazard Area (SFHA) was determined by the Craven County Pending

Flood Insurance Rate Map, Panel Number: 3720558000K, dated 06/19/2020. The proposed work conforms to all applicable State of North Carolina and local floodplain regulations. There is a

potential for the facility to be impacted by future flooding events due to its location within the AE zone. The proposed work will not take place in wetlands per the United States Fish and Wildlife

Service National Wetlands Inventory and will have little potential to impact or affect wetland values.

Proposed Work and Purpose:

The City of New Bern intends to demolish the Henderson Park Restrooms, clear the existing site, and refurbish the park. All repairs will be in accordance with construction standards, building

codes and ordinance compliance. The proposed repairs will minimize future flood damages and restore function of the park for visitors and community use.

Project Alternatives:

Alternative #1 (No action): The 'no action' alternative would ultimately result in a negative impact on the city of New Bern and park visitors. If repairs are not made to the park, it would be rendered

unsafe, causing adverse social and health impacts for the community.

Alternative #2 (Repair in-kind): Repairing the restrooms may result in similar damages during future events and is thus not economically feasible. If the park is not refurbished in accordance

with best construction practices, it would cause adverse social and health impacts for the community and park visitors.

Comment Period:

Comments are solicited from the public; local, state or federal agencies, and other interested parties in order to consider and evaluate the impacts of the proposed project. The comments should be

made in writing and addressed to:

FEMA Internal 11988 Reviewer

FEMA Region 4

3003 Chamblee-Tucker Road

Atlanta, Georgia, 30341

Alternatively, comments may be emailed to: FEMA-R4EHP@fema.dhs.gov. Please send comments with the subject line [DR-4393-NC-02599 11988 COMMENT].

All comments are due by no later than 30 days of the posted date of this notice.

 Original source can be found here.