The Federal Emergency Management Agency and Florida Division of Emergency Management have received the following application for Federal grant funding. Final notice is hereby given of the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) consideration to provide funding in the form of Hazard Mitigation Grant Program. Funds will be provided in accordance with Section 404 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, Public Law 93-288, as amended.

 

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 to and to provide 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 or low-income populations.

 

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.

 

Wakulla County Board of County Commissioners

 

HMGP-DR-4673 – Wakulla County, Coastal Panacea Lift Stations, Utility Mitigation Subapplication

 

162 River Road, Panacea FL 32346

2792 Surf Road, Panacea Florida 32346

197 Mashes Sands Road, Panacea Florida 32346

40 Levy Bay Road, Panacea Florida 32346

 

The area affected by this project consists of homes in the following locations: along River Road, Surf Road, Mashes Sands Road and Levy Bay Road.

 

This project will retrofit four (4) coastal lift stations in order to protect critical components of the lift stations. Coastal Panacea is susceptible to coastal flooding due to severe weather events such as hurricanes. This project will include the following:

 

• 162 River Road – Lift Station No. 1 – engineering, CEI, elevated platform, relocation of control/electrical panel, waterproof hatch, raise the wet well lid and upgrade above grade valves.

 

• 2792 Surf Road, Panacea Florida 32346 – Lift Station 4 – engineering, CEI, elevated platform and relocation of control/electrical panel

 

• 197 Mashes Sands Road, Panacea Florida 32346 – Lift Station 5 - engineering, CEI, elevated platform, relocation of control/electrical panel, waterproof hatch, raise the wet well lid and upgrade above grade valves.

 

• 40 Levy Bay Road, Panacea Florida 32346 - Lift Station 10 - engineering, CEI, elevated platform, relocation of control/electrical panel, waterproof hatch, raise the wet well lid and upgrade above grade valves.

 

Lift stations are a critical component of Wakulla County’s sewer infrastructure and in an effort to mitigate flood damage of the lift stations this project will elevate the control and electrical panel to 1’ above base flood elevation and harden the facility at grade level for lift stations 1, 5 and 10.

 

The alternatives to the project that have been and will be considered are 1) the no action alternative and 2) An alternate to elevating the control and power panel would be to construct a waterproof structure around the lift station to prevent flooding of the lift station's power and control panel. The pros would be the lift station would be protected not only from rising waters but daily sun exposure and vandalism. The cons would be if a significant repair were needed, access to the valves, pump and other essential parts would be restricted. Another con would be if water were to breach the shelter, some form of pump system would be needed to evacuate the flood waters. The control and power panel would remain FEMA non-compliant if it remains at the same height. Project alternative 2) is not viable due to being cost prohibitive and would remain FEMA non-compliant.

 

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 the Florida Division of Emergency Management, Bureau of Mitigation, 2555 Shumard Oak Blvd., Tallahassee, FL 32399-2100. Please reference project HMGP-DR-4673 Wakulla County, Coastal Panacea Lift Stations, Utility Mitigation Subapplication when submitting comments. Comments are due within 30 days of this notice or by September 1, 2023. The State will forward comments to applicable regulatory agencies as needed. Interested persons may submit comments, obtain more detailed information about the proposed action, or request a copy of the findings by contacting:

 

 

Local Contact

Michelle Metcalf, Director Intergovernmental Affairs

Wakulla County Board of County Commissioners

(850) 745-7703

 

State Agency Contact

Kayla Born, State Lead Environmental Specialist

Florida Division of Emergency Management

(850) 273-9289