Initial public notice: FEMA intends to provide federal financial assistance under the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program to BART

 

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 to the San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District (BART) in Alameda County and Contra Costa County, California, to repair and stabilize failed slope sections and restore slope grade; install drainage and erosion control facilities; and repair bridge abutments. The proposed action would mitigate impacts from landslides by implementing erosion control and stabilization treatments. Pursuant to Executive Order 11988 (Floodplain 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.

 

The purpose of the proposed action is to reduce landslide hazards due to earthquakes and rain saturated soils. The proposed action consists of installation of erosion control and slope stabilization measures, drainage infrastructure, and other improvements at 22 individual sites along a portion of BART rights-of-way. Construction activities would include repair or replacement of damaged fencing and sidewalks, retaining wall construction, and repair of 10 bridge abutments. Clearing and grubbing activities would remove some vegetation, including trees, and some slopes would be regraded.

 

Two of the project sites are in the 100-year floodplain as depicted on the FEMA Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) Number 06013C0094H, effective date March 21, 2017. The FIRM shows that the project sites lie within Zone AE, an area that has a 1-percent probability of flooding every year where predicted flood elevations have been established, and a floodway.

 

Additional information about FEMA’s proposed action, including maps showing the potential impacts on floodplains and/or wetlands, may be obtained by writing the FEMA Region IX Environmental Officer at FEMA, 1111 Broadway, Suite 1200, Oakland, California 94607, or [email protected]. All requests should be received within 15 days after publication of this notice.