FINAL NOTICE AND PUBLIC EXPLANATION OF A PROPOSED ACTIVITY IN THE 100 YEAR FLOODPLAIN AND WETLAND

PUBLIC NOTICE
 

To: All Interested Agencies, Groups, and Individuals

This is to give notice that the City of Edgewater has conducted an evaluation as required by Executive Orders 11988 and 11990 in accordance with HUD regulations at 24 CFR 55.20 Subpart C Procedures for Making Determinations on Floodplain Management and Wetlands Protection to determine the potential affect that the activity in the floodplain and/or wetland will have on the environment. The activity is funded by the Florida Commerce Department Community Development Block Grant - Mitigation (CDBG-MIT) program under sub-grant agreement number IR024.

Service Area (SA) #1 – G2 and G11 Drainage Basin Service Area:

03I Flood and Drainage:
During heavy rainfall events like Hurricane Irma, substantial sStormwater and significant tidal surge backflow from the Indian River through the Gabordy Canal and prevents the G-2 and G-11 canals from effectively preventing flooding in the service area. When the canals are unable to properly drain the service area, floodwaters damage homes and create the risk of permanent housing loss. The G-11 Canal is a minor tributary to the Gabordy Canal, which runs perpendicular to the 10th Street right-of-way. The G-2 Canal conveys the majority of the runoff from south to north and empties into the Gabordy Canal which flows east to the Indian River. The G-2 and G-11 Drainage Basin is approximately 350 acres of urbanized low land elevations that are especially prone to flooding. An estimated 80 acres of the service area are located within the 100-year floodplain (AE). Approximately 2.67 acres of the service are located within a Palustrine Unconsolidated Bottom Permanently Flooded Excavated (PUBHx) wetland and approximately .33 acres of the service area is located in a Palustrine Emergent Persistent Semi-Permanently Flooded (PEM1F) wetland.

The City of Edgewater was awarded $14,697,665 in CDBG-MIT (Agreement # IR024) funds for the reconstruction of the G-2 and G-11 canal project areas. The City will utilize these CDBG funds to construct Stormwater drainage and management improvements to prevent this backflow and expand the Stormwater capacity of the G-2 and G-11 service areas. Beginning at the point where the G-2 and G-11 Canals intersect with the Gabordy Canal at 10th Street west of Palmetto Avenue, mechanisms will be installed to prevent water from Gabordy Canal entering its tributary G-2 and G-11 Canals. A new pond, pump station, and pipe will be constructed near Knapp Avenue and Perdita Avenue to quickly remove water between Park Avenue and 10th Street. Backflow preventers will be installed near Park Avenue and a new pump station and pipe will be constructed on Pine Bluff Street to quickly remove water between Park Avenue and Marion Avenue. Culvert improvements and opportunities for treatment ponds will be evaluated during design. These drainage improvements will eliminate the flooding that occurs in the G-2 and G-11 Canal Drainage Basin every time there is a significant storm surge or tidal event. The project will also include the acquisition of a residential housing unit at 125 Cheeta Drive that has experienced frequent and significant flooding. The unit is located at the natural low point in the drainage basin. This residential housing unit will be demolished, and the property will be converted to a retention pond in order to further divert Stormwater. Approximately 653 residential housing units will benefit from this project. 90.54% of these are considered low-and-moderate income. The service area is bound on the north by 10th Street, is bound on the east by North Ridgewood Avenue (US 1), is bound on the south by Marion Avenue, and is bound on the west by the railway.

A portion of the activities in Service Area #1 may be carried out within a floodplain and/or wetland. Approximately 17.65 acres of land located within a 100-year floodplain and/or wetland may be included in the construction area.

These activities will have no significant impact on the environment for the following reason:

The proposed project makes improvements to an existing Stormwater drainage system that currently is not adequately addressing Stormwater and storm surge challenges that cause flooding, particularly during natural disasters and heavy rain events. Portions of this existing infrastructure reside within a wetland and 100-year floodplain as it utilizes and manages these attributes for sounder flood and drainage protections for properties within the City. The City of Edgewater has evaluated the potential of completing this project outside the wetlands and the 100-year floodplain and determined that to do so would require acquisition of additional properties to relocate to, which would increase costs well beyond budgetary constraints and would expand project time-frames to an unforeseeable completion date due to conducting acquisitions in compliance with the Uniform Relocation Act. The City also considered utilizing high-capacity pumps along with rerouting of the Stormwater to outside of the areas in the 100-year floodplain and wetland areas, however, it was concluded this approach would also require the acquisition of property under the Uniform Relocation Act and the construction costs likely would be increased to substantially more than the current budget. Finally, the City considered the option of simply not moving forward with the project. This option would leave the City’s residents at continued risk for future flooding during major storms and heavy rain events.

The City concluded that while portions of the proposed project are located in the 100-year floodplain and in wetlands, the best approach to addressing the flood and drainage needs of the community, is to make improvements to the existing infrastructure as initially proposed. Environmental files that document compliance with steps 3 through 6 of Executive Order 11988 and or 11990, are available for public inspection, review and copying upon request at the times and location delineated in the last paragraph of this notice for receipt of comments.

Although substantial portions of the project will be located in a floodplain and wetland, the City believes that the current location of the proposed improvements cannot be undertaken in any other location due to the scope of the project and the fact that the proposed scope is designed to better manage the extension and expansion of flooding and to protect properties within the city. There is, therefore, no practicable alternative than to continue with the project as proposed.

The proposed improvements conform to applicable floodplain and wetlands protection standards. The proposed action will not affect natural or beneficial floodplain and/or wetland values, and residents of the community will benefit from the project.

There are three primary purposes for this notice. First, people who may be affected by activities in floodplains and or wetlands and those who have an interest in the protection of the natural environment should be given an opportunity to express their concerns and provide information about these areas. Commenters are encouraged to offer alternative sites outside of the floodplains and or wetlands, alternative methods to serve the same project purpose, and methods to minimize and mitigate impacts. Second, an adequate public notice program can be an important public educational tool. The dissemination of information and request for public comment about floodplains and or wetlands can facilitate and enhance Federal efforts to reduce the risks and impacts associated with the occupancy and modification of these special areas. Third, as a matter of fairness, when the Federal government determines it will participate in actions taking place in floodplains and or wetlands, it must inform those who may be put at greater or continued risk.

Written comments must be received by Sandy Camp, Grants Administrator at P.O. Box 100, Edgewater, Florida 32132-0100 and (386) 424-2400 ext. 7203 on or before July 15, 2024. A full description of the project may also be reviewed from 8:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. ET Monday through Friday at 104 North Riverside Drive, Edgewater, Florida. Additional information may be obtained by contacting Sandy Camp, Grants Administrator at 386-424-2400 ext. 7203. Comments may also be submitted by email to scamp@cityofedgewater.org.

Diezel DePew, Mayor
Environmental Certifying Official
104 North Riverside Drive
P.O. Box 100
Edgewater, Florida 32132-0100
Telephone Number 386-424-2400 Ext. 1102