Combined HM 178 Draft EA with Appendices

286 Pages·2015·37.76 MB·English

Draft Environmental Assessment
New Orleans Redevelopment Authority
HMGP Pontilly Water Mitigation
Orleans Parish, Louisiana
Hazard Mitigation Grant Program
Project Number 1603-0178
December 2015

U.S. Department of Homeland Security
Federal Emergency Management Agency, Region VI
Louisiana Recovery Office
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
SECTION PAGE

1.0 INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................ 1
1.1 Project Authority ..........................................................................................1
1.2 Project Location ...........................................................................................2
1.3 Background ..................................................................................................4
2.0 PURPOSE AND NEED .............................................................................................................. 5
2.1 Purpose .........................................................................................................5
2.2 Need .............................................................................................................6
3.0 ALTERNATIVES ........................................................................................................................ 6
3.1 No Action Alternative ..................................................................................6
3.2 Alternative Proposal: Installation of Stormwater
Lots/Parks, Street Basins and Urban Bioswales; Widen
Dwyer Canal ................................................................................................6
3.3 Alternative 2 Considered: Upgrade and Improve the
Existing Underground Pipe Collection System .........................................11
4.0 AFFECTED ENVIRONMENT AND POTENTIAL IMPACTS .................................................... 11
4.1 Geology And Soils .....................................................................................11
4.1.1 Regulatory Setting .........................................................................11
4.1.2 Existing Conditions ........................................................................12
4.1.3 Environmental Impacts ..................................................................12
4.2 Air Quality .................................................................................................12
4.2.1 Regulatory Setting .........................................................................12
4.2.2 Existing Conditions ........................................................................13
4.2.3 Environmental Impacts ..................................................................13
4.3 Climate Change Executive Orders (EO) 13514 and 13653 .......................14
4.3.1 Regulatory Setting .........................................................................14
4.3.2 Existing Conditions ........................................................................15
4.3.3 Environmental Consequences ........................................................15
4.4 Water Resources ........................................................................................16
4.4.1 Groundwater ..................................................................................16
4.4.2 Waters of the United States and Wetlands .....................................17
4.4.3 Floodplains .....................................................................................22
4.5 Coastal Resources ......................................................................................26
4.5.1 Regulatory Setting .........................................................................26
4.5.2 Existing Conditions ........................................................................27
4.5.3 Environmental Impacts ..................................................................27
4.6 Biological Resources .................................................................................28
4.6.1 Regulatory Authority .....................................................................28
4.6.2 Existing Conditions ........................................................................29
4.6.3 Environmental Impacts ..................................................................29
4.7 Cultural Resources .....................................................................................30
4.7.1 Regulatory Setting .........................................................................30
4.7.2 Existing Conditions ........................................................................31
4.7.3 Environmental Impacts ..................................................................32
4.8 Environmental Justice ................................................................................33
4.8.1 Regulatory Authority .....................................................................33
4.8.2 Existing Conditions ........................................................................33
4.8.3 Environmental Impacts ..................................................................34
4.9 Additional Considerations .........................................................................34
4.9.1 Hazardous Material ........................................................................34
4.9.2 Noise ..............................................................................................36
4.9.3 Traffic ............................................................................................37
4.9.4 Public Service and Utilities ............................................................38
4.9.5 Public Health and Safety ................................................................39
4.10 Summary Table ..........................................................................................40
5.0 CUMULATIVE IMPACTS ......................................................................................................... 42
6.0 MITIGATION ............................................................................................................................ 45
7.0 AGENCY COORDINATION, PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT AND PERMITS .................................. 48
7.1 Agency Coordination .................................................................................48
7.2 Local/City Permits .....................................................................................49
7.3 Public Involvement ....................................................................................49
8.0 LIST OF PREPARERS............................................................................................................. 50
9.0 REFERENCES ......................................................................................................................... 50

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LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1: State of Louisiana, Orleans Parish highlighted ................................................... 2
Figure 2: Pontilly Study Area ............................................................................................. 3
Figure 3: Vacant Lots, Pontchartrain Park .......................................................................... 7
Figure 4: Vacant Lots, Gentilly Woods .............................................................................. 8
Figure 5: Proposed conceptual drawing of stormwater lots ................................................ 9
Figure 6: Proposed Street Basins and Urban Bioswales .................................................... 9
Figure 7: Proposed Urban Bioswale ................................................................................. 10
Figure 8: Proposed Improvements to Dwyer Canal .......................................................... 10
Figure 9: USFWS National Wetlands Inventory Map ...................................................... 19
Figure 10: Preliminary DFRIM Map of Pontilly .............................................................. 24
Figure 11: NEPAssist- RCRA and TRI Sites within and near the project area ................ 35
Figure 12: FEMA- funded projects within the 1-mile buffer of the project area. ............ 44

LIST OF TABLES
Table 1. Proposed Project Alternative Impact to Floodplain ............................................ 25
Table 2. Protected Species That Could Inhabit the Pontilly area ..................................... 29
Table 3. Summary of Potential Impacts and Mitigation Measures ................................... 40

APPENDICES
Appendix A Proposed Alternative Conceptual Designs and Construction Plans
Appendix B Agency Coordination Correspondence
Appendix C Hydrology and Hydraulic Study Report by CDM Smith
Appendix D: Preliminary EER Report by CDM Smith and EDR Database Report by
Environmental Data Resources, Inc.
Appendix F 8-Step, Public Notice, and Draft FONSI

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LIST OF ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS
ABFE Advisory Base Flood Elevation
ACHP Advisory Council on Historic Preservation
APE Area of Potential Effect
BFE Base Flood Elevation
BMP Best Management Practice
CAA Clean Air Act
CBRA Coastal Barrier Resources Act
CBRS Coastal Barrier Resource System
CEQ Council on Environmental Quality
CFR Code of Federal Regulations
CH4 Methane
CIA Community Improvement Agency
CO2 Carbon Dioxide
CPRA Office of Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority
CUP Coastal Use Permit
CWA Clean Water Act
CZMA Coastal Zone Management Act
dB decibel
DFIRM Digital Flood Insurance Rate Map
DNL Day-Night Average Sound Level
EA Environmental Assessment
ECD Erosion Control Devices
EHP Environmental Historic Preservation
EIS Environmental Impact Statement
EL elevation
EO Executive Order
ESA Endangered Species Act
FEMA Federal Emergency Management Agency
FIRM Flood Insurance Rate Map
FONSI Finding of No Significant Impact
FPPA Farmland Protection Policy Act
GCR General Conformity Rule
GHG Greenhouse Gases
GNO Greater New Orleans
GOHSEP Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness
HEAG Highest Existing Adjacent Grade
H&H Hydrology and Hydraulic Study
HFC hydrofluorocarbons
HMGP Hazard Mitigation Grant Program
HSDRRS Hurricane & Storm Damage Risk Reduction System
HUD Department of Housing and Urban Development
LAC Louisiana Administrative Code
LDEQ Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality
LDWF Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries
Pontilly Stormwater Mitigation Project – Draft Environmental Assessment Page iv
LDNR Louisiana Department of Natural Resources
LSB Louisiana State Brownfield
LUST Leaking Underground Storage Tank
NAAQS National Ambient Air Quality Standards
NEPA National Environmental Policy Act
NFIP National Flood Insurance Program
NMFS National Marine Fisheries Service
NHPA National Historic Preservation Act
NO2 Nitrogen Dioxide
N2O Nitrous Oxide
NORA New Orleans Redevelopment Authority
NPDES National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System
NRCS Natural Resources Conservation Service
NRHP National Register of Historic Places
NWI National Wetlands Inventory
O3 Ozone
OCM Office of Coastal Management
OPA Other Protected Area
OSHA Occupational Safety and Health Administration
PA Programmatic Agreement
Pb lead
PFC Perfluorocarbons
PM Particulate Matter
RCRA Resource Conservation and Recovery Act
RHA River Harbors Act
SHPO State Historic Preservation Office
SF6 Sulfur Hexaflouride
SO2 Sulfur Dioxide
SOV Solicitation of Views
SPOC Single Point of Contact
SUNO Southern University of New Orleans
SWPPP Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan
S&WB Sewerage & Water Board of New Orleans
THPO Tribal Historic Preservation Office
TRI Toxic Release Inventory Site
USACE U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
USDA U.S. Department of Agriculture
USEPA U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
USFWS U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
UST Underground Storage Tank
VOC Volatile organic compounds

Pontilly Stormwater Mitigation Project – Draft Environmental Assessment Page v
1.0 Introduction
1.1 Project Authority
Hurricane Katrina, a Category 4 hurricane with a storm surge above normal high tide
levels, moved across the Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama Gulf Coasts on August 29,
2005. Maximum sustained winds at landfall were estimated at 140 miles per hour.
President George W. Bush declared a major disaster for the State of Louisiana due to
damages from Hurricane Katrina and signed a disaster declaration (FEMA-1603-DR-LA)
on August 29, 2005, authorizing the Department of Homeland Security’s Federal
Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to provide federal assistance in designated
areas of Louisiana. FEMA is administering this disaster assistance pursuant to the Robert
T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (Stafford Act), PL 93-288, as
amended. Section 404 of the Stafford Act authorizes FEMA’s Hazard Mitigation
Program (HMGP) to provide funds to states and local governments to implement long-
term hazard mitigation measures after a major disaster declaration.
The New Orleans Redevelopment Authority (NORA), the applicant, through the State of
Louisiana Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness
(GOHSEP), applied for funding under FEMA’s HMGP for a storm water mitigation
project in the Pontilly neighborhood of New Orleans. NORA is a City Board group that
works with public and private partners to redevelop and revitalize New Orleans
neighborhoods.
This Draft Environmental Assessment (EA) has been prepared in accordance with the
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969, the President’s Council on
Environmental Quality (CEQ) regulations to implement NEPA (40 Code of Federal
Regulations Parts 1500-1508), and FEMA’s regulations implementing NEPA (44 CFR
Part 10). Before FEMA can fund or implement an action that may affect the environment,
agency decision-makers must study the potential impacts that the proposed action and
alternatives will have on the human and natural environment, and make that information
available to the public. The purpose of this Draft EA is to analyze the potential
environmental impacts of the proposed HMGP Pontilly stormwater mitigation project.
FEMA will use the findings in this EA to determine whether to prepare an Environmental
Impact Statement (EIS) or a Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI).

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1.2 Project Location
Orleans Parish, which is comprised of the city of New Orleans, is located in southeast
Louisiana. It is approximately 350 square miles, of which approximately 180 square
miles (approximately 51.5 percent) is land, the remainder is open water. Orleans Parish is
bordered to the east by Lake Borgne, St. Bernard Parish, and Plaquemines Parish, to the
south by the Mississippi River, Plaquemines Parish, and Jefferson Parish, to the west by
Jefferson Parish, and to the north by Lake Pontchartrain and St. Tammany Parish (Figure
1). Orleans Parish has approximately 343,829 residents according to 2010 census figures.
New Orleans is located approximately 70 miles from Baton Rouge, the state capitol of
Louisiana, and approximately 105 miles upriver from the Gulf of Mexico.

Figure 1: State of Louisiana, Orleans Parish highlighted
The Pontilly Study Area is 856 acres, which includes both Pontchartrain Park and
Gentilly Wood neighborhoods (Figure 2), and is bounded by Norfolk Southern Railroad
to the west and north, the Inner Harbor Navigational Canal levee to the east, and Chef
Menteur (Highway 90) to the south. The area is mostly single family residential with
approximately 40 acres of commercial property along Chef Menteur Hwy. The area also
contains many amenities including the following schools: Southern University of New
Orleans, New Orleans Baptist Seminary, Mary D. Coghill Elementary School, St.
Benedict the Moor Catholic School, and Parkview Fundamental Magnet School; the
following churches: Holy Cross Lutheran Church, St. Gabriel the Archangel Catholic
Church, Bethany United Methodist Church, and Morning Star Missionary Baptist
Church; and three parks including: Joseph Bartholomew Golf Course, Harris Playground,
and Morrison Play spot (H&H study,2012).
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Figure 2: Pontilly Study Area

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