Hazardous Fire Risk Reduction, East Bay Hills, CA, 28892-28893 [2013-11707]

Agencies

• Federal Emergency Management Agency
• DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 95 (Thursday, May 16, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 28892-28893]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-11707]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

Federal Emergency Management Agency

[Docket ID FEMA 2010-0037]


Hazardous Fire Risk Reduction, East Bay Hills, CA

AGENCY: Federal Emergency Management Agency, DHS.

ACTION: Notice of availability of draft environmental impact statement 
and notice of public meetings.

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SUMMARY: The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has prepared an 
environmental impact statement (EIS) evaluating the environmental 
impacts of funding a combination of hazardous fuels reduction projects 
within the East Bay Hills area in Alameda and Contra Costa Counties, 
California. The projects may be funded through Federal assistance 
grants under the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP) and the Pre-
Disaster Mitigation (PDM). The National Park Service, the U.S. Forest 
Service, the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration, 
Fisheries Service, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the California 
Emergency Management Agency, the University of California, Berkeley 
(UCB), the City of Oakland (Oakland), and the East Bay Regional Parks 
District (EBRPD) have participated in the preparation of the EIS as 
cooperating agencies. Public meetings will be held during the public 
comment period on the draft EIS. The draft EIS is available on the 
project Web site at https://ebheis.cdmims.com.

DATES: Public meetings will be held May 14 and May 18, 2013. The public 
comment period on the Draft EIS starts with a concurrent publication 
through EPA of a notice in the Federal Register and will continue until 
June 17, 2013. FEMA will consider all oral comments recorded at the 
public meetings and all electronic and written comments on the draft 
EIS received or postmarked by that date. Agencies, interested parties, 
and the public are invited to submit comments on this draft EIS at any 
time during the public comment period.

ADDRESSES: FEMA will hold public meetings to allow the public an 
opportunity to learn more about the project and to submit comments on 
the draft EIS at the following locations:
    1. May 14, 2013, at 2 p.m., Richard C. Trudeau Training Center, 
Main Room, 11500 Skyline Boulevard, Oakland, CA 94619.
    2. May 14, 2013, at 6 p.m., Richard C. Trudeau Training Center, 
Main Room, 11500 Skyline Boulevard, Oakland, CA 94619.
    3. May 18, 2013, at 10 a.m., Claremont Middle School, Gymnasium, 
5750 College Avenue, Oakland, CA 94618.
    You may submit comments, identified by Docket ID FEMA-2010-0037, by 
one of the following methods:
    Federal eRulemaking Portal: https://www.regulations.gov. Search for 
Docket ID FEMA-2010-0037 and follow the instructions for submitting 
comments.
    Mail/Hand Delivery/Courier: Office of Chief Counsel, Federal 
Regulatory Affairs Division, Emergency Management Agency, 500 C Street 
SW., Washington, DC 20472-3100.

[[Page 28893]]

    Instructions: All submissions received must include the agency name 
and Docket ID. Regardless of the method used for submitting comments or 
material, all submissions will be posted, without change, to the 
Federal eRulemaking Portal at https://www.regulations.gov, and will 
include any personal information you provide. Therefore, submitting 
this information makes it public. You may wish to read the Privacy Act 
notice that is available via a link in the footer of https://www.regulations.gov.
    Docket: For access to the docket to read background documents or 
comments received, go to the Federal eRulemaking Portal at https://www.regulations.gov, click on ``Advanced Search,'' then enter ``FEMA-
2010-0037'' in the ``By Docket ID'' box, then select ``FEMA'' under 
``By Agency,'' and then click ``Search.'' These documents also may be 
inspected at FEMA, Office of Chief Counsel, 500 C Street SW., 
Washington, DC 20472-3100.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Alessandro Amaglio, Regional 
Environmental Officer, Region IX, FEMA, 1111 Broadway, Suite 1200, 
Oakland, CA 94607-4052 and phone number at (510) 627-7027.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: FEMA has received four hazard mitigation 
applications for hazardous fuels reduction projects in the East Bay 
Hills of Alameda and Contra Costa counties, California and at the 
Miller/Knox Regional Shoreline in Contra Costa County in California. 
The proposed action is to fund these four projects under section 404 of 
the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act 
(Stafford Act), Public Law 93-288, as amended, establishing the HMGP 
and Section 203 of the Stafford Act, establishing the PDM grant 
program. The California Emergency Management Agency is the official 
applicant, and UCB, Oakland, and EBRPD are subapplicants.
    The four grant applications propose vegetation management work in 
60 project areas located on land owned by UCB and Oakland and within 11 
parks owned and maintained by EBRPD. Another 45 project areas are 
referred to as the connected action areas and they are adjacent or 
nearby areas where EBRPD plans to do similar vegetation management work 
that would not be funded by the grant applications under consideration. 
Together, the proposed and connected actions would provide more 
effective protection over a larger area. The connected actions are 
being implemented as funding becomes available.
    In addition to the vegetation management work proposed for grant 
funding, there is additional work proposed within the project areas 
that may be funded by other agencies. Some of this additional work 
includes activities that are not eligible for FEMA funding, such as the 
pile burning and area burning proposed by EBRPD.
    The Strawberry Canyon Vegetation Management Project on UCB land 
involves the removal of eucalyptus and other exotic non-native trees in 
a 56-acre area, chipping the downed trees and scattering the chips in 
portions of the project area, and the application of herbicides, as 
needed, to eradicate eucalyptus tree sprouts from the area. The 
Claremont Canyon Vegetation Management Project on UCB land involves the 
removal of eucalyptus, Monterey pine, and acacia trees in a 43-acre 
area, chipping the downed trees and scattering the chips in portions of 
the project area, and the application of herbicides, as needed, to 
eradicate eucalyptus tree sprouts from the area. The City of Oakland's 
project involves thinning and eradication techniques within 359 acres 
on Oakland, UCB, and EBRPD lands. The EBRPD project involves the 
treatment of 540 acres to reduce fuel load through brush removal 
(mechanical and hand), chemical treatment, limbing and mowing, 
thinning, and grazing techniques as appropriate to reduce the risk of 
fire hazard. These projects would affect approximately 998 acres of the 
Wildland-Urban Interface in the East Bay Hills running from Lake Chabot 
to Wildcat Canyon and Sobrante Ridge. The connected actions would 
involve similar vegetation management activities on an additional 1,061 
acres of EBRPD lands.
    The draft EIS evaluates the potential effects of two alternatives 
including:
    (1) No action, which involves denying the grant applications; and
    (2) The proposed and connected actions of vegetation management 
activities on 105 project areas.

Public Involvement and Comments

    Public meetings will begin with an open house during which staff 
will be available to answer questions about the project followed by a 
short overview presentation and an opportunity to present oral comments 
or submit written comments. Public meeting locations and times as 
described under the DATES and ADDRESSES sections of this notice will 
also be announced through the local media, the project Web site (https://ebheis.cdmims.com), and an interested party mailing list. All meeting 
locations will be handicapped-accessible and accessible by public 
transit. Anyone needing special accommodations should contact FEMA 
Region IX to make arrangements.
    Speakers will be asked to provide brief comments to allow adequate 
time to hear all comments. Should any speaker desire to provide further 
information for the record that cannot be presented within the 
designated time, such additional information may be submitted at the 
meeting, electronically, or by letter at the address provided on this 
notice by June 17, 2013. Speakers are encouraged to provide a written 
version of their oral comments at the meetings to ensure that their 
comments are completely and accurately recorded.
    FEMA requests that reviewers provide specific information and 
comments on factual errors, missing information, or additional 
considerations that should be corrected or included in the final EIS. 
Comments on the draft EIS should be specific and should address the 
adequacy of the statement and the merits of the alternatives discussed 
(40 CFR 1503.3).
    Individual respondents may request confidentiality. The names, 
street addresses, and city or town information of those providing 
comments will be part of the administrative record, and will be subject 
to public disclosure unless confidentiality is requested. Such a 
request must be stated prominently at the beginning of the comment. We 
will honor requests to the extent allowed by law. All submissions from 
organizations or businesses, and from individuals identifying 
themselves as representatives or officials of organizations or 
businesses, will be available for public inspection in their entirety, 
consistent with applicable law.
    After gathering public comments, FEMA will identify and provide 
responses in the final EIS according to 40 CFR 1503.4. A Record of 
Decision addressing the federal action will be issued by FEMA no sooner 
than 30 days following distribution of the final EIS, which is expected 
to occur about August, 2013.

    Authority: 42 U.S.C. 4331; 40 CFR Part 1500; 44 CFR Part 10.

W. Craig Fugate,
Administrator, Federal Emergency Management Agency.
[FR Doc. 2013-11707 Filed 5-15-13; 8:45 am]
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