Programmatic/Class Floodplain Review Procedures for Specific Preparedness Grant Projects, 68644-68646 [2023-22005]

Agencies

• Federal Emergency Management Agency
• DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 191 (Wednesday, October 4, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 68644-68646]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-22005]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

Federal Emergency Management Agency

[Docket ID FEMA-2023-0027]


Programmatic/Class Floodplain Review Procedures for Specific 
Preparedness Grant Projects

AGENCY: Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland 
Security.

ACTION: Notice; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is publishing 
this notice to document and request comments on its determination that 
a programmatic/class review is appropriate for six categories of 
activities in specific grant programs that do not have an adverse 
impact individually or cumulatively on floodplain values placing 
property and persons at risk.

DATES: Comments must be received by November 3, 2023.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by Docket ID FEMA-2023-
0027 via the Federal eRulemaking Portal at https://www.regulations.gov. 
Search for and follow the instructions for submitting comments.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Frederick Holycross, Coordinator, 
Grant Programs Directorate, Environmental Planning and Historic 
Preservation, FEMA, [email protected], or 202-212-8007.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Public Participation

    Interested persons are invited to participate in this ``Class 
Review Procedures for Specific Preparedness Grant Projects'' by 
submitting comments and related materials. We will consider all 
comments and material received during the comment period.
    If you submit a comment, include the Docket ID FEMA-2023-0027 
indicate the specific section of this document to which each comment 
applies, and give the reason for each comment. All submissions may be 
posted, without change, to the Federal e-Rulemaking Portal at https://www.regulations.gov and will include any personal information you 
provide. Therefore, submitting this information makes it public. For 
more about privacy and the docket, visit https://www.regulations.gov.
    Viewing comments and documents: For access to the docket to read 
background documents or comments received, go to the Federal e-
Rulemaking Portal at https://www.regulations.gov.

II. Background

    FEMA's floodplain management regulations are found at Part 9 of the 
Code of Federal Regulations. Part 9 sets forth the policy, procedure 
and responsibilities to implement and enforce Executive Order 11988, 
Floodplain Management.\1\ Part 9 sets forth an 8-step process which 
FEMA must follow when taking actions in floodplains \2\ which have the 
potential to affect floodplains or their occupants, or which are 
subject to potential harm by location in floodplains.\3\
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    \1\ ``This regulation sets forth the policy, procedure and 
responsibilities to implement and enforce Executive Order 11988, 
Floodplain Management, and Executive Order 11990, Protection of 
Wetlands.'' 44 CFR 9.1.
    \2\ The 8-step process set forth in 44 CFR part 9 also governs 
agency actions that take place in wetlands.
    \3\ 44 CFR 9.5(a)(1).
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    For such actions, FEMA is required to take the following steps: (1) 
determine whether the proposed action is located in the 100-year 
floodplain (500-year floodplain for critical actions), and whether it 
has the potential to affect or be affected by the floodplain; (2) 
notify the public at the earliest possible time of the intent to carry 
out an action in a floodplain, and involve the affected and interested 
public in the decision-making process; (3) identify and evaluate 
practicable alternatives to locating the proposed action in a 
floodplain (including alternative sites, actions and the ``no action'' 
option); (4) identify the potential direct and indirect impacts 
associated with the occupancy or modification of floodplains and the 
potential direct and indirect support of floodplain development that 
could result from the proposed action; (5) minimize the potential 
adverse impacts and support to or within floodplains to be identified 
under Step 4, restore and preserve the natural and beneficial values 
served by floodplains; (6) reevaluate the proposed action to determine 
first, if it is still practicable in light of its exposure to flood 
hazards, the extent to which it will aggravate the hazards to others, 
and its potential to disrupt floodplain values and second, if 
alternatives preliminarily rejected at Step 3 are practicable in light 
of the information gained in Steps 4 and 5; (7) prepare and provide the 
public with a finding and public explanation of any final decision that 
the floodplain is the only practicable alternative; and (8) review the 
implementation and post-implementation phases of the proposed action to 
ensure that the minimization requirements are fully implemented.\4\
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    \4\ 44 CFR 9.6.
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    FEMA completes the 8-step process for each action it is taking in a 
floodplain as part of the comprehensive environmental and historic 
preservation (EHP) compliance reviews that are required for all 
projects funded under its disaster and non-disaster grant programs.\5\ 
The implementing guidance for E.O. 11988 (Guidelines) allows for an 
altered or shortened decision-making floodplain evaluation ``class 
review'' process for certain routine or recurring actions, known as 
repetitive actions.\6\

[[Page 68645]]

Class reviews or programmatic approaches allow for efficient and 
effective ways to meet EHP requirements, including floodplain reviews.
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    \5\ See generally FEMA's website at Environmental Planning and 
Historic Preservation for a description of the EHP process and the 
applicable regulations, directives, and legal mandates which govern 
it. (Last accessed on 6/16/2023).
    \6\ See Guidelines for Implementing Executive Order 11988, 
Floodplain Management, and Executive Order 13690, Establishing a 
Federal Flood Risk Management Standard and a Process for Further 
Soliciting and Considering Stakeholder Input at 44.
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    In considering whether to undertake such a review, the Guidelines 
instruct agencies to examine past actions that have been reviewed on an 
individual basis with public notice and opportunity to comment.\7\ If 
the individual reviews have indicated uniformly that the actions would 
not have an adverse impact individually or cumulatively on floodplain 
values placing property and persons at risk, and little or no public 
comments to the contrary were received, a class review to streamline 
agency coordination and processing efforts may be appropriate.\8\ 
Agencies may conduct class reviews of routine or recurring actions 
when: (1) consideration of whether to locate in a floodplain is 
substantially similar; (2) there is no practicable alternative(s), 
consistent with any Executive Orders and applicable agency codes, to 
siting in a floodplain for each action within the class; and (3) all 
practical measures to minimize harm to the floodplain are included in 
the review criteria that, if followed, will minimize any adverse 
impacts that may be associated with the individual actions covered in 
the class review.\9\
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    \7\ Id.
    \8\ Id.
    \9\ Id.
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III. Floodplain Review Procedures for Specific Preparedness Grant 
Projects

    FEMA funds certain routine or repetitive certain routine or 
repetitive small-scale activities under a number of preparedness grant 
programs administered by its Grant Programs Directorate (GPD).\10\ FEMA 
reviewed six project categories from thirteen GPD grant programs and 
determined they were appropriate for the shortened class review 
procedures. Specifically, FEMA's determination applies to the following 
six categories of activities funded under thirteen preparedness grant 
programs:\11\
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    \10\ GPD's mission is to deliver and support grant programs that 
help the Nation before, during and after disasters to make the 
country more resilient. GPD administers and manages FEMA grants to 
ensure critical and measurable results for customers and 
stakeholders, while also ensuring transparency in the grant process; 
consolidates the grant business operations, systems, training, 
policy and oversight of all FEMA grants; establishes and promotes 
consistent outreach and communication with state, local, tribal and 
territorial (SLTTs) stakeholders; and offers information about 
FEMA's preparedness grants funding provided to SLTT governments in 
the form of non-disaster grants.
    \11\ The non-disaster preparedness grant programs to which 
FEMA's determination applies are as follows: (1) Assistance to 
Firefighters Grant Program; (2) Fire Prevention and Safety Grant 
Program; (3) Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response Grant 
Program; (4) Nonprofit Security Grant Program; (5) Tribal Homeland 
Security Grant Program; (6) Emergency Management Performance Grant 
Program; (7) Operation Stonegarden; (8) State Homeland Security 
Program; (9) Urban Area Security Initiative; (10) Intercity Bus 
Security Grant Program; (11) Intercity Passenger Rail Program; (12) 
Port Security Grant Program; and (13) Transit Security Grant 
Program.
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(1) Temporary Structures

    a. Installation of temporary removable barriers

(2) Recreation and Landscaping

    a. Repairs, replacement and minor upgrades to security equipment at 
recreational facilities.
    b. Repair, in-kind replacement, and minor upgrades to existing 
landscaping elements (e.g., bollards, planters, lighting elements, 
signs) that do not require additional ground disturbance.

(3) Buildings--Interior

    a. Building contents, including furniture, movable partitions, 
computers, cabinetry, supplies and equipment, and any other moveable 
items.
    b. Changes to interior structural elements (e.g., floors, walls, 
ceilings).
    c. Installation, repair, or replacement of equipment including 
electronic equipment, electronic whiteboards, televisions and wall 
monitors, radios, self-contained breathing apparatus, gear washers and 
dryers.
    d. Installation, repair, or replacement of building communication 
and surveillance security systems, such as cameras, closed-circuit 
television, alarm systems, and public address systems and warning 
sirens.
    e. Installation, repair, or replacement of building access security 
devices, such as card readers, enhanced locks, and security scanners 
(e.g., metal detectors), motion sensors, panic buttons, and access 
control equipment.
    f. Installation, repair or replacement of interior fire detection, 
fire suppression or security alarm systems.
    g. Installation, repair, upgrading or replacement, of interior 
utility systems, including mechanical (e.g., heating, ventilation, air 
conditioning), electrical, and plumbing systems, ventilation units, air 
handler units including the associated ductwork and electric conduits.

(4) Windows and Doors

    a. Repair or replacement of windows, windowpanes, window frames, 
shutters, storm shutters, doors, and door frames, and associated 
hardware, or installation of window blast protection film or security 
bars.
    b. Installation, repair, or replacement of doors, door frames, 
locks or access control equipment.

(5) Exterior Security Features

    a. Installation, repair, or replacement of exterior lighting 
systems, cameras, or early warning systems.
    b. Repair or replacement of above-ground bollards or tire puncture 
treadles that do not require ground disturbance.

(6) Transportation, Utilities, and Communication Systems

    a. Installation, repair, or replacement of license plate readers, 
emergency warning sirens, or emergency notification signs.
    b. Repair, replacement, minor upgrading, small scale realignment 
and elevation of utilities and associated features and structures.
    c. Repair or minor upgrade of water towers.
    d. Collocation of antennas, communication or security equipment on 
existing buildings, structures, poles or communication towers.
    e. Enhancement or repair of existing communication towers and 
antenna supports.
    This class review does not apply to actions located in regulatory 
floodways or coastal high hazard areas, including V/VE Zones; 
construction of new buildings, structures, infrastructure or 
facilities; or any activity that does not clearly fall within the 
categories of activities listed above.
Compliance With Step 1 of the 8-Step Process
    Step 1 of the 8-Step Process requires FEMA to determine whether the 
proposed action is located in the 100-year floodplain (500-year 
floodplain for critical actions), and whether it has the potential to 
affect or be affected by the floodplain. For the purpose of this 
determination, FEMA assumed that all of the activities listed above 
might be located in the 100-year floodplain (or the 500-year floodplain 
for critical actions). FEMA also noted that most sites would be located 
in a NFIP participating community and therefore locatable on a Flood 
Insurance Rate Map (FIRM). The activities discussed herein are 
generally actions that do not constitute new construction or 
substantial improvement. Therefore,

[[Page 68646]]

flood hazard area of consideration is the 1-percent-annual-chance area.
Compliance With Step 2 of the 8-Step Process
    Step 2 of the 8-step process requires FEMA to notify the public at 
the earliest possible time of the intent to carry out an action in a 
floodplain or wetland, and involve the affected and interested public 
in the decision-making process.\12\
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    \12\ 44 CFR 9.6(b).
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    FEMA is providing cumulative notice of approval for project 
categories specified here. A cumulative notice addresses several 
actions in one notice or series of notices.\13\ FEMA may base its 
determination of appropriate notice of actions within the floodplain, 
including whether to issue a cumulative notice, on several factors, 
including but not limited to: (i) scale of the action; (ii) potential 
for controversy; (iii) degree of public need; (iv) number of affected 
agencies and individuals; and (v) its anticipated potential impact.\14\ 
A cumulative notice addresses several actions in one notice or series 
of notices.
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    \13\ 44 CFR 9.8(c)(7).
    \14\ 44 CFR 9.8(c)(3).
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    Here, each category of action covered by this determination is 
small-scale with little or no potential to affect the floodplain or be 
affected by floods; no similar actions in the past have been considered 
controversial by any community, organization or individual, nor is it 
anticipated that future actions of this kind will be controversial; 
each action serves an important community need to bolster the 
preparedness and security of existing facilities; each action affects a 
limited number of agencies or individuals on a facility-wide and local 
basis; and, as described further below, the anticipated impact to the 
floodplain is very low. FEMA will continue to carry out individual 
public notices for actions that do not meet these factors. At this 
time, upon consideration of the factors identified above, FEMA provides 
cumulative notice for the aforementioned small-scale projects pursuant 
to 44 CFR 9.8(c)(3).
    For those projects deemed large scale, impacting a large number of 
agencies or individuals, and those projects whose anticipated impacts 
are beyond the scale of projects listed here, FEMA will continue to 
carry out individual public notice.
Compliance With Steps 3-6 of the 8-Step Process
    For the above-listed activities funded under the thirteen 
referenced grant programs, FEMA completed Steps 3-6 of the 8-step 
process by cumulatively considering their direct and indirect adverse 
impacts to floodplains associated with the occupancy and modification 
of floodplains, the potential to promote floodplain development 
directly or indirectly, and whether there could be any practicable 
alternative locations or actions. The actions covered by this notice do 
not involve new construction or substantial improvements to existing 
structures in the floodplain. Rather, these actions consist of minor 
alterations to existing facilities and are primarily comprised of the 
installation of new security equipment in or on existing buildings or 
structures, replacement of existing security equipment, or repair of 
existing buildings or structures. The potential for additional effects 
on the floodplain, and the potential for additional effects from a 
flood, are negligible given that these small-scale material changes 
would make up a small percentage of new materials in relation to the 
existing materials of the existing facility. The actions are 
additionally minimized because they do not result in ground disturbance 
or make material changes to the floodplain that would affect or be 
affected by flood waters.
    Additionally, these actions shall be conditioned to be in 
accordance with local floodplain ordinances and applicable codes and 
standards which may include minimization measures. The actions would 
require only short-term construction activity, minimizing the potential 
impacts of additional construction traffic or discharge of pollutants 
from building activities. The actions will not have adverse effects 
that can lead to the degradation and loss of natural functions and 
habitat because they do not include clearing vegetation, placing fill, 
covering floodplains with impervious surfaces, rerouting stormwater, 
increasing pollution sources, or channelizing rivers, or similar 
harmful actions. Finally, these actions will not have direct or 
indirect detrimental effects on the quantity and quality of floodplain 
habitats used by fish and other wildlife and will not reduce habitat 
complexity or prey availability, modify hydrology, reduce bank 
stability, or increase erosion, pollution, water temperature or the 
risk of downstream wildlife displacement. This determination is in 
keeping with FEMA's treatment of these actions in other areas of the 
EHP process; FEMA has determined that each of these small-scale actions 
is not significant enough to require preparation of an environmental 
assessment because each of them meets a categorical exclusion under 
Department of Homeland Security's Instruction Manual 023-01-001-01, 
Revision 01, Implementation of the National Environmental Policy Act 
(NEPA).
    The majority of the covered actions are small enhancements to 
existing facilities that do not materially extend the life of the 
facility to which they are associated or promote future development of 
the floodplain. Because these actions involve repairs to existing 
facilities already located in the floodplain, there are no practicable 
alternatives outside of the floodplain.
    The facilities enhanced by these smaller projects are located 
within the floodplain. Given that the covered actions occur when an 
existing facility is enhanced by smaller fixtures, FEMA determined 
there is a very low risk of adverse effects from these actions. That 
determination and completing this cumulative initial notice will 
provide time and cost savings.
Compliance With Step 7 of the 8-Step Process
    Step 7 of the 8-Step Process requires FEMA to prepare and provide 
the public with a finding and public explanation of any final decision 
that the floodplain is the only practicable alternative for the 
identified actions. FEMA will publish a final public notice for the 
described actions after comments from the public are received and 
considered. Other actions and those involving facilities that do not 
meet the listed criteria are required to undergo the complete Eight-
Step process, including project-specific public notices.
Compliance With Step 8 of the 8-Step Process
    Step 8 of the 8-Step Process requires FEMA to review the 
implementation and post-implementation phases of the proposed action to 
ensure that the minimization requirements are fully implemented. FEMA 
will integrate all implementation and oversight responsibility into 
existing GPD processes for project grant review, award, award 
administration and closeout.

Deanne Criswell,
Administrator, Federal Emergency Management Agency.
[FR Doc. 2023-22005 Filed 10-3-23; 8:45 am]
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