VENTURA COUNTY — The U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) intends to provide federal financial assistance under the Pre-Disaster Mitigation Grant Program to the Ventura County Watershed Protection District in Ventura County, California, to construct approximately 1,865 feet of 4- to 8-foot-high floodwall parallel to the Santa Clara River and North Ventura Road.Pursuant to Executive Order 11988 (Floodplain Management), Executive Order 11990 (Wetlands 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 and wetlands.
The purpose of the proposed action is to reduce flood impacts. The proposed action consists of the following: 1) construction of approximately 1,865 feet of 4- to 8-foot-high floodwall; 2) installation of a 6-foot high floodgate across North Ventura Road; 3) installation of a 15-foot-wide concreted rock riprap maintenance access road and 1,300 feet of sheet pile; 4) construction of two 40-foot-long earthen embankments abutting and perpendicular to the existing Union Pacific Railroad embankment; 5) removal and replacement of the concrete overflow spillway for El Rio Drain.
The project area is in the 100-year floodplain as depicted on the FEMA Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) Numbers 06111C0905E, effective January 20, 2010. The FIRM shows that the project area lies within Zone AE, an area that has a 1-percent probability of flooding every year and where predicted floodwater elevations have been established.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service National Wetlands Inventory map shows a freshwater forested/shrub wetland within the project area. The project received authorization from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) to temporarily impact 0.004 acres of wetlands. If construction best management practices and the general conditions and mitigation measures included in the USACE Nationwide Permit are implemented, permanent impacts on wetlands are not anticipated.
Additional information about FEMA’s proposed action, including maps showing the potential impacts on floodplains and wetlands, may be obtained by writing the FEMA Region IX Environmental Officer at FEMA, 1111 Broadway, Suite 1200, Oakland, California 94607, or fema-rix-ehp-documents@fema.dhs.gov, or calling (510) 627-7027. All requests should be received within 15 days after publication of this notice.