Public Notice for FEMA buyouts (Irene and Lee)

Public Notice of the Intent of FEMA to Fund a Project – December 12, 2012


Notification is hereby given to the public of the intent of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to provide Hazard Mitigation Assistance funding to Ulster County, New York.

The proposed activity is the voluntary acquisition and demolition of up to thirty-three (33) properties substantially damaged by flood waters from Hurricane Irene and/or Tropical Storm Lee in August and September 2011. The subject properties are in the Towns of Kingston, Olive, Shandaken, Ulster and Wawarsing. All are located within the base, or one percent annual chance floodplain (also known as the 100-year floodplain) of the Esopus Creek, Birch Creek, Stony Clove Creek, Rondout Creek, the Saw Kill and unnamed tributaries.

Acquisitions will be from willing sellers only. Properties will be acquired, structures demolished, and sites graded and seeded. Deed restrictions will prohibit future development and sites will be maintained in perpetuity as open space under municipal ownership.

Federal Executive Orders 11988, Floodplain Management, and 11990, Protection of Wetlands, require federal agencies to review proposed actions in floodplains and/or wetlands and explore practicable alternatives to avoid, minimize or mitigate potential impacts. The alternative to acquisition/demolition would be to leave these flood-prone properties in private ownership for the potential repair and rebuilding of structures or for future development. The proposed project will remove structures from the floodplain and create open space to restore the beneficial values served by floodplains and wetlands.

The public is invited to provide comments about this project. Written comments may be submitted by mail to FEMA Region II, Hazard Mitigation Grant Program, Leo O’Brien Federal Building, 11A Clinton Square, Room 742, Albany, New York 12206-5421 or by email to FEMA-R2-HMA@fema.dhs.gov. Comments should be submitted within 15 days of this notice.