The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has received a subgrant application for the Craven County, North Carolina. Pursuant to Executive Order 11988 and 44 CFR Part 9.12, notice is hereby given of FEMA’s intent to provide funding for this project under the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) grant.
Under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), federal actions must be reviewed and evaluated for feasible alternatives and for social, economic, historic, environmental, legal, and safety considerations. Executive Orders (EO) 11988 and 11990 requires FEMA to consider alternatives and provide a public notice of any proposed actions in or affecting floodplains or wetlands. EO 12898 requires FEMA to provide the opportunity for public participation in the planning process and to consider potential impacts to minority and low-income populations. This notice may also fulfill requirements under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA). President Biden issued new Executive Orders 13985 and 14008 in January 2021 to further address the need to achieve environmental justice and equity across the federal government. The issuance of the new executive orders more than 20 years after Executive Order 12898 was signed indicates the administration’s directive to federal agencies to renew their energy, effort, resources, and attention to environmental justice. FEMA is working with applicants/subapplicants to identify communities with Environmental Justice concerns and provide an avenue for local groups and non-profits with an Environmental Justice mission to self-identify so that FEMA Programs can start to work with them on specific projects from the beginning of the application process.