U.S. Department of Homeland Security
Louisiana Transitional Recovery Office
# 1 Seine Court
New Orleans, Louisiana 70114

DRAFT
FINDING OF NO SIGNIFICANT IMPACT
for PEEBLES/GRAND MARAIS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL RELOCATION
IBERIA PARISH, LOUISIANA
FEMA-1607-DR-LA

BACKGROUND

As a result of high winds and storm surge from Iberia Port caused by Hurricane Rita in 
September 2005, Peebles Elementary School was flooded and wind-damaged.  The third 
graders from Peebles Elementary have been attending school at Grand Marais 
Elementary School, and the fourth, fifth, and sixth graders have been attending Belle 
Place Middle School.  Peebles and Grand Marais are in the same attendance zone, while 
Belle Place is in a different attendance zone.  Iberia Parish School Board (IPSB) has 
applied to FEMA under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance 
Act, PL 93-288 for Public Assistance funding for an improved project to restore the 
function and capacity of the IPSB Peebles/Grand Marais attendance zone.  

In accordance with 44 CFR Part 10, FEMA regulations to implement the National 
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), a draft Environmental Assessment (EA) was 
prepared.  The purpose of the EA was to analyze the potential environmental impacts 
associated with construction of a new elementary school to accommodate students from 
Peebles and Grand Marais and to determine whether to prepare an Environmental Impact 
Statement (EIS) or Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI). The need for the proposed 
action is to provide a school facility outside of the 100-year floodplain, with predisaster 
capacity (approximately 560 students), and within the same geographic area that the 
students were previously drawn from. The alternatives considered include 1) No Action, 
and 2) Construction of a New Elementary School Relocating Peebles and Grand Marais 
Elementary Schools (Proposed Action).

The project proposed by the IPSB involves the construction of a 66,778-square-foot 
school building serving students in pre-kindergarten through sixth grade. The location for 
the proposed new elementary school is a 15-acre parcel northwest of the intersection of 
US 90 and Parish Road 211 (Darnell Road) in New Iberia, Iberia Parish, Louisiana.  The 
site had previously been used for sugarcane production but has otherwise remained 
undeveloped and is located in an agricultural/residential area.  The proposed structure is 
to be rough-faced cinder blocks with exterior brick veneer and with a metal roof. The 
foundation would be a post tension concrete slab. Water service would require 
connection to existing lines located approximately 1.5 miles from the site. Currently the 
IPSB is considering two options for the handling and disposal of wastewater from the 
school.  The first option is construction of a wastewater treatment plant and lift station 
on the school property, with treated effluent discharge to a drainage ditch.  The second 
option is to connect to an existing municipal wastewater treatment system through the 
construction of 2,200 feet of sanitary sewer lines.  At the time of preparation of this draft 
EA and draft FONSI, neither option had been selected.

PUBLIC REVIEW AND COMMENT

A legal notice is posted in the local newspaper, The Daily Iberian, and the Draft EA was 
made available for public review at Iberia Parish Library and Iberia Parish School Board 
from April 9, 2007, to April 25, 2007.  If no substantive comments are received, the Draft 
EA will become final and this initial Public Notice will also serve as the final Public 
Notice.    

FINDINGS

FEMA has evaluated the proposed project for significant adverse impacts to geology, 
soils, water resources (surface water, groundwater, and wetlands), floodplains, coastal 
resources, air quality, biological resources (vegetation, fish and wildlife, Federally listed 
threatened or endangered species and critical habitats), cultural resources, 
socioeconomics (including minority and low income populations), safety, noise, 
hazardous materials, and traffic. The results of these evaluations as well as consultations 
and input from other Federal and state agencies are presented in the draft EA.  Based on 
the information analyzed, FEMA has determined that the implementation of the proposed 
action would not result in significant adverse impacts to the quality of the natural and 
human environment. In addition, the proposed project does not appear to have the 
potential for significant cumulative effects when combined with past, present, and 
reasonably foreseeable future actions. As a result of this FONSI, an EIS will not be 
prepared (44 CFR Part 10) and the proposed project as described in the EA may proceed.

CONDITIONS

The following conditions must be met as part of the implementation of the project. 
Failure to comply with these conditions may jeopardize Federal funds:

*	If the wastewater treatment option involving 2,200 feet of trenching and pipe-
laying were selected by the School Board, additional archaeological clearance 
would be required before the project could proceed, because this area was not 
included in the original Area of Potential Effect (APE) reviewed by FEMA and 
SHPO.  
*	If the wastewater option involving 2,200 feet of piping to connect to the local 
municipal wastewater treatment system were chosen, a permit would be required 
from the local wastewater treatment plant system for discharge to its system 
would be required.
*	If the wastewater option for construction of a wastewater treatment plant and 
pump station were chosen, then a permit would be required from the Louisiana 
Department of Environmental Quality before discharge of effluent from the onsite 
plant to the ditch.  This permit would set parameters such as flow, pH, and 
conventional pollutants that would need to be met, and periodic reporting of these 
parameters would be required.
*	If during the course of construction, unanticipated archaeological artifacts 
(prehistoric or historic) or human remains are discovered, the applicant must 
follow the procedures set forth in Section 4.5.2 of this document.  
*	Hazardous materials used in construction of the new facility must be managed 
(stored, used, transported, and disposed of) in accordance with federal, state, and 
local hazardous waste, hazardous material, and hazardous substance requirements.  
If hazardous substances are released to the project area during construction, these 
federal, state, and local requirements must be followed in response and cleanup.  


APPROVAL





	 
Brent Paul		Date
FEMA Environmental Officer
FEMA Headquarters



	                                    
				
Howard R. Bush, Environmental Liaison Officer	Date	
Louisiana Transitional Recovery Office
FEMA-1603/1607-DR-LA
	      



							  

    James Stark, Director                                                 Date
 Louisiana Transitional Recovery Office
 FEMA-1603/1607-DR-LA