Grant Public Notice - FEMA HMGP-4734-(124) Clay Electric Cooperative Grid Resiliency Project - Putnam County Distribution and Transmission Hardening, Infrastructure Retrofit
JOINT FEDERAL, STATE, LOCAL PUBLIC NOTICE
6/10/2025
The Federal Emergency Management Agency and Florida Division of Emergency Management have received the following application for Federal grant funding. Final notice is hereby given of the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) consideration to provide funding in the form of Hazard Mitigation Grant Program. Funds will be provided in accordance with Section 404 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, Public Law 93-288, as amended.
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. Under Executive Order (EO) 11988 and EO 11990 FEMA is required to consider alternatives to and to provide public notice of any proposed actions in or affecting floodplains or wetlands. EO 12898 also requires FEMA to provide the opportunity for public participation in the planning process and to consider potential impacts to minority or low-income populations.
Funding for the proposed project will be conditional upon compliance with all applicable federal, tribal, state and local laws, regulations, floodplain standards, permit requirements and conditions.
Applicant: Clay Electric Cooperative
Project Title: FEMA HMGP-4734-(124) Clay Electric Cooperative Grid Resiliency Project - Putnam County Distribution and Transmission Hardening, Infrastructure Retrofit
Location of Proposed Work: The area affected by this project consists of the project activities taking place within existing electric utility easements throughout Putnam County. Specifically, project activities are planned in the following zip codes: 32181, 32189, 32140, 32177, 32112, 32666, 32148 and 32134.
Proposed Work and Purpose: Clay Electric Cooperative will be hardening transmission and distribution lines in Putnam County by replacing existing wooden utility poles, which date back to the 1970s, with robust, higher class, steel-reinforced concrete poles and upgrading conductors to larger Aluminum Conductor Steel Reinforced (ACSR) cables. This project targets two specific areas: Pomona Park to Georgetown and FPL to Satsuma. The new proposed infrastructures offers superior strength, durability, and resistance to extreme weather conditions and will bolster the resilience and reliability of the electric grid, ensuring continuous power supply during and after severe weather events. Additionally, the installation of new conductors will improve the system’s capacity and conductivity, further enhancing its performance and reducing maintenance requirements.
Project Alternatives: The alternatives to the project that have been and will be considered are 1) the no action alternative and 2) undergrounding utility lines. These alternatives to the proposed project are not viable because under Alternative 1) this would not keep the lines operationally reliable in the future and the needs of the community would not be met; and Alternative 2) is cost prohibitive and not practicable for improving long range reliability.
Comment Period: Comments are solicited from the public; local, state or federal agencies; and other interested parties in order to consider and evaluate the impacts of the proposed project. The comments should be made in writing and addressed to the Florida Division of Emergency Management, Bureau of Mitigation, 2555 Shumard Oak Blvd., Tallahassee, FL 32399-2100. These are due within 30 days of this notice or by July 10, 2025. The State will forward comments to applicable regulatory agencies as needed. Interested persons may submit comments, obtain more detailed information about the proposed action, or request a copy of the findings by contacting:
Derick Thomas, Chief Public Relations Officer
Clay Electric Cooperative
352-473-8000
dthomas@clayelectric.com
State Environmental Specialist Team
Florida Division of Emergency Management
MitigationEnvironmental@emflorida.com