Hazard Mitigation Grant Program Public Notice

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has received a subgrant application for the Cobb County-Marietta Water Authority. Pursuant to Executive Order 11988 and 44 CFR Part 9.12, final notice is hereby given of FEMA’s intent to provide funding for this project under the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP).

An initial disaster‐wide Public Notice was published Monday, September 30, 2024 for DR-4830 Hurricane Helene. 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 Order (EO) 11988 and EO 11990 require FEMA to consider alternatives and provide a public notice of any proposed actions in or affecting floodplains or wetlands. This notice may also fulfill requirements under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA).

This notice serves as a project‐ specific final notice for FEMA’s funding action for the Hickory Log Creek Pump Station and Intake Vault Improvements Project. 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. This action complies with the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) requirements.

Location of Proposed Work and Floodplain Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) Panels:

All Panels effective June 7, 2019. Sites are located within regulatory floodways. 

Proposed Work and Purpose: CCMWA joint owns Hickory Log Creek Reservoir with the City of Canton, as well as the intake and diversion pumping station located on the Etowah River in Canton, GA. The river floods over its banks at least once per year and flood events deposit sediment on top of and inside the intake vault. The project will raise the intake vault’s height 2 feet over the 100-year floodplain to eliminate the potential for sediment and debris entering the system.

Project Alternatives:

No action alternative: Continue to maintain the intake vault structure after each flooding event, which will result in continued costs to remove sediment from the intake vault interior, remove sediment from intake piping, remove sediment from the pumping station wet well, and rebuild pumps that have prematurely failed due to sediment erosion of parts. (This will result in additional downtime of the intake and pumping station and could lead to water shortages during times of drought).

Intake relocation alternative: The only alternative is to move the location of the intake vault, which would require relocating most of the pump station infrastructure and finding land for a new location. This would also require changes to the withdrawal permit for the pump station and reservoir. This alternative was determined not feasible due to lack of available property and the cost of moving the structure.

Comments: This will serve as the final public notice regarding the above‐described action funded by the FEMA HMGP program. Interested persons may submit comments, questions, or request a map of this specific project by writing to the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Region 4, 3005 Chamblee‐Tucker Road, Atlanta, Georgia 30341, or by emailing FEMA‐R4EHP@fema.dhs.gov. Comments should be sent in writing with the subject line “Hickory Log Creek Pump Station and Intake Vault Improvements Project” at the above addresses within 15 days of the date of this notice.

THIS NOTICE MAY BE REMOVED FROM PUBLIC VIEW ON THE 15^th DAY FROM ORIGINAL DATE OF POSTING

NOTICE WAS POSTED ON 30^th DAY OF JUNE 2026.