Wessagusset Walk Public Notice - December 2023

FINAL PUBLIC NOTICE

Pursuant to the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act, Executive Order 11988 (Floodplain Management), the National Historic Preservation Act, and Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) implementing regulations at Title 44 of the Code of Federal Regulations Part 9, FEMA hereby provides final notice of its decision to provide Legislative Pre-Disaster Mitigation Grant Program funding for an action located in a floodplain. Funding would be provided through the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency to the City of Weymouth, MA for the Wessagusset Beach Walk Project.

The proposed action would stabilize and rehabilitate approximately 2,500-ft of shoreline along Wessagusset Beach and George Lane Beach in Weymouth, MA. The project would involve construction along approximately 1,000 linear-ft of stone revetment to reduce the risk of landslides due to coastal erosion including the reconstruction of approximately 500-ft of existing revetment and construction of 500 linear ft of new revetment construction. A timber and concrete walkway would be constructed along the length of the revetment, and a drainage trench would be installed along the landward side of the walkway for improved stormwater management. Additional project elements would include the reconstruction of a beach access stairway; Americans with Disabilities Act compliant improvements to the parking area; reconstruction of a traprock lined drainage swale between an existing stormwater outfall and the proposed drainage trench; the removal of concrete rubble and bathhouse foundations, metal debris, and wooden flotsam from the beach; and approximately 1,000-cubic yards of beach nourishment. Completion of construction would require the clear cutting of trees from the coastal bank and the removal of nine sets of access stairs along George Lane Beach. Unhardened areas of the coastal bank would be replanted with native vegetation following construction as part of ecological restoration efforts.

The project is within a mapped special flood hazard area (100-year floodplain). A map of the area is available upon request.

FEMA determined the proposed action meets the criteria of the previously publicly reviewed Programmatic Environmental Assessment (PEA): “Massachusetts Coastal Flood and Erosion Mitigation Projects.”  FEMA documented this determination in a Massachusetts Coastal Infrastructure Programmatic Environmental Assessment Compliance Checklist for the Wessagusset Beach Walk Project which can be accessed online at: weymouth.ma.us. A copy of the PEA is available here.

Document requests and comments about this project must be submitted within 15 days of the date of this publication to:

Christian Paske, Environmental Protection Specialist

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Cambridge, MA

christian.paske@fema.dhs.gov; (202) 704-1027

and

Eric Kuns, Senior Environmental Protection Specialist

Federal Emergency Management Agency, Cambridge, MA

eric.kuns@fema.dhs.gov; (202) 805-9089