Public Notice Regarding Section 106 Review of the replacement of New Orleans Fire Department Engine Company # 39 6038 St. Claude Avenue, New Orleans, LA - Seeking Public Comment Engine No. 39, north elevation, looking southeast (March 2011) The high winds and heavy rains of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita and the subsequent widespread flooding damaged many buildings in Orleans Parish. In the aftermath of the hurricanes, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is issuing this public notice as a part of its responsibilities under 36 CFR Part 800, the regulations implementing Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, as amended. This notice applies to activities carried out by FEMA's Public Assistance (PA) program implemented under the authority of the Robert T. Stafford Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, 42 U.S.C. §§ 5152-5206. The City of New Orleans is requesting that FEMA provide funds to replace Engine Company # 39 at 6038 St. Claude Avenue, Orleans Parish, LA. The City of New Orleans has indicated their intention is to divest of the building through a public sale and construct a new Fire station at a different location. The regulations at 36 CFR Part 800 require FEMA, as the funding agency, to identify if any of the properties proposed for replacement are listed in or eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places; to assess the effects the replacement will have on historic properties; and to seek ways to avoid, minimize, or mitigate any adverse effects. FEMA has identified that the Engine Company #39 building is eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places for its association with the development of the Lower 9th Ward after the construction of the Industrial Canal and for its representation of the modernization of the New Orleans Fire Department from horse-drawn engines to motorized fire trucks in the 1920s. FEMA has also determined the proposed replacement project may result in adverse effects to the historic property and has initiated consultation to seek ways to avoid, minimize, or mitigate the adverse effect. Any member of the public is encouraged to provide views on how the project may affect historic properties and ways that these effects may be avoided, minimized, or mitigated. Comments may be submitted to FEMA for a 15-day period beginning on August 23, 2011 at www.crt.state.la.us/culturalassets/fema106 or by regular mail. Mailed comments should be sent to: FEMA Mail Center Historic Preservation 1 Seine Court, 1st Floor Mail Room New Orleans, LA 70114 If mailed, comments and requests must be postmarked by September 6, 2011. Map of the project area