Pinellas County, Sewer Pump Stations, Generators Notice

JOINT FEDERAL, STATE, LOCAL PUBLIC NOTICE
Published: October 6, 2026

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.

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.

Project Title

4806-068-R (164) Pinellas County, Sewer Pump Stations, Generator

Applicant

Pinellas County Utilities

Location of Proposed Work

The area affected by this project consists of homes in the following locations:

  • 72nd Ave. N, St. Petersburg, FL 33702
  • 78th Ave. N, Seminole, FL 33777
  • 62nd Ave. N, St. Petersburg, FL 33702
  • 27th Way N., St. Petersburg, FL 33702
  • Walsingham Road, Seminole, FL 33777
  • Indian Rocks Road, Belleair, FL 33756
  • Alderman Road, Palm Harbor, FL 34683
  • Indian Rocks Road, Belleair, FL 33756

Proposed Work and Purpose

The project is to complete the permitting and installation of backup generators at eight pump station locations countywide. Pinellas County Utilities will oversee the successful implementation of the project and will procure a contractor to complete the proposed activities as necessary. Installation will include the preparation, demolition, construction, and completion of redundant power systems at eight pump stations. This will include furnishing and installing generators, valves, fittings, electrical equipment, panels, conduits, and other incidental work required to construct backup power systems for the pump stations. The existing pump stations will remain in service unless the contractor is required to perform minor pump station rehabilitation work. Post-construction and systems testing will be completed, along with backfilling, grading, and landscaping where appropriate. Project Alternatives

Project Alternatives

The alternatives to the project that have been and will be considered are 1) the no action alternative and 2) Purchasing portable generators on demand for power outages. These alternatives to the proposed project are not viable because under Alternative 1) If no action were to be taken, the service areas of the eight pump stations would continue to be at risk during hurricane season and other periods of severe storms and high wind. If the pump stations lose power during an emergency event, over 35,000 people would be at risk of sanitary sewer overflows, which could cause untreated sewage to flood the street. 2) If we do not employ stationary generators for these pump stations, our only other alternative (other than no action), would be to rent portable generators when pump stations go out. The costs and risks for employing this solution are higher than the proposed solution.

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, 2489 Shumard Oak Blvd., Tallahassee, FL 32399-2100. These are due within 15 days of this notice.  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:

Emily Magyar
Pinellas County Capital Projects and Grants Financial Analyst
(727) 464-3935
emmagyar@pinellas.gov

State Environmental Specialist Team
Florida Division of Emergency Management
MitigationEnvironmental@em.myflorida.com

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