Rebuild Florida is a program that partners with the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity (DEO) in order to facilitate housing repairs and replacements for individuals hit by hurricanes and other natural disasters. NERIS conducts environmental reviews for these damaged homes and their surrounding areas to ensure that the federal government money is not spent on environmentally compromised projects. Our qualified team examines the proposed scope to determine the level of environmental review, conducts site visits, develops photo Logs, prepares site visit operation forms, produces GIS maps, and submits public notices. 
 
NERIS recently completed multi-family environmental reviews for Rebuild Florida and DEO. We have conducted reviews on complexes in the Fort Myers area of Lee County at the Palm City Garden Apartments, Pine Echo, and the Barett Park complexes. A multi-family review contains all the basic checklist requirements of a single-unit home; however, it also requires individualized attention to further areas of environmental concern due to the increased number of units on-site; this includes coordinating directly with State and Federal Government agencies to evaluate the potential for adverse impacts as a result of the proposed projects. The multi-family ERR evaluates how the project and the site will affect and or be affected by the following environmental topics:

-Historical Preservation
-Wetlands protection
-Floodplain Management
-Proximity to Bald Eagle Nests
-Air Quality
-EPA Regulated Sites
-Superfund Sites
-State Cleanup Sites
-Airport Hazards
-Coastal Barrier Resource Groups
-Coastal Zones
-Sole Source Aquifers
-Critically Endangered Species
-Wild and Scenic Rivers
-National Rivers Inventory
-Farmland Protection
-Environmental Justice
-Noise Abatement and Control
-Explosive and Flammable Hazards

After NERIS conducted the specialized review for all these topics, we determined that the projects would not result in any significant adverse environmental impacts if certain specified mitigation measures and conditions were implemented. NERIS then published a Notice of Intent in the local newspaper that described the project and called for any public comment. Based on the determination of no adverse effects and after the public comment period, HUD authorized the use of grant money to rehabilitate the damaged multi-family housing complexes.