GOVERNOR ANNOUNCES MORE FLOOD AID TO FAYETTE COUNTY

Posted by: Allen Canfield on Thu, 25 July 2002 15:44:16 (834 Reads)

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Gov. Bob Wise today received notification that FEMA is offering more than $1.27 million to buy 28 residences in Fayette County that are at risk from flooding.

This money will help us move forward in our goal of rebuilding southern West Virginia, Wise said. These families will now be able to move to a safer place.

The best defense against disaster is to take wise precautions before it strikes, said FEMA Director Joe M. Allbaugh. Buying these flood-prone houses provides a double benefit. It allows the residents to move to safety. It also means we won’t have to spend taxpayers’ dollars fixing the dwellings over and over again.

The proposal calls for the purchase of single-family houses flooded last year by the Gauley and New rivers. The dwellings are located in Beckwith, Columbia, Kanawha Falls, Minden, Mt. Hope, Pax, Powelton, Scarbro and Thayer.

The project will cost an estimated $1,706,520. The FEMA Hazard Mitigation Grant Program will provide 75 percent. The state of West Virginia will supply the remaining 25 percent. In addition, FEMA will give the state and county $39,371 to cover the costs of administering the grant.

Houses acquired under the FEMA mitigation program are demolished, and the land is preserved as open space. Communities may use the sites for recreation, but cannot erect permanent structures there.

All FEMA programs are voluntary. Homeowners choose to participate in the mitigation program, which pays pre-disaster market value for purchased houses. The residents then can move to safer areas. FEMA cannot require homeowners to sell, nor will it participate in projects if municipal or state governments take the properties through eminent domain.

Communities must apply to their states to participate in FEMA mitigation projects. The states choose from among the community proposals. FEMA then reviews the states’ choices. The agency ensures that the proposals are cost effective, conform to federal law and address recurring threats. If they do, FEMA approves them. If not, FEMA returns the proposals to the states. The state then may alter the projects or substitute others.