Denied again by FEMA, borough likely to reapply

BUTTE — Construction crews reached near the halfway point in an effort to fill a 1,100-foot rock trench along approximately three miles of Old Glenn Highway along the Matanuska River. Meanwhile, the Mat-Su Borough received word from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) that it will not fund a $3.5 million buyout request.

The borough sought the funding to buy out 16 property owners threatened by the destructive path the river between mile highway markers 12.5 and 15. A quarter of the parcels are located in Sutton while the remainder are in the Butte area.

Mat-Su Borough Public Affairs Director Patty Sullivan said if the request would have been successful, the plan was to turn the parcels into green space to mitigate flood losses and protect lives from future Matanuska River floods in the two communities.

Borough Emergency Manager Casey Cook stated the borough estimated that project‘s cost at approximately $4.7 million and sought that amount from FEMA. He said the borough would have then met a 25 percent cost share utilizing Mat River Management funds from a legislative grant to complete the acquisitions, remediation and close the project out. Cook said FEMA provided no reason why it did not award the grant funds, and borough staff continue to look into it. He said the borough is pursuing other grant opportunities with the State of Alaska and the Army Corps of Engineers.

According to FEMA officials, the federal budget allocated approximately $90 million in this fiscal year’s Pre-hazard Mitigation Program. The department received almost 500 nationwide requests for almost three times that amount.

“We’re certainly disappointed in the decision,” said Borough District 1 Assemblyman Jim Sykes. “This is the third time in the past two years (the borough has applied for FEMA assistance). We may try it again.”

Sykes said the borough has invested approximately $160,000 in writing grant applications. He noted $60,000 of that was appropriated and that the remainder was unplanned. Sykes said he saw no reason for not resubmitting the grant request at the federal level. The 2017 fiscal year begins Oct. 1.

“We won’t have to rewrite anything,” Sykes said. “We really don’t have a lot to lose.”

Sykes said he wanted to thank Alaska Governor Bill Walker for his quick decision in declaring the situation a disaster area. The allowed the state to tap into more than $3 million in emergency relief funds. Sykes said he had a recent brief private meeting with Walker on the topic.

“His quick action contributed to saving (property and infrastructure). A long-term fix is going to be more difficult,” Sykes said. “Channeling and dredging is good. We just have to look at creative ideas.”

Meanwhile, the recent stretch of sunny weather has permitted trench work to continue at a good clip, according to Alaska Department of Transportation spokeswoman Shannon McCarthy.

“It’s been very warm, but we haven’t had any rain and it’s been getting cold at night,” McCarthy said. “The runoff from glacier melt hasn’t been bad and the cool nights are making for ideal conditions.”

McCarthy said when the project began; a completion date of three weeks was estimated. She added she expects that timeline will hold.

According to Mat-Su Borough spokeswoman Patty Sullivan, workers filled the trench at the most narrow section between Old Glenn Highway and the river Monday. She said by the end of the working day Tuesday, the completed trench length was approximately 520 feet. The trench is intended to not only protect the highway from washing out, but also buried utility lines between the riverbank and the highway itself.

Both McCarthy and Sullivan said once construction work moves away from power lines, the work pace will increase.