FEMA holds meeting with city, county officials

Hill County, Havre and Big Sandy officials met with representatives of the Federal Emergency Management Agency Monday in Havre to start the next phase of recovering from June's flooding.

The next step is submitting actual project proposals to the agency for approval, so repair work can be done with funding assistance from the federal government.

"We're here to help, " Char les Bello of FEMA told the officials.

The flooding devastated Rocky Boy's Indian Reservation, threatened Big Sandy and tore up Beaver Creek Park south of Havre, as well as caused problems for the city of Havre, particularly i ts water treatment facilities.

Pr e s i d e n t Barack Obama on July 10 declared the region a disaster, opening the door for FEMA funds to help the governments pay for dealing with the damage. The disaster declaration covers only public facilities.

The kickoff meeting in Havre was the third the agency has held. Meetings already have been held with Big Sandy and Rocky Boy officials.

Now officials will identify projects to repair and clean up the damage caused by the flooding, submitting them to FEMA for review and having project numbers assigned to the projects approved.

Thomas Barnard, FEMA public assistance coordinator, said everyone is encouraged to submit ideas for mitiGation to make sure the damage does not happen in future flooding.

Part of the funding for the disaster will be 15 percent of the actual damage repairs to be used for mitigation.

"We are definitely interested in mitigation, so we don't have to come back to those places again," he said.

During part of the meeting, local officials listed damages and problems, some of which the FEMA officials said probably would qualify for funding.

Others might not but could be eligible for help from other agencies, they said.

Hill County Road and Bridge Supervisor Jerry Otto asked if money could be found to help pay for increased mosquito control required by the large amount of standing water.

Charles Baird, FEMA emergency management program specialist, said that he does not believe the agency can fund that — but the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention might be able to.

He said the agency can help the county look into that, and that FEMA will check to see if it can provide funding.

A similar comment was made about another issue.

B e a v e r C r e e k P a r k Superintendent Chad Edgar said there was significant erosion and problems with the Beaver Creek stream bed. He asked if money could be available to repair damage and prevent it from happening again.

He was told that would be something dealt with by the Natural Resource Conservation Service, but that FEMA could help the county connect with that agency.

Annmarie Robinson of Bear Paw Development Corp. said Big Sandy has several potential projects, including putting out sand bags to protect a sewage lift station, building a temporary levee and dealing with a broken water line as well as a washed out road.

Havre Deputy Public Works Director Jeff Jensen said the city is dealing with snags and debris on the weir the city maintains in the Milk River, as well as debris in a pre-settling pond below the weir, which the city just cleaned a year ago.

Other problems include snags and debris on the banks of the river, and increased chemicals the city water treatment plant needs to use to deal with the large amounts of organic material in the water due to the flooding.

Otto said the county had about nine major repairs it had to deal with, and all but one have been completed.

Edgar said the flood affected the campgrounds — Beaver Creek has more than 100 campgrounds — roads and the creek itself.

Baird said the campgrounds maintained by groups and organizations may or may not be eligible — it depends on the ownership and how the campgrounds are maintained.

Because the county owns the sites, they may qualify, he said.

"They may not be eligible. It just depends on the merits. We would be pleased to review all folks' applications," he said.