Rock Valley, Iowa (RI/KSOU) — State officials should be done by next week with their analysis of a northwest Iowa city’s newly-combined request for FEMA funding to buy 150 homes hit by flooding 18 months ago. Tom Van Maanen, the city administrator in Rock Valley, says the lives of many residents remain on hold, waiting to learn if their property qualifies for a buyout.
State officials determined Rock Valley’s original project, which included 122 properties, would not score high enough on FEMA’s cost-benefit analysis to qualify for federal funding. Twenty-eight other flooded homes in Rock Valley, which were part of a separate buyout request, are being combined into one application to FEMA for a total of 150 properties. Van Maanen says FEMA requires layers of technical review of each property, and once state officials determine the score for the overall project is high enough, Rock Valley will submit its updated request to FEMA.
The goal of FEMA’s buy-out program for flooded properties is to reduce future flooding risks. Van Maanen says it’s been frustrating to navigate through a grant program that does not have deadlines.
If state officials determine the cost-benefit score for buying-out all 150 properties still would fall below FEMA’s requirements, Van Maanen says the state will work with Rock Valley officials to identify which properties may need to be removed from the application to ensure that the remaining properties can be approved.
Thanks to KSOU for their work on this story
KIWA Staff Photo
