Vermonters in flood-prone areas consider buyouts

NORTHFIELD — The morning after Tropical Storm Irene – while the residents of Water Street were still assessing the damage – Philo Hardie stood outside his demolished home. He shook his head and called for some definitive serious action.

“It’s just not safe to live here anymore,” said Hardie, who lived his wife, Ester, in the home for 11 years. “What we need is a buyout.”

The “buyout” Hardie was referring to was one of the Federal Emergency Mitigation Administration’s Hazard Mitigation Grant Program’s (HMGP) options for flood relief. Under the program, homes impacted by the devastating floodwaters are purchased by the town, razed, and the area turned into a permanent green space.

The HMGP grants cover 75 percent of the town’s cost of the project; the town is responsible for the remaining 25 percent, according to Ray Doherty, state hazard mitigation officer.

Read the full story by Daniel Staples in the Times Argus >>

Comments

[Flood Victim]

The towns are NOT responsible for the remaining 25% that FEMA doesn't cover in the buyout program, the property owner is. It's misleading to think flood victims are being "bailed-out" when it's a matter of safety and avoiding forclosure (permanently abandoned sturctures). The public burden becomes much greater when people just "walk away" from flooded properties. The FEMA buyout program can be the best or only hope in certain cases where repeated flooding has occured this year.