Advisory group says Richland should use federal flood grants to buy out damaged homes

Government buyouts of homes badly damaged by October’s floods are the top priority on a list set by a local stakeholders group created to advise county leaders on how to use some expected disaster relief funds.

Richland County Council on Tuesday got a first look at the priorities list set by the county’s newly formed “Blue Ribbon Committee.” The group is charged with advising county leaders on which projects the county should tackle using federal hazard mitigation grants meant to prepare communities for future disasters.

Richland County will be competing for a portion of an estimated $36 million in federal hazard mitigation grants to be distributed throughout South Carolina. The county’s application for those grant funds likely will identify buying homes and tearing them down as a high-priority project. Non-residential property acquisitions will be further down the priority list.

Sixty-three residential structures and 15 non-residential structures in the county would be eligible for government buyouts if the county receives the money it’s requesting and if the property owners agree to sell.

Properties qualify for buyouts if they lie in a special flood hazard area and have been determined by Richland County or FEMA to have been more than 50 percent damaged by floodwaters from the Oct. 4 rains. Buyout participation would be wholly voluntary on the part of property owners and the county.

The county has decided it will consider paying up to 75 percent of the pre-flood value of qualifying properties for homeowners who decide to participate in a buyout program. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) says homes can be bought out for up to their pre-disaster fair-market values, or, if communities choose, for the current assessed value of the homes.

The Blue Ribbon Committee’s priority list ranks 10 types of hazard mitigation projects ranging from stormwater drainage management and housing reconstruction to flood studies and replacing the county Emergency Operations Center.

FEMA’s hazard mitigation grants will be awarded to local communities through a program facilitated by the state. They can be used to pay for 75 percent of an individual project’s cost. Communities would have to come up with the other 25 percent.

The county plans to submit a pre-application for hazard mitigation funding by early April, and funds could start being awarded on a rolling basis by late April. However, it could be up to 18 months or longer before the county receives its share and can start work on projects, including home buyouts.