Marin County to seek federal funds for flood damage

Marin County plans to seek federal funds to help cover costs incurred during storms and flooding this month.

Derek Johnson, the county executive, authorized an emergency declaration on Jan. 13 as an initial step. He will ask the Board of Supervisors to ratify the proclamation at its meeting on Tuesday.

The proclamation states that prolonged rainfall, king tides, storm surges and levee failures during the first few days of the year caused flooding, road closures, utility disruption, landslides, hazardous materials releases and the displacement of residents.

The proclamation includes the unincorporated area overseen by the county, plus Corte Madera, Larkspur, Sausalito, the Southern Marin Fire Protection District and the Ross Valley Sanitation District.

County officials are still assessing the cost of the damage in the unincorporated area, but the preliminary estimate is about $3.5 million. The estimate includes $2.6 million in levee damage in the Santa Venetia area; $500,000 in damage to roads and bridges; $420,000 in damage to parks, recreation lands and facilities; $32,000 for debris collection and removal; and $64,000 for overtime labor and other protective measures.

“The ability to apply for Federal Emergency Management Agency reimbursement is triggered once a county’s eligible disaster-related costs exceed a specified threshold,” said Chris Reilly, a county emergency services official. “For Marin County, that threshold is approximately $1.2 million in eligible expenses.”

The move comes as the Trump administration considers increasing the thresholds necessary to qualify for FEMA aid and shifting more of the responsibility for paying for disaster recovery to the states.

“There is a bigger question mark than there has ever been,” Johnson said, regarding the prospects of the county receiving FEMA disaster relief funds. “We will be in contact with our federal delegation to make sure that the interests of Marin are represented. But I think we need to plan for the possibility that we may not receive remuneration.”

According to CNN, a Trump administration review committee has proposed quadrupling the threshold for qualifying, cutting FEMA’s workforce by 50% and transitioning to a block grant system that will get aid to states within 30 days following a presidential disaster declaration.

Because of state administrative requirements, municipal damage estimates are not included in the county’s damage assessment. However, the county estimates that local towns and cities sustained storm costs totaling at least $850,000. They include $300,000 in damage to roads and bridges; $220,000 in damage to public buildings and equipment; $50,000 in debris collection and removal costs; and $34,500 in staff overtime and emergency protective measures.

The storms damaged hundreds of vehicles, homes and businesses and forced the closure of major transportation corridors, including Highway 101.

Talia Smith, the county’s legislative director, said any FEMA funds secured through the county and municipal emergency proclamations can only be used to recoup costs from damage to public infrastructure.

“Let’s say you’re a private property or private business,” Smith said. “FEMA’s approval of the disaster declaration would not affect you.”

An emergency proclamation serves as an official request for assistance from the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services. Both the governor and the president would have to sign off on the request before Federal Emergency Management funds can be released to the county.

Corte Madera and Larkspur have issued their own emergency proclamations.

Reilly said the county is responsible for coordinating with the state and FEMA on behalf of all affected jurisdictions and that from a technical standpoint, only the county proclamation is required to receive FEMA aid.

However, he said, “municipal jurisdictions often proclaim individually to formally document local conditions, activate authorities and support potential cost recovery.”

Corte Madera appears to be the local municipality that sustained the costliest damage. Town Manager Adam Wolff said the initial estimate is that damage to the corporation yard and offices there will cost $350,000 to $400,000.

In addition, Wolff said, “We had one pump station burn out after four days of running pretty much constantly. That will have to be repaired or replaced.”

By comparison, Larkspur’s estimated cost for public property damage and staff overtime response is $30,000, said Shannon O’Hare, assistant city manager.

Sausalito decided not to implement an emergency declaration. A staff report said “the event did not fulfill the necessary conditions of extreme peril with local authorities lacking the necessary resources.”

The report noted that the next king tide event is expected on Jan. 28.