The focus of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's buyout is to relocate participating landowners to areas outside the floodplain. By converting the mowed lawns shown above to more natural streambank vegetation, the USDA hopes to improve the environmental integrity of the floodplain, as well as improve the quality of life in a distressed community.
Greg Stone calls what's happening on Dunloup Creek "the most exciting watershed project in 30 years."
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Greg Stone calls what's happening on Dunloup Creek "the most exciting watershed project in 30 years."
"You can be very excited about your job when you are working on this project," said Stone, an assistant conservationist for field operations for the Natural Resources Conservation Service, a part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
The project includes offers to buy out homeowners along the Fayette County creek who have suffered when floodwaters pour into their homes.
"When you talk to people about getting out of these difficult circumstances, and you see their faces register joy and hope, it's truly rewarding," Stone said this week.
He recently met a family that included a wife who is pregnant with twins. The family has been living in a home with a mold problem from a previous flood. They were happy to be able to move away from any future floods.
The area around Dunloup Creek, a tributary of the New River, has suffered repeated flooding. The USDA wants to relocate participating landowners to areas outside the floodplain, and then convert yards along the stream to more natural streambank vegetation. That will improve the floodplain's environmental integrity.
Staff with Stone's agency evaluated 255 parcels of land in the area that has been repeatedly flooded. They gave the highest priority to primary family homes.
"We looked at the depth of the water that came in on the first floor of these homes," he said.
They began to rank the properties for eligibility. A family home was at the top of the scale, and then other properties like garages and outbuildings were also ranked for eligibility.
"We rank the properties and then we go down the list. We keep going until we run out of money," Stone said.
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Greg Stone calls what's happening on Dunloup Creek "the most exciting watershed project in 30 years."
"You can be very excited about your job when you are working on this project," said Stone, an assistant conservationist for field operations for the Natural Resources Conservation Service, a part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
The project includes offers to buy out homeowners along the Fayette County creek who have suffered when floodwaters pour into their homes.
"When you talk to people about getting out of these difficult circumstances, and you see their faces register joy and hope, it's truly rewarding," Stone said this week.
He recently met a family that included a wife who is pregnant with twins. The family has been living in a home with a mold problem from a previous flood. They were happy to be able to move away from any future floods.
The area around Dunloup Creek, a tributary of the New River, has suffered repeated flooding. The USDA wants to relocate participating landowners to areas outside the floodplain, and then convert yards along the stream to more natural streambank vegetation. That will improve the floodplain's environmental integrity.
Staff with Stone's agency evaluated 255 parcels of land in the area that has been repeatedly flooded. They gave the highest priority to primary family homes.
"We looked at the depth of the water that came in on the first floor of these homes," he said.
They began to rank the properties for eligibility. A family home was at the top of the scale, and then other properties like garages and outbuildings were also ranked for eligibility.
"We rank the properties and then we go down the list. We keep going until we run out of money," Stone said.
During the process they also had an appraiser look at the property, and then they had a review appraiser look at the figures. They made "fair market value" offers to homeowners, plus a cash incentive based on the pre-flood value of the homes. Stone explained they wanted to offer incentive to homeowners because they did not want people to suffer in the transactions.
"If you take an offer, you will definitely have moving expenses. We wanted this money to help people who take the offer. We want people to be able to buy a house that is comparable to what they had," he said.
Stone said they have signed off on one buyout, and by the end of the month they expect to have nine more. The person who owned the home in the completed buyout has already moved out of the flooded area and is building a new home, he said.
In time, the agency will have someone tear down the purchased homes, but the demolition has not started yet.
"Most people are excited about the buyout. They are looking forward to living where it does not flood.
"But we have had people tell us this is where I raised my kids, and I am not moving."
About 70 percent of those who were offered the voluntary buyouts have signed up, he said.
The complete environmental impact statement that includes the buyout plans can be found on the U.S. Department of Agriculture's West Virginia website at http://www.wv.nrcs.usda.gov. Click on the program section and find a complete report about the Dunloup Watershed.
Reach Susan Williams at susanwilli...@wvgazette.com or 304-348-5112.
