FLOOD03237

• County: Statewide
• Basin: Statewide
• Title: Out of Harm's Way The Missouri Buyout Program
• Date: 1/8/1996
• Prepared For: CWCB
• Prepared By: State Emergency Management Agency
• Floodplain - Doc Type: Flood Mitigation/Flood Warning/Watershed Restoration

by the flood of 1993.
"Between 225 and 250 structures
were affected by high waters in the
1993 flood," says Knoll. "So far,
we've been able to buyout 86
residential structures, 2 commercial
properties, 143 mobile home pads
and 93 additional vacant lots. Our
goal is to buy up the entire flood-
plain,
"Though still in the process of
completing the $7.31 million Arnold
buyout, the benefits of the program
are already obvious.
In 1993, 528 households in
Arnold applied for federal disaster
assistance. Between the disaster
housing assistance program, indi-
vidual and family grants, and low-
interest loans from the Small Busi.
ness Administration, the total came
to over $2 million.
Two years later, in 1995, only 26
households in Arnold applied for
similar disaster assistance programs.
Instead of $2 million dollars, the
cost of these programs is estimated
to cost less than $40,000.

"Afederal buyout of property in the
flood plain has worked wonders. "
.St. Louis Post-Dispatch
May 28, 1994

"The limited impact of this year's
disaster is a direct and unquestion.
able result of the acquisition of at-
risk propenies. While we're sensi.
tive to the thousands of people
affected by this year's disaster,
we're relieved that the damage is so
marginal in comparison to the 1993
flood. Missourians across the state
should be proud. The thousands of
people who cooperated in the buyout
program successfully avened a
tragic replay of 1993."
-WarrenM. Pugh, Jr.
Federal Coordinating Office
FEMA, Region Vll

Lincoln County's Recycling Program
The flexibility ofthe buyout program enabled Lincoln County (pop.
32,(00) to design a recycling program that solved a community need.
According to Lincoln County engineer, Chuck Freidrichs, the program
was created in the aftermath of the 1993 flood when the county was faced
with hundreds of flood-ravaged homes.
"When we first started the recycling program, we really didn't have any
plan or objective other than the fact that we needed to get this stuff down,"
said Freiderichs.
This "stuff' was the massive amount of reusable building material
remaining in flood-damaged structures.
"We had a long distance to haul this material," explained Freidrlchs.
"The cost of transporting this material 40 or 60 miles away was cost-
prohibitive. We had to figure out a different way."
Freiderichs found that up to 70% of the material left in the homes could
be recycled, with the material sold back to the public. Another 10-15% of
the materials in a typical home are considered "clean fill" (e.g. concrete and
glass) and can be used as construction fill.
''There's no more than 15-20% in a house that can't be recycled or sold,"
said Freidrichs. Such materials as shingles and insulation are disposed of in
approved landfills.
Lincoln County's recycling method requires a three-person demolition to
complete one home per day. A four-person recycling team can typically
remove and separate all reusable materials in 2 to 3 days.
Approximately 100 homes had been recycled and or removed from
Lincoln County's floodplain areas by August of 1995 with over 250 more
homes scheduled for recycling and demolition.
Though Chuck Freidrichs has lost count of how many doors, windows
and trusses he has sold back to the community, he is confident of the ben-
efits of the program.
"It's helped us gain a lot of respect from different people," he says.
"People were real pleased to be able to come back and buy some of their
materials to reconstruct out of the floodplain at a reasonable cost."

VllI.

For Flood Survivors - A Workable Program

While buyouts had been rumored
in past disasters, the amount of
funds available for such efforts had
been minuscule. Congress thought-
fully acted on the Hazard Mitigation
and Relocation Assistance Act of
1993, originally introduced by
Missouri's Congressman Harold
Volkmer and added more funds to
the earthquake bill in January '94.
With those congressional actions,
buyouts were finally a viable option
Thousands offamilies, whose names
were on lists with their city or
county government, breathed a
collective sigh of relief that they
would finally be able to escape the

ravages of the water.
At the time that government
officials were gearing up for this
program to kick off, it was also time
for decisions by families throughout
Missouri. Those affected by the
flood were beginning to explore
their options which included:

. rebuilding for reoccupation

. rebuilding for resale while they
relocated

. selling the building as is at a much
reduced market rate, leaving little
investment for a replacement home.