Lower Wages Sought To Stretch Flood Relief Craig, Kempthorne, Chenoweth Say Waiver Would Mean More Bang From Federal Bucks

Idaho’s congressional delegation wants President Clinton to waive requirements that prevailing wages be paid on North Idaho flood-recovery work. The move would allow more projects to be funded.

The so-called Davis-Bacon mandates could increase the cost by 20 percent to 25 percent for labor-intensive flood-recovery projects in Idaho’s 10 northern counties, said Sens. Larry Craig and Dirk Kempthorne and Rep. Helen Chenoweth.

If federal Community Development Block Grants are used to match other funding sources, Davis-Bacon wage rates, work rules and paperwork requirements are triggered and apply to all funding sources, they said.

The three Republicans asked in an Aug. 22 letter to the president that the requirements be waived “in order that many more projects can be funded, thereby extending protection of life and property from future flooding to as many Idahoans as possible.”

The amount of flood relief still needed for the recovery of North Idaho disaster areas is nearly $50 million, the lawmakers said, and that far exceeds the amount of federal disaster money available to the state.

Many of the flood-damaged communities exhausted their resources in immediate response to the February flooding and have no money to pay for flood-recovery projects, including crucial repair and construction of damaged or destroyed flood-control structures, they said.

Acting Idaho Department of Commerce Director Karl Tueller said in a July 25 letter to Craig that Idaho hopes to get $2 million to $3 million in disaster aid through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Block Grant Program.

Congress originally authorized Housing and Urban Development to spend $50 million for disaster assistance in 15 states, he said, but the number of states targeted to get aid has been increased to about 20.

, DataTimes MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: WHAT’S AT STAKE The amount of flood relief still needed for the recovery of North Idaho disaster areas is nearly $50 million, Idaho lawmakers said, and that far exceeds the amount of federal disaster money available to the state.