Some Relief For Flooded County Feds Will Go Easy On Benewah County, But Bigger Problems Remain

Benewah County should be able to fix problems related to enforcement of its floodplain ordinance and stay in the National Flood insurance program, a federal disaster official said Thursday.

“I’m convinced we can work this out,” said Chuck Steele of the Federal Emergency Management Agency. “We rarely ever suspend anyone.”

County commissioners face a bigger problem than the probation, Steele said. They must decide what to do about the homes and businesses that were destroyed in the February floods.

Under the ordinance, residents of the economically depressed timber town will have to elevate or move their homes when they rebuild. Or, the county must go to great expense to improve its dikes.

“I told them ‘You have to deal with it. And you’re not doing anyone a favor if you don’t,”’ said Steele, who met with county officials on Wednesday.

It was compassion for residents that led commissioners to interpret the rules loosely, according to county civil defense coordinator George Currier. That included allowing mobile homes to be moved into the floodplain.

In some cases, county residents built homes with basements below the floodplain. That’s OK, Steele said, as long as the basements are used only for limited storage, have the required drainholes or don’t contain utilities.

One person who bent the rules was Commissioner Jack Buell, Steele said. Buell’s new home has a furnace downstairs.

“His furnace has been flooded three times,” Steele said. He added that Buell can set a good example by hanging his next furnace from the basement ceiling, thereby getting it above the 100-year flood level.

The probation begins this month. The county has a year to enforce the ordinance properly, or be dropped from the insurance program.

, DataTimes