2011 Flood Still Holds Some Pennsylvania Families Under Water
By Jon O'Connell, The Times Leader, Wilkes-Barre, Pa. | |
McClatchy-Tribune Information Services |
After their home, which sits on a slice of property less than one acre along
But now they are asking whether it might be better to get out.
Just a few days before Tropical Storm Lee rocked
They built a porch on the front and spent an extra
But a collection of caveats swirls over the little home. Given its vulnerability to flooding, it has been approved for a federal buyout through the Federal Hazard Mitigation Assistance program, but the Morgans believe the government's offer will not give them a break-even chance to start over.
The insurance company requires the Morgans to cover their house for
"Everybody's saying it's worth
They agreed they would need about
Further, a mineral-rights lease with natural-gas developer Chief Oil & Gas has stalled the buyout process because the
The gas lease is not much; in fact they got only
If Chief started producing gas there, payments to the Morgans likely would total no more than
But that little lease seems to have thrown a wrench in the Morgan's efforts to vacate.
Lease to be ended
The Morgans have worked out the details with Chief to shut down their lease, but the complicated matter has stumped the county's
The
Because they are willing to end their lease, the Morgans don't understand what is delaying word from the government on how to proceed.
Their insurance premium has gone up, and their taxes increased by 20 percent because of the home improvements. And just about any rainfall is enough to keep
"This place is a tiny little house. It's really cute and I'd really like to live here,"
County-wide efforts
For the last three years, Dziak and his staff have been seeking solutions for the homes wasted by rising waters from the
Dziak said they have been geographically blocking together properties to conserve energy, time and money.
The first collection of 10 properties between
Dziak is working with about
Few signs of Irene's devastation remain in
Arguably, the small town of
Many of the buildings in what residents call "downtown" are empty waiting for a buyout out or to be leveled.
Life has just about returned to normal for Fletcher, though stormy weather still puts her on edge, she said.
"When it rains for three or four days straight, I start to get nervous," Fletcher said.
There are 11 homes in the county's southeastern municipalities,
"When the contractor gets the green light, it's actually a yellow light." Dziak said, explaining that even after the property closing, there's a series of inspections that involve verifying utilities are off, checking for wires and pipelines underground and identifying and disposing any asbestos inside buildings.
Dziak has been speaking with
"We're still pursuing those properties with the gas leases; that is definite," Dziak said. "We're going to work through those issues with
Part of his frustration stems from the nagging question: what to do with properties with gas leases that already have been bought out?
"If they would fix the creek and get us out of the flood plain, we wouldn't even be having this conversation," she said.
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