Lewis County Claims $1.2 Million in Infrastructure Damage From Winter Storms

March 04--Damage to public infrastructure in Lewis County surpassed the minimum threshold necessary for the county's Emergency Management Department to file claims for potential reimbursement if a disaster is officially declared.

Between Jan. 30 and Feb. 22, the county sustained $1.2 million in damage following a string of winter storms, Emergency Management Director Steve Mansfield said.

"This is damage sustained to public infrastructure," he said.

The threshold for the county to make claims to the state is $272,000 and is based on a variety of factors, including population.

The main sources of the damage include $650,000 in debris clearance, roadway damage and emergency procedures claimed by the county's Public Works Department. Some $200,000 in damage-related expenses were reported by the Lewis County Public Utility District.

The Tilton River near Morton also cut into a riverbank and under railroad tracks owned by the city of Tacoma, causing an estimated $350,000 in damage that must be repaired. Mansfield said this could include rebuilding the banks and repairing the rail.

Finally, the Pe Ell water system sustained some $17,000 in damage after a tree fell on the town's main water line. The town was forced to draw water directly from the Chehalis River, but due to floodwaters stirring up mud and sediment, the river pumps became clogged, forcing the town to use water reserves.

In order for the county to receive reimbursement for damages from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the state's Emergency Management Division must collect damage estimates from counties around Washington.

If the damage totals more than around $9 million, they can be submitted to the governor, who in turn can ask President Donald Trump to issue a presidential declaration of disaster, which frees up federal funding to return to the state.

Karina Shagren, the state's emergency management communications director, said the state will not know if the damages statewide meet the threshold until next week.

"There's no way of saying yet whether we're going to meet it," Shagren said.

The deadline for counties to submit damage reports was initially March 3, but that was extended to March 10, Mansfield said.

The following week, inspection teams from FEMA and the state will meet with Mansfield and representatives from the reporting entities to survey damage.

If a presidential declaration is announced, then a second round of claims will be opened where agencies that may not have reported damage previously can file claims.

However, Mansfield said that even though local governments often do this, it is a poor strategy, since if the minimum state threshold is not met the first round then no federal money will be approved to return to the communities.

"This is a real push for us here to get people to realize this is what we need from you, and a lot of times people won't report until we get the presidential, and we discourage that," Mansfield said. "I don't encourage people to wait until the second round."

Damage being reported to the state only encompasses losses sustained to public infrastructure instead of private property.

Mansfield said the process for reporting private property damage is much more complicated and much less likely to yield results. The county would begin compiling reports on private property damage if it received widespread reports, Mansfield said, but they have not so far.

The three-week period for which claims are available to be made is also somewhat unique, Mansfield said. Generally, damage claim periods are much shorter, but due to multiple storm systems that passed through Southwest Washington between the end of January and Feb. 22, Mansfield said the timeframe had been extended.

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