The Town of Richmond has submitted a request to the EWP Program (Emergency Watershed Protection program) for assistance. This program may be able to help with a solution where streams or rivers threaten private property. The property does not have to be located in the floodplain. If you have a property that you feel may qualify for this program please email Town Manager Josh Arneson (jarneson@richmondvt.gov) with your address and a brief description of the issue. He will add this to a list of properties to be evaluated by the EWP program in a site visit at a date to be determined.
More information on the EWP program:
Brief Description from the EWP website:
The EWP Program (Emergency Watershed Protection program) offers technical and financial assistance to help local communities relieve imminent threats to life and property caused by floods, fires, windstorms and other natural disasters that impair a watershed. EWP does not require a disaster declaration by federal or state government officials for program assistance to begin. The NRCS State Conservationist can declare a local watershed emergency and initiate EWP program assistance in cooperation with an eligible sponsor (see the Eligibility section below). NRCS will not provide funding for activities undertaken by a sponsor prior to the signing of a cooperative agreement between NRCS and the sponsor.
NRCS offers financial and technical assistance for various activities under the EWP Program, including:
- Remove debris from stream channels, road culverts and bridges;
- reshape and protect eroded streambanks;
- correct damaged or destroyed drainage facilities;
- establish vegetative cover on critically eroding lands;
- repair levees and structures;
- repair certain conservation practices, and
- purchase of EWP Buyouts.
EWP Program website: Emergency Watershed Protection | Natural Resources Conservation Service (usda.gov)
Temporary Repairs:
Some residents have inquired about temporary repairs made prior to an evaluation from the EWP program. Following is a response from the program manager:
They can do temporary work and we will still evaluate the site but:
1) EWP cannot reimburse expense incurred prior to having an executed agreement with a Sponsor.
2) As you know, this goes beyond the executed agreement as the Sponsor must do the contracting.
If the repair mitigates the imminent threat to the property, it could affect eligibility.
Building a berm indicates the issue is water is flowing out of the stream and flooding the house.
If the issue is reduced channel capacity due to sediment deposit and/or debris in the stream, provided the Stream Alteration Engineer permits removal of the material, this could be eligible for EWP assistance and could potentially be done quickly. That is providing the Sponsor can award a contract for the work shortly after the agreement is executed.
If the issue isn’t reduced capacity, we may not be able to help as EWP can’t build berms.