‘De-obligation’ doesn’t cut it

Gazette Editorial Board

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When the Federal Emergency Management Agency uses the term “de-obligated,” we get an uneasy feeling.

FEMA announced this week that it's de-obligating millions of dollars the agency once obligated to repair and replace a sludge incinerator at the flood-damaged Cedar Rapids wastewater treatment plant.

FEMA, after months of painstaking damage evaluations, pledged to cover a new, $30 million incinerator and $33 million to repair the existing facility so operations could continue. Based on that promise, the city contracted for $16 million in repairs.

But now, FEMA says it will only cover $8 million for repairs, and no new incinerator. The long evaluation that resulted in obligation was apparently undone after a comparatively short visit to the plant by another FEMA staffer in

March. Then came the de-obligating.

The city is appealing FEMA's decision. The wastewater plant will continue to operate, thanks to the skill of its employees. But if the repaired incinerator fails, the city will have to turn to the costly option of spreading its sludge on fields.

We think FEMA should rely on its earlier, more thorough evaluation and live up to its original promise. Its decision is frustrating and could be costly for our city.

We understand that FEMA's job is difficult, and that it has, for the most part, worked well with city leaders. However, this is an instance when we believe that agency got it wrong.

Promises are important. Because, according to Joe O'Hern, the city's flood recovery and reinvestment director, the city has yet to be fully reimbursed, as promised, for 300 project worksheets setting out agreed-to plans for recovery projects. Those plans are worth

$350 million, and so far,

$100 million has been paid.

There's no reason to believe that FEMA won't meet its obligations. But the wastewater plant turnaround is troubling. FEMA can, apparently, wipe away months of work and tens of millions of dollars with a few bureaucratic pen strokes.

Perhaps the passage of time has made our projects ripe for de-obligation, as FEMA strains to meet many new disaster needs. But federal officials should remember that it was FEMA's regulatory hoops and processes that played a large role in stretching Cedar Rapids' recovery timeline. Pulling out the rug on vital projects that affect delivery of basic public services will only further delay our recovery.

FEMA should honor its word.

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