FEMA rejects appeal to get $13.3 million for flood-damaged hydro plant

FEMA has denied a key city appeal of a ruling related to the city's request for $13.3 million in federal disaster funds for the city's flood-damaged downtown hydroelectric plant at the 5-in-1 bridge.

In its written denial of the city's appeal, FEMA states that the city's hydroelectric plant was not in active use at the time of the June 2008 flood and, further, the agency states that the city “incorrectly believes” that having had “possible plans and possible ideas” of using the plant for future use is sufficient to meet FEMA's definition of “active use.”

The agency notes that the hydroelectric plant had sustained $1 million in ice damage in January 2007, and it adds that a subsequent engineering study conducted for the city before the June 2008 flood “focused on the (city's) intent to dispose of the facility,” not to reuse it.

Awarding the city funds based on the 2008 flood would be akin to giving a substantial funding award for a flooded vacant lot on which the city might have had plans to build, the agency's report states.

Mayor Ron Corbett on Tuesday afternoon called the FEMA denial “a disappointment.” He said the city would push on appeal to FEMA headquarters in Washington, D.C.

“I felt we had a good case on this project. We're just going to have to huddle up and look at our options,” the mayor said.

Greg Eyerly, the city's flood-recovery director, was more blunt. He said Tuesday that FEMA's denial of the city's appeal ”is without technical and factual merit.”

“It misstates and misrepresents the facts as well as the intentions of the City of Cedar Rapids,” Eyerly said.

In late spring of 2010, the city, in consultation with FEMA field staff in Iowa, had high hopes that the city would secure up to $36.4 million in disaster payments for use on new projects like a new downtown parking, the Convention Complex, bus depot and NewBo City Market because of flood damage to the hydroelectric plant and the city-owned former Sinclair and Quality Chef plants in southeast Cedar Rapids.

By July, FEMA ruled that the city was not entitled to any disaster funds for the three facilities, a ruling which the city then decided to appeal.

Bob Josephson, spokesman for FEMA's regional office, on Tuesday said the city's appeal of the Sinclair decision is being “actively reviewed,” though he said the office had not yet received the city's appeal from the state of Iowa on the Quality Chef property. The city had hoped to get up to $21 million for the Sinclair plant and between $2 million and $3 million for the Quality Chef site.

The denial letter of the city's appeal is signed by Beth Freeman, who became regional administrator at FEMA in December 2009. Before that, Freeman served as the director of Sen. Tom Harkin's Cedar Rapids district office for 19 years, including at the time of Cedar Rapids' 2008 flood.

Josephson noted that the FEMA regional office had staff not acquainted with the Cedar Rapids hydroelectric plant look at the city's appeal about the facility.

“We did have staff unfamiliar with the project look at the appeal to ensure all items presented from the state (of Iowa) and the city were thoroughly considered to make an accurate decision consistent with FEMA policies and regulations,” Josephson said.