Clallam County designates applicant for FEMA BRIC scoping grant to study recurrent flooding at 3 Crabs Road

Clallam County commissioners on Feb. 11 voted unanimously to designate the county as applicant and agent for a FEMA Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) scoping grant to develop alternative options for raising County Road 52800 (known locally as 3 Crabs Road) above the flood elevation.

The action matters because residents said flooding began or worsened after completion of the Meadow Brook estuary restoration project and that repeated inundation has caused thousands of dollars in damage to private property and may require structural road changes. The resolution authorizes county staff to pursue the BRIC scoping grant through the Washington State Department of Emergency Management, with the stated purpose of producing a “grant-ready project” for later construction funding.

Multiple residents who live on or near 3 Crabs Road told the commissioners the neighborhood has seen far worse flooding since the restoration work finished in 2017. “Since the completion of the Meadow Brook Restoration Project, 3 Crabs … has seen flooding with a severity that was not there before,” said Amanda Stanley, who said she owns a home on 3 Crabs Road. Pamela Wood, another resident, described water “sitting right in our front yard … basically making a complete pond” for about a week after high tides.

Resident Carlos Owaiz told the board he and his family suffered roughly $60,000 in property damage across four years after buying a house there in 2021; he urged faster action. “Time is very much of the essence … the clock is ticking for us to actually take any action,” Owaiz said.

Several speakers urged the county to hold partner organizations responsible for post-construction monitoring and adaptive management that the restoration project documentation, including a roadside plaque, had promised. Jay Welch and other residents said the Meadow Brook project materials claimed the restoration would reduce flood hazards; they said local experience contradicts that claim.

County staff described the BRIC action as an early, planning-stage step. A county staff member said the grant award would fund development of alternatives and design options to raise the road and to prepare a project that could compete for construction funding in future grant rounds. The staff member and a commissioner acknowledged the BRIC timeline is lengthy; one resident noted the FEMA application process had already taken about two years.

A commissioner responding to public comment said the county will continue looking for other state funding programs while also working with Public Works to explore temporary or remediation measures to help residents between planning and any construction. “I will also ensure that this board continues to work with our public works department to see whether there are temporary or other remediation efforts that we might be able to put into place,” the commissioner said.

The board approved the BRIC applicant/agent resolution by motion, second and unanimous voice vote. County staff said the scoping grant would not itself fund construction and that further funding steps and detailed design would be necessary before work to raise the road could proceed.