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Buncombe pilots large landslide stabilization amid FEMA, state funding talks
Summary
County staff described a pilot for complex, multi-property landslides beginning with the Grovemont site; FEMA engineering estimated at $1.3 million and stabilization at roughly $17 million, and county and state are negotiating advance funding and procurement steps.
Rafael (county staff) and Matt Evans (funding/reimbursement lead) briefed the board on how Buncombe County is treating landslides from Tropical Storm Helene: as three categories with different funding paths and a new pilot to address large, multi-property slides.
Rafael said county staff sorted landslides into three buckets: slides on county property (eligible for FEMA public assistance), single-property slides (approximately 145 that actively threaten residential structures, which staff are pushing toward Hazard Mitigation Grant Program assistance), and large complex slides (about 55 across the county) that affect multiple properties and lack an established FEMA/state playbook.
The county has begun a pilot at the Grovemont slide. Rafael said FEMA estimated geotechnical engineering for Grovemont at about $1,300,000 and the minimum stabilization/construction costs at roughly $17,000,000. Because of the scale and cash-flow challenges, Buncombe County and North Carolina Emergency Management are negotiating an advance funding agreement so the county can begin engineering work without bearing unrecoverable upfront costs.
Matt Evans described how the county has been working with FEMA and NCEM on a task force to scope slides and sequence work: initial engineering assessments, then design and evaluation, followed by stabilization procurement should the design proceed. He said Buncombe submitted two landslide pilot projects for engineering (including the Grovemont project and an Old Landfill site) under an approach that would permit FEMA or the state to expand funding if designs show larger stabilization needs.
Evans reiterated the county's broader funding posture: Buncombe reported about $24 million in holding spending so far (roughly $19 million emergency work and $5 million permanent work), and staff are pursuing FEMA public assistance and insurance reimbursements. He said the county is exploring processes to receive upfront funds for engineering and preliminary work when FEMA makes such obligations available to the state.
Ending: County staff said they are testing the pilot process with state and federal partners and will issue RFQs for engineers after written advance-funding terms are agreed with NC Emergency Management; construction would follow only after designs are vetted and funding confirmed.
