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County and FEMA pilot landslide process for complex slides; Grovemont engineering estimated at $1.3M
Summary
Buncombe staff described a pilot process with FEMA and North Carolina Emergency Management to evaluate and fund complex, multi-property landslides, starting with the Grovemont slide in Swannanoa; FEMA estimated engineering and minimal stabilization costs at about $1.3 million and $17 million respectively.
Rafael (county staff) updated the board on the county’s strategy for categorizing and addressing the storm-driven landslides.
Rafael said the county has cataloged roughly 2,000 landslides across Buncombe County. He said staff divided slides into three buckets: landslides on county property (to be addressed through FEMA Public Assistance), individual-property slides that threaten a single residence (about 145 such cases), and complex slides that affect multiple properties (about 55 complex slides).
For complex slides the county is piloting a new approach with FEMA and the North Carolina Emergency Management (NCEM) task force. Rafael described the two distinct components of a typical landslide project: (1) geotechnical engineering to assess whether ground movement continues and to create an engineered stabilization design, and (2) the construction/stabilization implementation. He said FEMA estimated the Grovemont slide engineering cost at approximately $1.3 million and that a minimum stabilization construction estimate for Grovemont could be in the order of $17 million.
Because traditional reimbursement models (local government funds projects up front and is later reimbursed) may not be viable at this scale, Rafael said staff are working with NCEM to design an advance-funding mechanism. Under the proposed pilot, NCEM would obligate funds and advance project funding to the county to cover initial engineering and to reduce county cash-flow risk. If the pilot’s process works for Grovemont, Rafael said the county would seek to replicate the approach for other complex slides.
Next steps Rafael outlined: obtain a written advance-funding agreement with NCEM, release a request for qualifications for engineering, select a firm, advance agreed project funding to the county by NCEM, and proceed with engineering work. After engineering is complete, the county and state would evaluate whether to proceed to construction and then restart a similar procurement and funding process for stabilization work.
Rafael emphasized this pilot is developing a process not previously used at this scale and that further project-by-project decisions will follow engineering assessments and funding determinations.
