Iron County emergency manager says FEMA mitigation grant seeks $834,000 for detention project

George, Iron County emergency manager, told the county commission that his office submitted a federal mitigation grant application to FEMA and the state seeking $834,000 to construct a retention/detention feature to address local flood risk. The grant process began with a letter of intent the county submitted; George said the county initially asked for $200,000 but “by the time FEMA and the state got through with it, they insisted that we take $834,000.”

George described a modest quarter of incidents for the office but extensive coordination work: "I went to 22 meetings, one exercise, and I submitted two grant applications," he told the commission. He said the requested project would address an area that routinely receives runoff during monsoonal rains after wildfires and that the engineering scope was developed with help from county staff with technical expertise.

The report also included a short-term climate outlook George attributed to forecasting work: he said the next several years may bring smaller snowpacks and more monsoonal precipitation, increasing both wildfire risk and downstream runoff during summer storms. He said the county is operating within budget for emergency management this year and noted ongoing interagency coordination.

No vote or commitment of county construction funds for the retention project was recorded during George’s report. George said the exact siting and engineering details remain to be determined and that staffer Rich Wilson is leading technical planning. Commissioners asked clarifying questions and thanked George for his work.

The commission did not take formal action on the grant during the meeting; staff indicated the application has already been submitted and the county awaits state/FEMA decisions.