Washington County board authorizes $4.15 million federal watershed restoration agreement

The Washington County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to authorize the county—s SF-424 application for the U.S. Department of Agriculture—s Natural Resources Conservation Service Emergency Watershed Protection program, approving roughly $4,150,000 in federal restoration funds for five county locations damaged by Hurricane Helene.

Jason Berry, who presented the request, said the federal government has already approved the award and that the county must authorize him to sign the application. He told the board the county would hire an engineering firm to manage procurement and project delivery and that the county must front project costs and will be reimbursed "dollar for dollar each month" up to the program limit.

Board members asked whether any of the identified sites overlapped with U.S. Forest Service land or with VDOT debris-removal contracts; Berry said the sites were county-eligible locations and that he would email photos and site lists to members for clarification. Berry also said the county may request tranches of funding from reserve funds, possibly in $1 million increments, and will return to the board to authorize pulling those funds as needed.

The motion to approve the SF-424 application and authorize signature carried on a 6-0 vote. No formal project schedule was finalized at the meeting; staff indicated they would follow procurement rules and return with tranche requests and more detailed site documentation.

Provenance: Topic introduced at SEG 197 and finished at SEG 336.