The application for improvements to the Carver Drive drainage ditch will likely be sent off for approval to the Federal Emergency Management Agency next week.
In June, the Board of Aldermen contentiously passed a motion to seek Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) approval on a $175,000 project that includes an initial cleaning, channel restoration, erosion control and addressing how the water drains to Hiwassee Drive.
Because the area is located in a flood plain, any kind of work or improvements must be okayed by FEMA, but because the agency receives so many requests, the approval process could take up to six months.
But City Planner Ben Griffith said the federal agency probably won’t simply send back approval or a denial.
“It’s not very likely that the first thing we send to them gets approved,” Griffith said. “More than likely, they will find some things and have some questions, and they’ll give us suggestions in order to meet their criteria. It will be a back and forth thing.”
FEMA will be looking at how the water flows, the velocity, volume and the potential impacts up and down stream such as foreign objects. They will also examine the contours of the ditch, the slope of the embankments and the pipes lining certain sections of the ditch.
The sheer amount of data for the long-debated project will certainly play a role in the length of the federal agency’s approval process, Griffith said, but because of the number of requests they receive, FEMA might not begin reviewing Starkville’s application immediately.
Even so, Ward 2 Alderman Sandra Sistrunk thinks the request is a step in the right direction.
“(FEMA) probably gets hundreds of these things,” she said. “But at least we are in line.”
The data included in the application comes from a study completed last fall by Pepper Wooten & Associates that provided several suggestions on how to address flooding and erosion issues.
But the study still lacks important detail about the specifics of the flood plain the area is located in, and Griffith said FEMA’s study will give the city that data.
“Right now, it’s just a flood plain, that is all we know,” he said. “They’ll give us a revised map to show a more exact location of the flood plain, along with the exact elevations and water levels.”
Griffith said even though he wishes approval would happen immediately, he completely understands the reasons behind the likely delay.
“It’s not a lightning-fast process as much as we would like it to be,” he said. “We have been talking about it a long time, but think about someone just getting this laid on their desk, looking at it for the first time. They are starting brand new, from scratch. All we can do is wait.”
The Dispatch Editorial Board is made up of publisher Peter Imes, columnist Slim Smith, managing editor Zack Plair and senior newsroom staff.
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