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Stabenow talks high water

News Photo by Steve Schulwitz U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow tours Starlite Beach on Tuesday to see the damage caused by high water levels on Lake Huron, part of a daylong visit in Alpena. Stabenow said she intends to work with Congress to free up funds to help communities repair or replace infrastructure damaged by the high waters and to help pay for preventive projects.

ALPENA –The damaged caused by high Lake Huron water levels are apparent along the coastline in Northeast Michigan and levels are expected to rise further in the coming months, according to a recent update by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

On Tuesday, U.S. Sen. Deb Stabenow hosted a roundtable discussion with local municipal leaders, representatives from the Army Corps, and Michigan emergency management officials to brainstorm ways to head off some of the expected impacts to come and how funding can be acquired to help pay for repairs and projects that might prevent future damage.

Stabenow also took a brief tour around Alpena’s coast to see some of the damage that has already taken place.

During the roundtable, which was also attended by Rogers City City Manager Joe Hefele and Mayor Scott McLennan, Stabenow complimented Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s proposed funding for shoreline projects and hopes the Legislature appropriates the money. Whitmer proposed $40 million for the state budget that begins Oct. 1.

Stabenow said she intends to continue to work with Congress to allocate more money to help residents, businesses, and municipalities staring at the threat of more erosion, flooding, and infrastructure damage. She said some loan programs are available from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, but the guidelines of some programs offered through the Army Corps or the Federal Emergency Management Agency need to be changed because they are too restrictive.

Army Corps Emergency Management Specialist Krystle Walker said many of the grant programs offered though her organization are for after a disaster takes place. Money becomes available if the governor declares a state of emergency in a county and the county clears there is a stringent review process that can take many months.

FEMA really doesn’t have any funding mechanisms that provide financial assistance for erosion that could lead to flooding, added Mike DeCastro, Michigan State Police emergency management coordinator for the 7th District, which includes Northeast Michigan. Instead, most FEMA money is issued after a single event, such as a tornado, hurricane or other natural disasters, he said.

Those revelations prompted Stabenow to suggest that Congress and federal administrators need to review grant policies for FEMA and the Army Corps.

“We need to go back and look at how the federal emergency laws are written,” the senator said. “Right now, FEMA is involved in helping with major, one-time events like a fire or flood, but not those like erosion that takes place over months or even years. We need to either change the laws or create new programs that allow us to support communities and families that live or work along the water.”

Both Hefele and Alpena City Engineer Rich Sullenger expressed concern that, if water levels continue to climb as predicted, major infrastructure, such as water treatment plants and marinas could be threatened. Sullenger said steps have already been taken to protect the water treatment plant in the city, but more needs to be done to stave off the threat of flooding.

Hefele agreed and said that, if officials aren’t working to find solutions now and wait until disaster happens, they aren’t doing their jobs correctly.

“Alpena and Rogers City’s problems are very similar,” Hefele said. “We both have public infrastructure built close to the lake, and the fact is, when studying what the future may hold, it is going to create problems for all of us. God bless the $40 million the state has proposed, but it really is a drop in the bucket to what we are really looking at. I don’t think we have anything that is ready to fall into the lake today, but we need to stay on top of things and see what our options are moving forward.”

Stabenow said rising water is due in part to climate change, which has caused heavier rain and snow in some regions and impacted winds that often push water onshore. She said the battle against climate change needs to continue, because Michigan is far from the only place impacted by high water.

“It is happening all over: Florida, the East Coast, California, and, of course other states around the Great Lakes,” Stabenow said. “The water has risen to the point on the oceans that Miami is at risk of being flooded, and that would impact millions of people. This is a very serious issue, and it needs to continue to be addressed and more done.”

Steve Schulwitz can be reached at 989-358-5689 at sschulwitz@thealpenanews.com. Follow him on Twitter @ss_alpenanews.com.

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