Brewster swings for the fences with $20 million EPA grant application

BREWSTER –It’s a long shot with a short application window, but the City of Brewster is applying to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in pursuit of a $20 million grant to fund flood control measures.

City Director of Finance Misty Ruiz advised the September city council meeting that she had just learned of the opportunity when she attended an Economic Alliance training session, where an EPA presentation disclosed one-time funds it had available. The money is part of the $2 billion 2022 Inflation Reduction Act funds the EPA can invest in environmental and climate justice activities.

“EPA does not attend the annual Infrastructure Assistance Coordinating Council (IACC) conference, so we do not learn about their opportunities,” Ruiz said.

She could see where a large block of funds might be available to address the pricey solution to the city's new floodplain designation.

“It is part of the Environmental and Climate Justice Community Change Grant Program, but it’s only open until November,” said Ruiz. “It will not be open again.” 

Brewster is not passing up the one-time shot despite short notice.

“I just wish we would have had more time to complete a more intense application,” Ruiz said.

“The nice thing is we do check all the boxes,” said Ruiz. “We have the facilities that need the help and a population base that fits the criteria.”

The funds are allotted to benefit communities most impacted by climate change, legacy pollution, and historical disinvestments.

“This is the first time I have had any workings with the EPA,” said Ruiz. “I try to attend every meeting that has potential funding opportunity programs. If I can find enough and put them together, maybe we will make a good project, and this is it.”

That approach has served Ruiz and the city well in the past with the millions she has sourced for water, reservoir, well, wastewater treatment, and infrastructure grants since the 2014 Carlton Complex wildfire.

A recent unusual project in June 2023 called “ice pigging” by a New Jersey-based company called American Pipeline Solutions flushed the city water lines of accumulated manganese and other impurities. The service was funded by federal dollars and produced such good results that the city plans to periodically repeat it.

FEMA floodplain guidelines alarm

The city was recently informed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) that a large portion of the community and surrounding area is in a floodplain, which was defined in the most recent flood risk analysis and mapping. Essential power, community, and agricultural infrastructure exist within the proposed floodplain.

FEMA's modeling indicates that over 200 structures, including residential homes, mobile homes, apartment buildings, commercial buildings, and religious facilities, lie within the 100-year floodplain boundary. Using a replacement value of buildings, estimated at an average of $100 per square foot, the estimated damage to structures in the city would exceed $19 million.

NRCS study describes the problem.

Brewster engaged the USDA National Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) to complete a Preliminary Investigation and Feasibility Report (PIFR) on the Swamp Creek—Columbia Watershed, which new FEMA guidelines have designated a floodplain. The 54-page report was completed last May.

The report summarized the threat to the city.

The existing watershed has limiting conditions where Swamp Creek enters the Brewster city limits. The drainage is restricted by narrow undersized culverts, sharp turns to avoid existing infrastructure, and flows beneath existing buildings in portions. The drainage nearing, and within, city limits is prone to debris build-up, creating additional channel narrowing. During high flow events, this portion of the drainage backs up, causing flooding of existing infrastructure and buildings, including critical power and transportation.

The report also outlined the benefit of a Watershed Flood Prevention Operation,

A WFPO would help to prevent and mitigate the flooding of the existing power, transportation, and commercial infrastructure. It would also reduce the substantial daily maintenance required allowing staff to focus more on the operation and maintenance of the potable water distribution and wastewater collection system.

An additional benefit to addressing this drainage is to update the proposed FEMA mapping and reduce the predicted floodway for future flood events to match the area. As proposed the FEMA mapping will negatively impact the existing commercial/industrial corridor and limit future development in a large portion of the city.

Alternatives presented

Of the four alternatives evaluated in the PIFR, two would correct the threat:

Alternative 2:

• Upgrade undersized infrastructure in the Swamp Creek drainage.
• Install a flood protection berm/levee to protect substation infrastructure. 

Alternative 4:

• Improve stream alignment and increase conveyance capacity.
• Install a flood protection berm/levee to protect substation infrastructure. 
• Develop a greenway corridor along the drainage within the City of Brewster.
• Incorporate public trails within the greenway.
• Install a detention basin upstream of the City of Brewster.
• Develop an aquifer recharge system.

With many parts of Okanogan County declared floodplain under FEMA’s new and more comprehensive modeling, Brewster has proactively engaged the agency to mitigate its designation by finding a solution to the problem. If the EPA grant application results in the awarding of the needed funds, the city will have once again knocked one out of the park.

Mike Maltais: 360-333-8483 or michael@ward.media