Residents devastated by Matanuska River erosion to receive buyout

Thanks to a federal grant, and some support from the State, residents whose homes are in danger of falling into the Matanuska River will be finding some help in the form of a buyout of their property.

According to a spokesperson with the Mat-Su Borough, word came Thursday that their grant proposal was successful, and that $4.46 million in the form of that Hazard Mitigation Grant would be coming to at-risk homeowners along the river.

"Our application went in in 2014 and we've been on the priority list with the state for funding for a number of years. And the way it works is the state has an mitigation advisory committee and at one time the Port of Anchorage was another applicant and their needs outweighed our needs," said Taunnie Boothby, Mat-Su Borough Floodplain Administrator and Project Manager of the grant.

The grant was originally

disqualified them for it. Instead, rather than lose the federal money, the state switched their efforts to supporting those whose homes could fall into the Matanuska.

The Borough said that around 15 residents will receive the buyout. Last year, KTUU covered the story of

This grant money however will not be going towards the Musials because according to the Mat-Su Borough, the family did not sign voluntary participation letters that were sent out to residents along the Matanuska River.

When contacted by KTUU, according to Val, she hadn't heard one word from the borough. "They have my number, they haven't called me about any buyout," Musial said Friday. Musial said she and her husband, both in their 90's, essentially planned to live in their home until they die, but weren't previously aware of a buyout opportunity.

Right now, it is not known specifically which properties will be bought. Boothby said that "more specifics will be learned" once the grant is officially awarded.

"All of the applicants that are in our grant application all signed a voluntary participation form. So that so that's the basis for putting their names in our application that they were willing to participate. It's purely voluntary, they have all the way up to signing the closing documents to choose not to participate," said Boothby.

This is because of how the grant money is split up. Of the 15 residences, 10 are located in the Butte, and five are located in Sutton, where the Musials live. The money will be split giving $3.36 million to the Butte project, and $1.09 million to the Sutton area project as a companion project with the same overall grant funding.

The grant, which is through the Federal Emergency Management Agency, better known as FEMA, will be awarded in late March. The email that the borough received from FEMA said that the homes will be valid for acquisition due to being "at severe risk for flooding and erosion damage along the Matanuska River.”

When purchased, the borough said in a news release, properties will be classified as restricted open space in perpetuity, which will also prevent any new buildings from being built there. The borough will then own that land for good.