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Utah may be a desert, but disastrous flooding here last year led it to receive the most of any state in a big package of federal emergency agricultural disaster aid announced on Wednesday.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture awarded Utah $60.3 million out of the $307.6 million given nationally — about 20 percent of the national total. Utah's money is for emergency watershed repair projects statewide.
That came after the wettest spring on record in northern Utah led to snowmelt flooding along rivers including the Weber, Ogden, Blacksmith's Fork, Sevier, Emigration Creek and Big and Little Cottonwood Creek. Flash flooding also occurred in December 2010 in southern Utah. All that flooded, or even eroded away, many farms and hurt irrigation and flood control systems.
"Landowners, individuals and communities have endured incredible hardships," U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said as he announced the national assistance. "This funding will help to rebuild communities.... This assistance keeps farmers on the farm, ranchers on the ranch, and landowners on the land."
The U.S. Natural Resources Conservation Service will funnel money to 13 local governments in Utah to pay up to 75 percent for restoration or flood prevention projects, while local governments must pay the rest through cash or in-kind services. About $50.2 eventually will go to local governments, and the NRCS will also use $10.1 million in the state for technical assistance.
Among amounts awarded so far are $13 million to Weber County, where high snowmelt flooding damaged road, irrigation, structures, homes and bridges. Washington County is receiving $6.59 million for damage from flash floods.
Salt Lake County is receiving $3.5 million. High stream flows in the most populous county caused damage to property on Big and Little Cottonwood Creeks, Mill Creek and the Jordan River.
Among some other initial amounts awarded are: Cache County, $6 million; Duchesne County, $4 million; Sevier County, $3.5 million; Sanpete County, $2.5 million; Piute County, $1.5 million; Green River Soil Conservation District, $1.5 million; Kane County, $600,000; Garfield County, $500,000; Spanish Fork, $500,000; and the Northern Utah Water Conservancy District, $500,000.
"We look forward to working with the local sponsors to restore these critical natural resource systems and help make these communities whole again," said Dave Brown, state conservationist in the Utah NRCS office.
Ron Francis, NRCS Utah spokesman, said the agency figures that $57 million worth of similar work after 2005 floods around St. George helped this year, when similar flash flooding occurred. He said it helped avoid "damages exceeding $179 million, and protected 450 individual properties and 30 businesses.... It worked. The stuff held and it didn't wipe out homes again."
The Utah Department of Agriculture and Food hailed the aid.
"Agriculture is hard enough without natural disasters making it even more difficult," said department spokesman Larry Lewis. "It's very important that farmers are able to put themselves back in business and undo what damage the flood did. We're talking about tens of millions of dollars of losses" from flooding last year.
Utah Deputy Agriculture Commissioner Kyle Stephens added, "As a result of flooding around the state, it caused a lot of farmers and ranchers not to be able to put their crops in" because of flooded or too-wet fields. He said even where farmers may have been able to plant, "Irrigations systems were compromised because of flooding, so they were not able to get water on fields." —
Top five states in aid awards
Utah • $60.3 million
Missouri • $48.9 million
New York • $41.8 million
Alabama • $16.6 million
Pennsylvania • $13.9 million
Source: U.S. Department of Agriculture