A disaster declaration was approved in the summer for the major landslide that affected parts of the Kenai Peninsula in May. The declaration ordered federal assistance to supplement state, tribal, and local recovery efforts in the Lowell Point community that was affected by the landslide on May 7, 2022. Recently, the Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly enacted an ordinance accepting grant funds from the Alaska Division of Homeland Security & Emergency Management and the Federal Emergency Management Agency to reimburse costs associated with those disaster recovery efforts.
“Typically, how that works is that the state has to provide documentation to meet the funding thresholds that then are provided to the president for consideration,” according to Brenda Ahlberg with the Kenai Peninsula Borough Office of Emergency Management. “The landslide is in addition to other disasters that happened at the same time. The state was able to make that a combination of areawide impacts that was submitted and that was how they were able to meet those thresholds.”
The ordinance accepts funds of $122,254.89 from the Alaska Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, and from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, for costs incurred related to responding to the landslide. $65,960, which is accounted for in the previous amount, will be paid on behalf of the Kenai Peninsula Borough to Miller’s Landing for the transportation of individuals to and from Lowell Point.
At the Kenai Peninsula Borough level, Ahlberg added, “We’ve still submitted our costs for reimbursements, it’s just now the funding source is changed. Typically, as I’ve said before, 75% of it will be reimbursed through FEMA and then 25% of the costs will be reimbursed through the state division of homeland security.”
On May 7, 2022, a landslide from Bear Mountain in Seward covered Lowell Point Road and cut off Lowell Point residents from essential services for 30 days. Disaster declarations were made by the City of Seward, Kenai Peninsula Borough, and the State of Alaska.
The project application and grant awards are managed through FEMA’s online system named Grants Portal, and the award agreements created through the Alaska Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management as project worksheets.