Another story recently in the news highlights the question of
just how much responsibility local governments have to help private homeowners
whose property is affected by erosion. This time the focus is on the Quinault
River in Washington. As with Alaska’s Matanuska
River the Quinault has shifted its course over time, bringing it much closer to homes
that were built years ago. In both cases, residents are demanding that something
be done to “fix”
the river .
In Alaska, a local
borough had been using Natural Resources Conservation Service funds to buy homes
threatened the Matanuska and then demolishing them, but money for that program
has run out, and more homes are in danger. In Washington, the Quinault has moved
so close to homes that it recently undermined one of them, and although the
house didn’t completely fall into the river (it was flooded and declared
uninhabitable), residents are now saying that not just their property but their
safety is at stake, making the use of public funds even more urgent.
It’s difficult to
know, without a survey of the river and surrounding area, just what options
might work to prevent further erosion, or how much they would cost. One county
commissioner from Grays Harbor County in Washington has agreed to tour the area
as a first step. Other commissioners point out, however, that several different
state and federal agencies—as many as five—need to grant permission for any work
done to the river, and obtaining the necessary permits can take years. About
$30,000 worth of previous bank stabilization work has failed to solve the
problem.
It would also be
useful to determine what effect, if any, upstream development has had on the
changes taking place in the Quinault River, and whether those changes will
continue to affect the river’s course. In that case, work done by either the
county or the individual property owners at the sites where the problem is
occuring might be of little use in the long term.
What’s your take
on the situation? Who is ultimately responsible for the protection of private
property—or, if it can’t be protected, for the financial consequences of moving
or abandoning the buildings on it?