COAL TOWNSHIP - The Flood of 2011 may only be a memory for many township residents, but for those who live along creeks, it remains a nightmare.
More than 40 residents of Ranshaw and Tharptown attended Thursday's meeting of the Coal Township commissioners, expressing frustration that the waters of Quaker Run and Shamokin Creek remain a threat to their homes.
Erosion along Quaker Run is threatening to completely wipe out backyards, Ranshaw residents said, further opening up homes to flooding. Those living in Tharptown said the buildup of sediment and debris in Shamokin Creek, especially beneath bridges, is threatening to do the same.
Concern was also expressed about runoff from Route 61 in Tharptown causing sewer mains to back up into homes. There are homes that are getting water during heavy rainfall that had never seen it prior to the September 2011 flooding, not even when Hurricane Agnes came through the area in 1972, residents said.
Some residents are frustrated with an inability to get flood insurance or a grant to make structural repairs. Small business loans were made available, but some older residents said at their age, they didn't feel comfortable taking a loan.
Others say they feel not enough is being done on any level of government - local, state or federal - to make necessary repairs to creek channels to ensure the safety of township residents in the two years since the flood hit.
'We're with you'
The comments came during a public hearing on a grant application toward securing funding for disaster relief.
"We are trying to fix the creeks and trying to find the funds to do it," Commissioner George Zalar said. "We're with you."
The commissioners are applying for Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Disaster Relief funding. The grant became available July 16 and an application is due Aug. 23, said Robert Slaby, township manager.
Slaby encouraged residents to write letters and attach any photographs or written documentation detailing flood damage to their properties. All of it will be included with the grant application to underscore the need for the funding. Letters can be mailed or hand delivered to the township municipal building at 805 W. Lynn St., Coal Township 17866, or email Slaby at robertslaby@ptd.net.
Design and construction estimates aren't completed, Slaby said, but he expects Coal Township to seek as much as $15 million.
They're not alone.
Municipalities from 36 counties that were under a presidential disaster declaration are expected to compete for the funding. Slaby wasn't sure of specifics, however, he told residents municipalities in five counties will compete for approximately 80 percent of funding, while Coal Township joins the rest in the 31 other counties to jockey for the remaining 20 percent.
According to the state Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED) website, $27.1 million will be made available in CDBG-DR 2012 funds and $29.9 million in CDBG-DR 2013, all of which comes from U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).
Slaby wasn't sure from which pool of money the township would be seeking funding.
Residents speak
David Schoch, of 509 Webster St., Ranshaw, said the flood wall along Quaker Run at his backyard is washing away. The foundation to his home is damaged. He said he can't get a loan to make repairs because he's in a flood zone, and that he lost an estimated $20,000 to flood damages.
"The problem is the wall is going to go in and the whole yard will go in, too," he said of the possibility of a major washout in the event of another flood.
If that happens, debris from Ranshaw will be pushed into Shamokin and further into Tharptown, making for more trouble downstream, he said.
Beverly Burd, of 937 Center St., Tharptown, said the flood wiped out her daycare center and covered her home in black silt. She said debris is piling up in Shamokin Creek.
"It needs to be dug out, it needs to be dredged, a lot," Burd said.
Carole Hedges, of 819 Center St., Tharptown, moved to her Coal Township home just three days before the flooding. She hadn't made the first payment on the mortgage before being flooded.
She worries about senior citizens in her neighborhood who don't have the resources to deal with potential damage caused to their properties.
"It just needs to be fixed. These people can't go through this again," she said.
Ray Siko II, of Ranshaw, said water rushes beneath his home when heavy rainfall swells the waters of Quaker Run. There are cracks in his walls from floor to ceiling, he said, and his basement had to be completely gutted.
His property's value has plummeted as insurance costs have risen, Siko said. He fears another flood will cause enough damage to knock down homes in his neighborhood.
"My home is structurally unsafe," he said.
Help in Harrisburg
State Rep. Kurt Masser, R-107, said he, too, is impacted by the flooding. He owns Wayside Inn. It was inundated by flooding. To this day when it rains hard for about 15 minutes or more, the toilets there can't be flushed, he said.
Masser said he put $4 million in the capital budget to help alleviate flood problems in Coal Township. Getting it out is another challenge. Former Rep. Robert E. Belfanti Jr. did much the same for more than 20 years, he said, before a flood control project was finally funded for Mount Carmel; a project that just began this year.
Masser said the drainage issue concerning Route 61 and runoff is being addressed with PennDOT and there are plans to reroute drainage to prevent sewers from backing up.
Representatives of Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) were in the Shamokin and Coal Township areas for several months after the 2011 flooding. When the township approached FEMA about funding a dredging project, or something like it, he said they didn't wan't to talk about the issue.
Township officials have sought other funding sources and came up empty until the CDBG-DR funds became available, Slaby said.
"We've been waiting for actual funding revenue to become available," he said.