MALIBU : FEMA Says It Won’t Pay If Mudflow Cleanups Are Needed This Year

Officials in Malibu, still reeling from mudslides last winter, have learned that the federal government won’t fund mudflow cleanups this winter.

The city was notified in a letter from officials at the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services that the Federal Emergency Management Agency will not pay for future mud cleanup, even though city hillsides are still unstable, covered only with shallow-rooted vegetation.

Following the Nov. 2 fire last year, soil experts predicted that it would be five to eight years before hillside vegetation grows enough to prevent erosion during rainstorms. In the months after the blaze, heavy rains triggered several mudslides in the city that required about $1.5 million in cleanup work--75% of which was paid by the federal government and 25% of which was funded by the state.

“I’m doing a dry dance instead of a rain dance,” said John P. Clement, the city’s public works director. Laguna Beach and Altadena have also received notice that they should not expect federal mudflow cleanup money next year, Clement said.

“I can’t afford rain right now,” Clement said. “Where we used to have four or five crews out there cleaning up, now we’ll only have one.”

Malibu city officials received the bad news in a letter last month. City Manager David N. Carmany said he is working with the office of Rep. Anthony C. Beilenson (D-Woodland Hills), whose district includes Malibu, to urge FEMA to change its stance. Laguna Beach officials are also taking part in the effort, he said.

Officials from the two agencies met last October to discuss, among other things, flood and erosion projects proposed in Malibu. Sometime during the meeting, FEMA officials said Malibu would be ineligible for federal funds to pay for mud cleanups in the coming year. According to an OES spokesperson, Malibu has not been eligible for such funding since April, the official end of the federally declared “incident period” following last year’s Nov. 2 firestorm.

In its letter informing Malibu of FEMA’s decision, the state emergency services office made clear that it opposes the move. “Please be assured that we do not concur, and strongly believe that any such mudflows will be a direct result of the fire disaster,” the state agency said.

The letter also cast some doubt on whether the city will receive federal funding for part of a $21-million erosion and flood control project planned for Las Flores Canyon to resolve a decades-old flooding and landslide problem.

During their review of Malibu’s proposed project, the letter said, federal officials determined that FEMA would not pay for the purchase of nine flood-prone properties in the canyon. The officials did say that if a study of the proposed project “determines that the purchase of the property is required to stabilize the hillside,” then FEMA will consider purchasing the properties.