USDA tours flood damage in San Diego; federal help could be on the way
SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) — President Joe Biden sent representatives from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to get a firsthand look at the damage caused by the Jan. 22 flooding in southeast San Diego and discuss with San Diego officials which federal USDA programs could help the city.
You may be thinking, why the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)? Underneath the department’s umbrella is the Natural Resources Conservation Service, which has a federal funding program, Emergency Watershed Protection, that has been identified as a potential federal funding resource that can help San Diego recover from the flooding.
“President Biden sent the USDA down here to take a look at the damage so that we could access NRCS might be able to provide funding to the city to recover some of this damage and also in the places where there are private land owners who received damage to the channel, finding ways to see if there’s an opportunity to support the recovery there,” said Xochitl Torres Smal, Deputy Secretary of Agriculture.
The NRCS EWP program has helped in Hurricane Harvey rebuilding efforts and wildfires in California in the past.
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The EWP program can offer money and technical help to communities, such as San Diego, relieve imminent threats to life and property. This program only comes into play when the damage is caused by floods, fires, windstorms or other natural disasters that impair a watershed.
In this case, the watershed identified is the Chollas Creek and its canals that run through southeast San Diego.
“What we do is providing technical and financial assistance to replace or strengthen those areas that were impacted,” said Carlos Suarez, NRCS State Conservationist, after touring the damage Monday.
The EWP program does not require a federal or state disaster declaration. Officials said City of San Diego leaders can begin the process of the program by just sending an email, which they plan to do.
“With an extreme flood event like this, there’s an opportunity for USDA to be part of the solution, to help homeowners and people of Southcrest rebuild,” Smal said.
She said they also planned to tour the damage in the South Bay to the ranchers and farmers impacted by the flooding from the Tijuana River Valley.
The program’s funding does not go toward recouping any costs already spent, but only toward rebuilding, such as the Chollas Creek watershed.
City officials said they have identified the Southcrest Trails Park, at the corner of Beta and Birch streets as the epicenter of the flood damage, because it’s the most low-lying area of the canal.
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