FEMA approves funding for at least 90 flood buyouts in Vermont

The Federal Emergency Management Agency has signed off on most of the applications tied to the 2023 and 2024 floods.

Dozens of Vermont households that have spent years waiting for help after major flooding are now set to receive buyout money, following a new federal approval announced Monday.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency has signed off on most of the applications tied to the 2023 and 2024 floods, unlocking a $33.2 million package that covers at least 90 homes. The program pays eligible survivors the pre-flood value of their property so they can leave damaged areas behind.

Stephanie Smith, deputy director of Vermont Emergency Management, said the money will support residents in Plainfield, Starksboro, Huntington, St. Johnsbury, Richmond and Groton, along with people in other communities.

The approval does not mean immediate payments. State and local officials still have to move through appraisals, legal paperwork and closings before families can receive the funds, a process Smith said will take time even though the federal decision removes a major obstacle.

Several setbacks slowed the federal review. A government shutdown interrupted FEMA’s work, the Trump administration later required state staff to submit applications again during the process, and former Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem put in place a rule requiring her approval on FEMA expenses above $100,000. That change affected disaster aid across the country.

The long wait has left many flood survivors stuck between two sets of costs: paying for homes that were damaged or destroyed while also covering rent or other housing elsewhere. Some have lived with relatives or friends since the floods.

U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., said the recent storms caused homes to be swept away, jobs and businesses to suffer, transportation routes to fail and lives to be lost. U.S. Sen. Peter Welch, D-Vt., said the delays have left Vermonters in limbo for more than three years and called the new approvals an important step, while adding that recovery work is still unfinished.

Under FEMA rules, properties taken through the buyout program must be torn down. The land then becomes town-owned open space, and in some places, clusters of removed homes can be converted into floodplain areas intended to lower future storm damage.