MEDIA CONTACT:
STEVEN ENGELHARDT (314) 504-4029
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: THURSDAY 8.5.10
 

Clay Announces FEMA Approval of Wilson Avenue Buyout in University City
$3 Million Disaster Relief Grant Awarded to State Emergency Management Agency

WASHINGTON, DC- Congressman Wm. Lacy Clay (D) Missouri announced today that the Federal Emergency Management Agency has given final approval to a $3 Million Disaster Relief Grant to help fund the proposed buyout of 26 homes on Wilson Avenue in University City.  Congressman Clay has been leading federal efforts to gain approval for the long-sought buyout, for more than two years. 

“The residents on Wilson Avenue have endured the danger of flash flooding from the River Des Peres for far too long,” said the Congressman.  “After the tragic deaths of Louise Bryant and Willie Johnson in 2008, I promised that I would do everything possible to secure the federal funding to deliver Wilson Avenue residents from this urgent danger to lives and property.  Today, we have delivered on that promise.  I want to especially thank President Obama and our Congressional leadership for responding to my personal request to make the Wilson Avenue buyout a top FEMA priority in Missouri.”

The $3 Million in funding for the Wilson Avenue buyout is part of a $5.1 Billion Supplemental Disaster Relief Appropriation approved by Congress last week. FEMA will provide $3,000,000 from the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program to fund the project. This accounts for 75 percent of the total eligible cost of the project.  The City of University City will contribute the remaining 25 percent.  Actual timelines and rules for executing the buyout will be coordinated by the State Emergency Management Agency and the City of University City.  The approved project will acquire/demolish 26 flood-prone residential properties.

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