Washington, D.C. – Oregon’s U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden today announced a total of $1,524,951.53 in Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is headed to Oregon to help fund the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation (CTUIR) acquisition of five properties in the floodplain.
“I saw firsthand how the flood in February 2020 was devastating to the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation and other residents in Umatilla County,” said Merkley. “I am pleased that CTUIR will now have the funding needed to safely remove structures that were damaged beyond repair by the raging floodwaters. This clean-up is an important step in the tribe’s remarkable efforts to restore floodplains and protect water quality. I look forward to continuing to work with Oregon’s sovereign tribal nations to ensure they have the resources their communities need to thrive.”
“The impact of the February 2020 floods in Eastern Oregon was painfully clear in the faces of the community I met with at the Red Cross shelter and the emergency operations center,” said Wyden. “The destruction landed especially hard on the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation. And I’m glad to have teamed up with tribal officials to secure these federal emergency funds for this cleanup and property acquisitions that are essential steps in the road to economic recovery.”
This grant will help fund the acquisition of every structure on five properties in the floodplain as well as the required assessments, studies, and Environmental Historic Preservation review necessary to demolish and/or restore the properties in the floodplain.
“This will help Umatilla Indian Reservation residents recover from the February 2020 flood of the Umatilla River that was so devastating to so many homes and so much property. We are extremely grateful to Senator Merkley and Senator Wyden for their support,” said Kat Brigham, Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation.
###
English 
Spanish