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SEA Program Home >
Floods Home
What Does Ecology Do During A Flood?
Ecology’s Shorelands and Environmental Assistance Program provides
two main kinds of assistance during a flood:

Ecology floodplain specialists do inspections by air and by the road to conduct damage assessments.
- Floodplain experts at Ecology’s headquarters and in its regional
offices across Washington work closely with local, state and federal
officials to assess flood damage.
When flooding starts, floodplain
staff often are asked to work in the state Emergency Operations
Center to collect damage and flood information and recommend the
placement of flood-response equipment and materials at locations
around the state.
Floodplain specialists also work with the
Federal Emergency Management Agency
(FEMA) and local emergency management officials to assess flood
maps, storm damage, and flood control structures such as dikes and
levees — all as a way to help prepare requests for federal and
state flood disaster assistance.
For more information, see the focus sheet on
The Floodplain Management Assistance Program.

Conservation Corps squad shovels snow to prevent roof collapse.
- Ecology’s Washington
Conservation Corps (WCC) is part of the larger AmeriCorps
Program and made up of 12-member crews all between 18 and 24 years
of age.
During the 2009 flood incident, all 150 WCC crew members
were deployed in different areas across the state in an emergency
capacity. Some stacked sandbags to keep rising waters out of homes,
helped disabled residents get medical attention, cleaned out homes
and businesses, set up emergency shelters, shoveled snow from
endangered roofs, and removed downed trees and other debris that
posed an immediate threat to life and property. At one point, a WCC
team sent to help residents in Randle were cut off by rising flood
waters. In spite of the peril, they continued to give aid to the
community.
Other Ecology responders:

Spill team responds to incidents such as these farm-chemical containers carried away by flood waters.
- The Spill
Prevention, Preparedness, and Response Program tracks and helps clean up oil
spills and dispose of abandoned containers that may hold hazardous
materials such as pesticides, fertilizers, petroleum products, toxic
metals and other poisonous substances that pose an immediate threat to
public health and the environment.
Ecology’s responders are trained
to identify and handle dangerous chemicals. When citizens see evidence
of a spill, or have abandoned tanks or suspicious containers on their
property, they are asked to contact Ecology to help them clean up the materials. Spill Responders often are first on
the scene after a flood incident – and typically do assessments by air
and by road.
- The
Hazardous Waste and Toxics Reduction program
tracks and assists with potential flood-related problems for
businesses it regulates due to the hazardous waste they produce.
Floods pose special problems to homes and businesses with hazardous
materials. See
Be Ready for a Flood - Manage Your Hazardous Materials for
information on preparing for floods, cleaning up afterwards, and
disposing of dangerous waste.
Ecology maintains a list of
businesses that produce a large amount of hazardous waste and the agency
contacts those in the flood-affected areas and helps with accumulated debris after the storm.
 A flooded gas station means possible leakage from an underground storage tank.
- The Toxics Cleanup Program
tracks potential problems with underground storage tanks, particularly
at gas stations and fueling stations. Sometimes flood waters can cause underground storage tanks to break to the surface — or water can
inundate fuel tanks, most of which contain gasoline, diesel fuel and
other petroleum products.
Ecology’s underground storage tank experts
help businesses locate contractors who can pump out water or repair
damaged tanks.
- Dam Safety Office engineers
monitor potential flood-related problems with the state’s 900 regulated,
non-hydropower generating dams. In some cases, local dam owners and
operators are ordered to lower water levels to reduce the pressure
behind a dam to protect human life or property and environmental health.
- The Air Quality program
gives guidance to communities and residents who want to burn debris. Burning of flood and storm debris is allowed under very specific conditions and only with a permit.
> Learn more about the dangers of outdoor burning.
- Ecology’s Water Quality Program
experts monitor reports from state wastewater treatment plants impacted
by flood waters and stormwater runoffs. Water Quality specialists work
with treatment plant operators to keep the facilities functioning – and
do all they can to provide technical assistance to try to keep as little
untreated wastewater as possible from entering local waterways.
- The Water Resources program
works with the Department of Health to pinpoint communities where
drinking water is contaminated by flood waters.
- After floods and storms, communities, businesses, and homeowners
often must cope with damaged dwellings, downed trees, and potential
problems handling solid waste when roads and rail lines are interrupted.
Ecology’s specialists in the Waste 2 Resources program
work with local communities and
businesses to help find solutions to managing and disposing of
non-hazardous debris in ways that are environmentally safe during
emergencies.
> See more information about safely disposing of sand from used sandbags.
For example, the December 2007 flood severely damaged swaths of Lewis
and Grays Harbor counties. Waste 2 Resources staff helped find state grants to
fund non-burning alternatives for about 200 manufactured homes destroyed
by the flood. They also worked with local companies to chip downed
trees, and find temporary storage for solid waste at local sanitary
landfills.
Unfortunately, farmers also lose livestock in floods. Animal
carcasses need to be disposed safely to prevent illness or disease.
Waste 2 Resources experts also work with private solid-waste disposal
companies and local governments to simplify the transport and disposal
of dead animals.
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The Official Site of FEMA's National Flood Insurance Program
Prepare to prevent pollution during flooding and winter storms
Be ready for a flood! Tips for households and businesses.
Department of Health's fact sheets to help you prepare for the possible
hazards of bad weather
Yakima County gets emergency grant for SR 410 landslide response
(Grant agreement, PDF)
U.S. Army Corps of Engineer's Howard Hanson Dam web page
King County's Green River Valley Flooding web page (with Corps Fact Sheets)
King County's Flooding Services and Resources web page
Ecology regulates many non-power generating dams
UNDERGROUND STORAGE TANKS (UST)
Evaluating Your Underground Storage Tank System Before Restart
(Korean)
Storage Fuel Tanks in the Green River Valley
What you need to know before, during and after a flood
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