Farmers Cash In From Nisqually Quake
The checks were mailed in 2003 as a result of the declaration of the county as a disaster area in the 2001 Nisqually Earthquake.
The quake was not severely felt in the county, but Federal law calls for per head payments to livestock farms. The law was adopted for use in drought emergencies, but it was expanded by Congress to include all emergencies.
The payments were outlined in a story in the Washington Post.
Dan Boyd of Whatcom County Emergency Services says the earthquake did crack a few chimneys and plaster but caused no injuries or severe problems..
The earthquake registered as magnitude 6.8 at its epicenter. There is no estimated magnitude for Whatcom County, but Boyd guess it might have been like a quake of 3.0 with the epicenter there.
Jim Zwiers lives 170 miles away from the epicenter in Lynden. In 2001, he owned a dairy farm. He got an application form for a federal payment and thought it was a joke, until his son convinced him to mail it in.
Asked if he suffered any any damage from the earthquake he replied, "I don't even know if we even felt the earthquake." But he says he got a check and cashed it.
When the Nisqually earthquake hit, the President declared 22 counties disaster areas. Any place a chimney cracked got a declaration. Dan Boyd says there was minor damage and that triggered the declaration.
Larry Reeves of USDA Farm services says under the law, farmers were entitled to livestock compensation on a per head basis. They didn't have to identify damage just, in effect, count the cows and bulls.
"We had some farmers come in and ask why they got a check," he said. "They just didn't understand the program," but they cashed the checks.
The feds paid out $1.6 million in Whatcom County.
Local farmers say raising cattle is a tough business. Many are hurting. It may not have felt right, but they cashed the checks.
"What can I say if somebody says I'm going to get some money because there was something that happened, should I turn it down?" Dairy farmer Robert Smit said.
Farmers here say that Federal help really doesn't mean that much. They say the real problem is the price they get for beef and the price they get for milk.
The Washington Post says the same story is repeated across the country. They reported that after the Columbia disaster and a disaster declaration designed to keep people away from the wreckage, some Texas ranchers received payments of up to $40,000. That happened despite the fact that their ranches were 20 miles away from the nearest piece of wreckage.