Buena Vista Conservation Board Prepares Third Appeal After FEMA Advances Linn Grove

Buena Vista County Conservation Director Greg Johnson told the board that FEMA's Region 7 office advanced restoration work at Linn Grove Dam and the Linn Grove Recreation Area without county concurrence, a move he said "automatically triggered a new appeal window," and on March 2 the Buena Vista County Conservation Board voted to retain Nyemaster Goode, P.C. and prepare a third appeal. Johnson also told the board the county has until April 2 or 3 to file the appeal.

The dispute traces to flood damage in 2018 and 2019 and now spans an eight-year fight that has included two prior appeals and a successful arbitration. The U.S. Civilian Board of Contract Appeals decision in CBCA 8101-FEMA, issued February 4, 2025, documents the earlier procedural history, lists Judges Goodman, Sheridan, and Newsom on the panel, and names Nyemaster Goode attorneys Brian Shust of Cedar Rapids and Keith Duffy of Des Moines as counsel for the county during that arbitration.

Funding disagreements remain central. FEMA currently lists the Linn Grove Dam project at $3.1 million and the Linn Grove park project at $2.96 million, for a combined total just over $6 million. County engineering estimates submitted to the board put the dam at $3.6 million and the park at $6.2 million, a combined roughly $10 million. The county reports cost increases since 2021 of nearly $500,000 for the dam and $730,000 for the park, and Johnson told the board, "FEMA is still using the county's 2021 engineering numbers for the dam—even though FEMA requested updated 2025 costs last spring and acknowledged receiving them."

Legal strategy mirrors the path taken in 2024 and 2025. Board materials and public reporting say Nyemaster Goode will prepare the "first appeal" to FEMA; FEMA may accept that appeal or deny it, and if FEMA denies the county will again have the option of arbitration. County officials told the board FEMA already has much of the documentation on file, but attorneys will prepare additional evidence as needed for the new filing.

Administrative records show the county has long processed FEMA paperwork for this project. A Buena Vista County Conservation Board meeting notice from December 13, 2022, listed Linn Grove Flood Damage under disaster DR4421, included a FEMA update and determination memo, a 100 percent improved project plan set, and bid administration items at the County Engineer’s Office, 526 Radio Rd, Storm Lake. The CBCA record includes a June 29, 2023 RFI Response in which the applicant argued the damages were not pre-existing and described the park and dam as "intertwined, overlapping features, and therefore must be considered together for restoration to pre-disaster conditions," language preserved in Applicant’s Exhibit 17.

With the March 2 vote, the Conservation Board has set in motion a compressed timetable that will test whether FEMA will revise its funding position to reflect the county’s 2025 engineering estimates or leave the county to press its case through the administrative appeal and, if necessary, another arbitration.