CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Officials at Yeager Airport continue to sort through issues surrounding the March slope failure, but say construction crews are making headway on the clean-up work at the airport’s overrun area.
“The material’s been removed out at the top and it’s down about 50 feet now,” said airport director Terry Sayre, following a board meeting on Wednesday. “There’s probably about another 50 feet to go to get to the bottom of the cliff, as I would call it.”
Crews with S&E Clearing and Hydroseeding, the contractor stabilizing the slide, began mitigation efforts earlier this month. Sayre said the clean-up should be complete by the end of October.
Sayre said the timeline on when the rebuilding of the overrun area is unknown at this time due to the pending of lawsuits and settlement of insurance claims.
The airport board reported they bought out properties on Keystone Drive right beside the Keystone Apostolic Church that collapsed in the disaster. Sayre said a mediation is scheduled with the church next week.
“Hopefully, we’ll be able to work something out with the church to access the property to start tearing down those homes. Some of them have been flooded and they’re all empty. We need to get them out of the neighborhood,” he said.
As of Wednesday, Sayre said almost all residents affected by the collapse have housing except one resident who still remains in a hotel.
The airport is also waiting on reimbursements from emergency expenses connected to the slide.
“We had expenses for light plants, generators, we were out of electric and ran on generator power here for two days,” said Sayre. “We had to pay all the utility companies for things that the collapse tore up.”
Airport spokesman Mike Plante said Wednesday the airport possibly wants to seek emergency funds from Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin, following battles with their insurance company, AIG. Sen. Ed Gaunch (R-Kanawha) previously told MetroNews the board may ask for as much as $3 million and that he supports such an expenditure.
The March 12 collapse destroyed a church building, homes and displaced residents along Keystone Drive. Since the incident, Yeager has not received any money from its insurer.