homeowners in Manville were caught off guard this week after the state issued a sudden policy change for property owners in some flood-prone areas many of them are still trying to scrape together money to rebuild after Hurricane Ida two years ago the new rules will force them though to take a state buyout and move or pay to rebuild their homes out of their own pocket senior correspondent Brenda Flanagan has the story I thought it was 23 years of my life here we have nowhere to go Miriam Saladin lives in Manville's Infamous Lost Valley three times her families fled serious flooding pontoon boats carried them to safety when Ida inundated the house on Huff Avenue like other Ida victims here she's been waiting two years for federal money to elevate her home but Monday she got a state letter offering her one option take a buyout and move the letter states that if you don't take the Vie out and anything happens you're liable your own there's not going to be no elevation money that they were supposed to give Mandel to elevate everybody Charlotte is one of about 2 000 Manville residents living in what state officials call a risk reduction area it includes about 17 percent of Manville's housing stock located in flood-prone areas between the Millville and Raritan Rivers New Jersey wants to buy and raise these houses under the state's blue Acres Program instead of paying to elevate them Saladin can't afford to pay for elevating her home like a neighbor did why'd they just say no I'm buying you out you got to get out that's not the way we're not we're humans we're not animals I think their map is flawed and they won't even negotiate with us to come back and give us any input into the data that they use Manville's mayor claims he got no warning no input Manville's already pocked with empty lots Holmes bought out under blue Acres following prior severe floods during hurricanes Floyd and Irene I'm in favor of buyouts in certain areas but I'm also in favor of saving rateables and you know allowing people to elevate their home because they want to stay in Manville and you know you keep knocking down homes we're going to be you know under financial distress for a long time the new policy comes from the dep the Department of Community Affairs and New Jersey's office of emergency management The Joint decision is based on climate change and scant funding for Disaster Recovery the letter to homeowners explains flood plain buyouts are the most permanent and cost-effective alternative for protecting human lives and private property against the inevitable future flood events so far the policy applies only to Manville Advocates are calling Sal at the process What's Happening Here is the state is suddenly revoking options that were previously available and this is even more unacceptable when you consider that the bioprocess itself is like dysfunctional slow-moving and it doesn't guarantee a fair payout proportional to the housing market there were agencies upon agencies that came here into the valley said we're going to help you Marianne Morris says President Biden walked right past her house when he toured Ida's Devastation in Lost Valley she got six feet of water an SBA loan helped fix up inside her home but it makes her ineligible for a blue Acres buyout she claims the program low balled her before they raised it maybe twenty thousand dollars more still grossly under what I needed to even just break even and that would leave me and my daughter homeless she says her nine-year-old daughter is now terrified whenever it rains she's asked the state to reconsider its analysis of buying her out the blue Acres form says every applicant will get a benefit cost analysis if forms are filed by August 21st not a lot of time for the folks in Lost Valley Lost Valley that's how we feel like we're in Manville I'm Brenda Flanagan NJ Spotlight News