A voluntary buyback program in flood-prone areas of Cranston and Johnston is entering a new phase.

Nineteen homeowners returned letters saying they want to sell their properties, according to Gina DeMarco, special projects manager at the Northern Rhode Island Conservation District, as a part of the Pocasset River watershed plan.

The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) is leading the initiative, which aims to increase resiliency by buying back buildings from owners in areas that have seen extreme damage from flooding.

The project is focused on homes on River Drive in Johnston and Riverview Terrace in Cranston, including some 100 vulnerable properties, and could cost between $48 million and $60 million, DiMarco estimated. The area is highly developed, leading to large amounts of damage when it floods.

“Nobody’s going to give us a chunk of $60 million to get started,” she said during a recent Rhode Island Climate Resilience Learning Network webinar. “We have some money.”

NRCS, which is a part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, is funding the buybacks through a federal law called the Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention Act. So far, $10 million has been allocated.

DiMarco said a nature-based approach of removing structures to return areas to a more natural condition is cheaper in many instances than creating infrastructure, such as walls and pumping stations.

Flood modeling, public input, and preferences from the municipalities all contributed to the decision on which homes/buildings to prioritize.

“You have a, say, $50 million project. You only have $10 million. Obviously, you can’t take care of everyone,” DiMarco said.

NRCS and the conservation district kicked off public meetings to gather information and share about the project with potential sellers in January. The program is completely voluntary and covers all the costs associated with buying out the properties.

“It is fantastic in that it pays 100% of the cost of acquisition, engineering, demolition, construction,” DiMarco said. “But the downside is that it can take years to initiate and plan.”

Cranston and Johnston will own the properties after the buildings are sold and demolished.

“We have many more to go, but we have already applied for money to go forward,” DiMarco said. “With the current administration, we don’t know where that will go.”

According to NRCS’s Michael Viola, the project could start scheduling closings on some properties next year.