President Barack Obama has approved Gov. Peter Shumlin's major disaster declaration request.
The governor thanked Obama for turning around the request he placed with the White House last Thursday morning in a matter of a few hours.
“If anyone thinks government doesn't work for them, think again,” Shumlin said in a press conference at the Knapp airport in Berlin last Thursday.
The request puts Vermont in the queue for public assistance for town roads that were gutted in the flooding caused by Tropical Storm Irene. It also will enable individual homeowners to apply for up to $30,400 in grants and low-interest loans.
The public assistance money, which comes in the form of a 75 percent federal match (the state contributes 12.5 percent and towns must pony up 12.5 percent), will be used to reimburse the cost of making bridge, road and rail repairs in dozens of towns around the state. All but one of Vermont's 14 counties, Grand Isle, is eligible for the funding.
The individual assistance program, which is run through the Federal Emergency Management Agency, will give homeowners direct cash assistance for repairs, replacement of equipment, rental reimbursements and medical expenses related to the disaster.
Initially, only residents in four counties – Chittenden, Washington, Rutland and Windsor – that sustained moderate to severe damage will be able to apply for individual assistance.
Shumlin said once state officials have had a chance to calculate the damage, other counties will be added On Friday, Windham County was added to the individual assistance declaration list, and Addison, Bennington, and Orange counties were added on Sunday.
Residents in these counties should call the FEMA general number at 800-621-3362, or go to DisasterAssistance.gov. FEMA officials will be available to help residents apply for assistance.
Anyone who is not in one of the aforementioned counties who wants to get a jumpstart on the FEMA process should call 211 and leave a message with their contact information with the state so that assessors can make arrangements to evaluate their property. Once the declaration is expanded to more counties, residents will need to apply directly to FEMA.
This was a strategy move on the part of the Shumlin administration. Jeb Spaulding, secretary of the Agency of Administration, explained that it was important for the state to get its dibs in as soon as possible. Now that the initial declaration is in place other counties, with even more significant damage can tag onto the Federal Emergency Management Agency process.
The state received an Emergency Declaration for Federal Assistance for immediate disaster relief efforts on Aug. 29. The U.S. Department of Transportation gave Vermont $5 million yesterday in emergency highway funding to repair state roads and bridges.
Shumlin says this initial infusion of cash from the federal government an initial infusion of assistance to the state, and much more money will be forthcoming.