Vermont Business Magazine Communities in Addison and Chittenden counties will begin the application process for receiving federal assistance to help recover from severe storms and flooding on June 9th. President Barack Obama signed a major disaster declaration for those counties earlier this week. The Public Assistance declaration allows communities in those counties to apply for federal reimbursement for 75% of response and recovery costs associated with that storm.
The Vermont Division of Emergency Management and Homeland Security will host two mandatory applicants' briefings next week. The briefings will outline the requirements for receiving federal awards and maximizing eligibility of repairs. All towns seeking federal reimbursement for costs associated with the June 9 storm should have a representative at one of these briefings. The briefing schedule is:
Tuesday, Aug. 4th from 10 a.m. to noon, Middlebury town offices, 94 Main St., Middlebury
Wednesday, Aug. 5th from 10 a.m. to noon, Richmond town offices, 203 Bridge St., Richmond
The declaration will reimburse communities for the cost of debris removal, and repairs to public roads, bridges, and other public infrastructure damaged during the storm. A preliminary damage assessment (PDA) on June 26th identified more than $1.3-million in damages to public infrastructure statewide. Addison and Chittenden counties each exceeded the $3.56 per capita threshold needed to qualify cities and towns in those counties for assistance.
The public assistance disaster declaration also includes funds from the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP). The federal HMGP program provides 75% reimbursement for projects that reduce the likelihood of damages to public infrastructure in future disasters. The deadline for the next round of HMGP applications from towns to State of Vermont is November 6.