President Barack Obama has approved Vermont’s request for a disaster declaration covering seven counties affected by a December ice storm.
Towns and municipal and Co-Op utilities in Caledonia, Chittenden, Essex, Franklin, Grand Isle, Lamoille and Orleans counties can apply for assistance for public infrastructure damage, according to a news release from Gov. Peter Shumlin. Eligible claims could receive 75 percent reimbursement for debris removal and repairs to the power grid, public roads, bridges and other infrastructure damaged during the storm, the release said..
The Vermont Division of Emergency Management and Homeland Security will hold mandatory applicants’ briefings Feb. 6 and 11. The briefings will outline the requirements for receiving federal awards and maximizing eligibility of repairs.
Briefings will be held:
Thursday, Feb. 6, 10:00 a.m.: at the Enosburgh Emergency Services Building, 84 Sampsonville Road (VT Route 105);
Thursday, Feb. 6, 1:30 p.m.: in Hyde Park at the Green Mountain Technical Center, Community Education Center Room, 738 VT Route 15 West;
Tuesday, Feb. 11, 10:00 a.m.: at the Lyndonville Public Safety Building, 316 Main Street.
“This declaration is critical in assisting communities hit by ice storm to recover some of the extensive costs of cleanup and power restoration,” Shumlin said in the news release.
“The greatest cost was the more than $7 million in restoration costs for those utilities, which are eligible for reimbursement,” Vermont Division of Emergency Management and Homeland Security Director Joe Flynn said. “Several communities spent significant amounts of money clearing debris and fallen trees in public and utility rights of way.”
A preliminary damage assessment identified more than $3 million in damages in Vermont’s seven northern counties during the ice storm.
Communities and municipal and COOP utilities will be reimbursed for equipment rentals (and fuel for that equipment), the cost of contractor assistance, employee overtime tied directly to storm response and restoration and other eligible expenses.
