Republican Gov. Phil Scott asked the White House to approve another major disaster declaration, according to a Thursday afternoon press release from his office.
The request is for five counties — Chittenden, Essex, Franklin, Lamoille, and Orleans — which were affected by storms that hit Vermont between Jan. 6 and 13.
The multi-day event left many Vermonters without power for days and resulted in storm-related costs for municipalities, including the repair of infrastructure, that exceeded the minimum per-capita amount they must show to qualify, Scott’s office said.
Federal assessors determined a total of more than $2.3 million statewide for repairs to public infrastructure, which is almost double the minimum program-eligible costs of $1.2 million.
The request follows three other disaster declarations since July, which have all been approved, including one for December’s flooding, which was approved by President Joe Biden earlier this week.
“There’s no doubt Vermonters have faced a lot this year due to heavy rain starting last summer, and we’ve appreciated the federal government’s much-needed support in our recovery efforts,” Scott said in the release. “We’ll continue working with our local, state and federal partners to respond to, and recover from these events, and make our communities more resilient in the future.”
If granted, the Federal Emergency Management Agency Public Assistance Program would provide funding that would reimburse municipalities and public utilities for 75% of the costs spent cleaning up the storm — such as power restoration, debris removal and public building repairs.
Scott also requested federal dollars from FEMA’s Hazard Mitigation Grant program, which provides 75% reimbursement for projects that reduce the chances of damage to public infrastructure in future disasters.
The disaster declaration request will now be reviewed by FEMA, which would send it to Biden for a final decision.
