Community Corner

East Haven To Get Federal Snow Bucks

FEMA has approved $14,5M for six Connecticut counties.

President Barack Obama has approved millions of dollars to distribute to communities that were hit hard by the Jan. 12 winter storm that walloped the state with historic snowfall totals and busted already cash-strapped municipal budgets.

It was announced Friday that Obama has approved Gov. Dan Malloy's Feb. 18 request for a major disaster declaration for federal aid in connection with the Jan. 12 snowstorm. The money is earmarked for Fairfield, Hartford, Litchfield, New Haven, New London and Tolland counties, including the Mohegan and Mashantucket Pequot tribal nations.

A preliminary cost estimate for storm cleanup in the six counties in the 48 hours following the storm’s onslaught tops $14.5 million. The Federal Emergency Management  Agency (FEMA) will reimburse approximately 75 percent of that cost, said Brenda Bergeron, a spokesperson for Connecticut’s Department of Emergency Management and Homeland Security (DEMH).

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“It’s very exciting to be getting this back,” she said.

New Haven County’s cost topped the state charts at $3.5 million. Due to the county’s high cost and the amount of snow that fell there, Bergeron said the area is eligible for reimbursement of costs incurred during the 72-hour period following the storm. That could put the county’s cost above $3.5 million, since that number was based on a 48-hour response time to the storm that dumped upwards of 2 feet of snow and essentially put the state at a standstill.

Find out what's happening in East Havenwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

“The process to determine what each town will get is just starting,” she said.

The first step is an applicant briefing during which representatives from FEMA and the DEHM meet with municipal leaders. She said those meetings should be set up within the next three weeks. Then FEMA and state officials will meet with town and city officials to nail down final figures.

Bergeron said the process should take several months.

Congresswoman Rosa L. DeLauro, D-3, also weighed in on the news. “This critical aid will help Connecticut residents and businesses get back on their feet after the record-breaking storms we have had this winter. I applaud President Obama’s quick approval of the majority of the state’s applications."


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