Seven More Illinois Counties Designated For Public Assistance
Release Date: July 16, 2008
Release Number: 1771-022
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SPRINGFIELD, Ill. -- Seven more Illinois counties were designated for Public Assistance (PA) today, bringing the total number of designated counties for PA to 22, according to officials from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Illinois Emergency Management Agency (IEMA) officials.
The newly designated counties are Lake, Madison, Mercer, Monroe, Randolph, Rock Island and St. Clair.
This opens the door to federal reimbursement for state and local governments and certain private nonprofit organizations in the designated counties for eligible disaster-related infrastructure costs.
Under the cost-share program, FEMA funds 75 percent of the approved cost for eligible work, such as debris removal, emergency services related to the disaster, and repairing or replacing of damaged public facilities, such as roads, bridges, buildings, utilities the and recreation areas. The state manages the grants for all projects.
On June 30, however, President Bush authorized federal funds for the emergency protective measures category, including direct federal assistance, at 90 percent federal funding of total eligible costs. The cost share remains 75 percent authorized federal funding of eligible work for all other categories under the Public Assistance program.
The main goal of FEMA's Public Assistance program is to restore eligible facilities to their pre-disaster levels. There are, however, funds available that allow certain projects to be rebuilt to a higher standard if it can be demonstrated the increased costs will save taxpayers money in the future.
State and FEMA officials will hold a series of applicant briefings for representatives of state and local governments, and certain private nonprofit organizations to explain the PA application process. The new counties have 30 days from the date of designation to submit a Request for Public Assistance (RPA) with state officials. Anyone wanting to submit an RPA should contact their local emergency manager for more information.
The Illinois counties previously designated as eligible for PA assistance are Adams, Calhoun, Clark, Coles, Crawford, Cumberland, Douglas, Edgar, Hancock, Henderson, Jasper, Jersey, Lawrence, Pike and Winnebago.
FEMA coordinates the federal government's role in preparing for, preventing, mitigating the effects of, responding to, and recovering from all domestic disasters, whether natural or man-made, including acts of terror.
Last Modified: Thursday, 17-Jul-2008 08:16:23