Disaster Declaration Makes Funds Available To Replace Salt Shed
Release Date: June 15, 2001
Release Number: 1371-05
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Augusta, ME, -- When local and state financial resources are exhausted in a disaster situation, the governor of a state may seek a Presidential declaration and request federal help.
That's what Maine Governor Angus King did, and on May 16 President George W. Bush declared three counties of the state eligible for Public Assistance. That meant that government entities in Franklin, Oxford and York counties could apply for reimbursement for extra costs incurred and to repair or replace structures damaged in the severe winter storms and flooding of March 6--31. Kennebec, Penobscot and Washington counties were added June 8.
 Shapleigh, ME, June 15, 2001 -- The pile of rubble in the foreground is all that is left of the Maine Department of Transportation's winter salt shed on Route 111 in Shapleigh. MDOT High Maintenance Engineer Brian Pickard explains to Joe Albert, public assistance officer for the Maine Emergency Management Agency, that this was once the shed's floor. FEMA News Photo. |
As a result the State of Maine is seeking help to rebuild a Department of Transportation salt shed here. Under the Public Assistance program, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) would pay 75 per cent of the uninsured costs with the state paying the remaining 25 per cent. The original shed, built in 1976, was demolished when heavy snows collapsed the roof during the severe storms of last March.
"We had to tear the whole building down," said Brian Pickard, a highway maintenance engineer with MDOT. "It was cheaper than trying to repair it.
"There was the possibility of asbestos in the shingles and so we had to dispose of them as hazardous waste. We did away with the wood, tore down the concrete walls, even ripped up the asphalt floor."
All that is left is a pile of rubble that was once that floor.
 Shapleigh, ME, June 15, 2001 -- Though it has withstood the rigors of 25 previous winters, the MDOT salt shed could not handle this spring's heavy snowfalls. The Department of Transportation has filed a request with the Maine Emergency Management Agency for a federal grant to help replace the shed. Photo courtesy of Maine Department of Transportation (MDOT) |
Pickard pointed that out to state and federal officials who recently inspected the site in response to the DOT's request for assistance. Paul Murphy, FEMA Public Assistance Officer, was on hand along with Joe Albert who heads the state Public Assistance program at the Maine Emergency Management Agency, and FEMA engineer Bill Brierly.
The Shapleigh salt shed is but one of scores of projects currently being considered in 78 towns in the six counties. A single community may be seeking assistance for literally dozens of structures, plus reimbursement for the added overtime and equipment rental caused by the March storms. Initial Requests for Public Assistance in York County were filed at an applicants briefing set up in Alfred by York County Emergency Management Director Robert C. Bohlmann.
"A large share of Public Assistance funds go for roads and bridges," Albert said. "These can't be insured and so the financial assistance is a great help to communities that simply don't have the funds to meet these major expenditures."
While the funding comes from FEMA, the program, which is also available to qualifying not--profit organizations, is administered entirely by the state. For municipalities, the financial split is 75 per cent federal, 15 per cent state, 10 per cent local.
Murphy likened the program to help from a neighbor.
"This is real people helping people," he said. "It's your neighbor in Nebraska, or Colorado, or New Jersey, or even Cumberland County paying federal taxes to help you now. Next time it may be your money helping someone else."
Hazard mitigation is a consideration of every recovery project. Simply stated it means trying to make repairs so that damage is reduced or eliminated in future disasters.
The new salt shed will be a lot stronger than the one that collapsed.
Pickard explained that better connections between the concrete walls -- doubled in height to six feet -- and the roof will upgrade the snow load capability of the roof which will be made of galvanized metal. It also will be treated with a special substance reduce the amount of snow that sticks to the roof.
The shed will not only be able to survive heavier snows than its predecessor, but will also be designed to resist hurricane--force winds.
Though the shed will have no greater capacity than the 300 ton structure it will replace, it will result in cost savings because trucks will be able to drive inside to unload. Formerly, the salt had to be dumped outside and then pushed under cover by front--end loader. That also reduces contamination of the environment by salt piled on bare ground.
Culverts and salt sheds may not have the glitter and pizzaz of a new bridge or a restructured highway, but they are the meat and potatoes of a program designed to ease the burden on communities as they try to cope financially with the tantrums of Mother Nature.
Last Modified: Tuesday, 21-Oct-2003 13:58:49