Briefings For Local Officials On Infrastructure Assistance Set For Three Counties
Release Date: September 12, 2007
Release Number: 1719-017
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LA CROSSE, Wis. -- Briefings for local officials in Crawford and Vernon Counties have been scheduled for Tuesday, September 18, and for La Crosse County on Wednesday, September 19 to explain the process of applying for federal disaster assistance, according to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and Wisconsin Emergency Management (WEM).
The Crawford County briefing will be on Tuesday, Sept 18, at 9 a.m. in the Seneca Town Hall, 21041 Town Hall Rd., Seneca, WI 54654. The briefing for Vernon County will be on Tuesday, Sept. 18, at 2 p.m. at Western Wisconsin Technical College, Room 115, 220 S. Main Street, Viroqua, WI 54665. In La Crosse County the briefing will be on Wednesday, Sept. 19 at 1 p.m. in the La Crosse County Boardroom, 400 4th Street N (Basement level), La Crosse, WI 54601.
The briefings will provide information about FEMA Public Assistance grants for debris removal, emergency protective measures and the repair, restoration or replacement of public facilities damaged in the wake of storms and flooding that occurred August 18-31.
These meetings do not address disaster assistance programs for individuals and families. Residents who have questions about assistance programs should call FEMA's toll-free application number, 1-800-621-FEMA (3362) or TTY 1-800-462-7585 for those with hearing or speech impairment.
The five Wisconsin counties eligible for Public Assistance include: Crawford, La Crosse, Richland, Sauk and Vernon. With the approval of Public Assistance in these counties, local governments are eligible to apply for federal assistance which will fund 75 percent of the approved costs for emergency work or permanent work to damaged public facilities. The state of Wisconsin provides 12.5 percent and the local community provides the remaining 12.5 percent.
Government entities eligible to participate include state agencies, local city, town and village governments, public facilities and tribal governments. Disaster assistance may also be provided to repair, restore or replace facilities owned by certain private-non-profit essential governmental service facilities.
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: Wednesday, 12-Sep-2007 13:53:17