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Emergency-response bill prompts warnings about FEMA 'supplanting' and DEC opposition to riverwork provisions
Summary
State emergency-management and conservation officials told the Government Operations & Military Affairs committee that proposed omnibus emergency-response language could undermine FEMA reimbursements, conflict with existing match-incentive programs, and duplicate or conflict with DEC river-management responsibilities in sections 5 and 6.
At a Government Operations & Military Affairs committee hearing, officials from Vermont Emergency Management (VEM) and the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) testified about an omnibus emergency-response bill and raised technical and statutory concerns.
"My biggest concern here is that FEMA will see this as supplanting," Stephanie Smith, who introduced herself as deputy director at Vermont Emergency Management, told the committee, explaining that if the state pays FEMA-eligible costs in grant form before FEMA review, FEMA may deny reimbursement. Smith recommended alternatives such as low-interest loans — a mechanism used after the 2023 floods — and said the bond bank-supported loan approach allowed later FEMA reimbursement, including…
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