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State proposes using impact reserve to fund Northeast Kingdom repairs after FEMA denial, chief recovery officer says
Summary
Douglas Farnum, the state’s chief recovery officer, told the House Appropriations Committee the administration proposes transferring money from a state federal-impact reserve into AOT’s town-highway non-federal disaster fund to reimburse towns such as Sutton for bridge and culvert repairs after FEMA declined a disaster declaration.
Douglas Farnum, the state’s chief recovery officer, told the House Appropriations Committee on Wednesday that the administration proposes tapping a broad "federal impact reserve" to help Northeast Kingdom towns that did not receive FEMA disaster assistance.
Farnum said the funding would be transferred to the Agency of Transportation’s town-highway non-federal disaster fund and distributed as fixed awards tied to estimated state repair costs. "The administration is proposing to transfer the funds for this proposal from that impact reserve to AOT's town highway non-federal disaster fund," he said.
Why it matters: Calonia County’s damage from last summer’s storm, concentrated in towns including Sutton, Sheffield, Newark and Burke, is estimated at roughly $2.7 million under Vermont codes and standards, and about $2.9 million for the total disaster estimate. Farnum said those state-level estimates are higher than FEMA’s rapid, national "repair-and-replace in kind" figures because Vermont requires higher road and bridge standards.
Under the proposal, awards would be capped using the state cost estimate and would reimburse towns for actual costs up to a cap intended to cover 50% of a project’s cost. Farnum framed the plan as a targeted, one-time response for this disaster: "That's kind of the origin story of it a little bit," he said, adding the proposal is not intended to become a permanent federal-substitute program.
Committee members pressed on who would be eligible and what the funds could cover. A lawmaker asked whether the money would go to municipalities rather than individuals; Farnum confirmed the awards are for municipal infrastructure and said towns must repair the specific damaged bridge or culverts identified to receive the funds. "This would be specifically so for the town of Sutton; they have some culverts that were damaged and most of that dollar amount comes into one specific bridge that was damaged," he said.
Farnum also discussed why the administration is not recommending use of a smaller $15 million FEMA-denial reserve. He said that $15 million was intended historically for state expenses and would be insufficient to cover municipal needs: "That $15 million is likely to be exhausted at some point through the appeals, through the audit process," he said, noting the broader federal-impact reserve currently contains well over $50 million.
On process, Farnum told the committee the decision to move the proposal to the full General Assembly rather than seeking Emergency Board authorization was largely about timing and the long-term nature of the projects: because the largest expenses are construction projects such as bridge repairs, the administration favors a legislative transfer during session rather than an emergency, off-session Eboard action.
The committee did not take a formal vote at the hearing. Members thanked Farnum for the briefing and said they would determine next steps for funding and oversight as the budget process proceeds.
