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Officials outline $182 million initial infrastructure damage estimate, say hazard-mitigation grant denied and appeal filed
Summary
Officials said an initial estimate of eligible infrastructure damage from December floods exceeds $182,000,000, described FEMA public assistance reimbursement (up to 75%), and said the state’s hazard mitigation grant application was denied and that an appeal has been filed; a special levy task force was announced to address levee repairs.
State and county officials said the initial estimate of eligible infrastructure damage from December’s storms exceeds $182,000,000 and explained how federal public assistance and local measures will be used to repair levees, roads and other infrastructure.
Governor Bob Ferguson said the state applied for FEMA public assistance, which can reimburse up to 75% of qualifying repair costs, and cautioned that the $182,000,000 figure is preliminary and likely to grow as damage assessments continue. "This is reimbursement funding, which is approved project by project," he said, adding that the initial process for preliminary approval takes approximately six months.
Ferguson also said the state applied for FEMA hazard mitigation grants, which fund projects to reduce future disaster damage, but that the state was not approved and had filed an appeal last week. "We did file an appeal with FEMA late last week, asked them to reconsider this funding," he said.
King County Executive Germai Zahilay said the county is reallocating some local revenue and considering a transportation benefits district to help rural roads, but acknowledged local resources are insufficient to cover the full scope of damage. "We absolutely need the federal government to help us," Zahilay said.
Joel Harstad, deputy state coordinating officer for the Washington Emergency Management Division, said the state is setting up a special levy task force that will include state and federal partners, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and other entities as needed, and said parts of levee repair work will be covered under FEMA’s public assistance program. "We are setting up a special levy task force as part of the public assistance delivery," Harstad said.
Responding to a reporter question about $2.5 million in state assistance announced in December, Ferguson said the funds were limited by narrow qualification rules and that he is discussing with legislative leaders how to improve the state’s ability to get money out quickly in future disasters while balancing fraud prevention.
Officials cautioned that timing of funding availability varies by project and that final approval and payment can take months to years depending on the work required. The state and counties will continue to work with FEMA and the state emergency management division as project applications move through the approval process.
