The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has obligated more than $1.13 million in federal assistance to the state to help cover the cost of recovery following the Oct. 29-Nov. 1, 2017 severe storm and flooding. The disaster impacted six of the state’s 10 counties.
President Trump approved Gov. Chris Sununu’s request for federal assistance, signing a major disaster declaration on Jan. 2. Since then, FEMA has been working with state and local officials providing grants under its Public Assistance (PA) program to eligible entities in Belknap, Carroll, Coos, Grafton, Merrimack and Sullivan counties.
FEMA’s PA program is the agency’s largest grant provider. It accounts for 51 percent of grant dollars administered by the agency, averaging $4.7 billion in assistance each year to state and local governments and certain private nonprofit organizations.
PA benefits everyone through supplemental federal disaster grant assistance for debris removal, life-saving emergency protective measures and the repair, replacement or restoration of disaster-damaged publicly-owned buildings and facilities, including schools, parks and infrastructure, as well as the facilities of certain private nonprofit organizations.
Through the PA program, following a federal declaration, FEMA offers grants to eligible applicants by reimbursement through cost sharing. FEMA typically covers no less than 75 per cent of the eligible costs of putting a community back on its feet. The remaining 25 per cent comes from non-federal sources, such as state and local coffers.
Once approved, PA grants are paid to the state, which disperses payments to local applicant-communities and nonprofits that participate in public service projects.
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