Published: September 24, 2009 09:24 pm      

Denied: Indiana will not receive assistance from FEMA for Aug. 4 floods

Local politicians express disappointment at decision

The Federal Emergency Management Agency has denied Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels’ request for federal disaster assistance for several counties, including Floyd, that were affected by the Aug. 4 flood.

After three weeks of the Indiana Department of Homeland Security surveying damage, the governor requested assistance on Sept. 10.

“Repeated disasters over the past year have caused considerable hardships to these citizens in addition to this disaster. I am very disappointed for the individuals impacted by this decision,” IDHS Executive Director Joe Wainscott said in a statement released Tuesday.

Local politicians echoed their disappointment in the federal government’s decision to not provide individual or public assistance to any of the counties.

“I’m very disappointed,” New Albany Mayor Doug England said. “It’s not right. Our citizens pay taxes. We believed we qualified for assistance, and the governor said we did. That’s a shame that the federal government disagrees.”

Individual assistance, which can include grants for housing, possessions, vehicles, counseling and unemployment, was requested for nine Indiana counties.

Public assistance was requested for 10 Indiana counties. That would have provided relief to state and local governments, as well as some non-profit companies, for the costs of repairing damaged public facilities, such as roads, buildings and electrical cooperatives, damaged by the flood.

A letter from FEMA Administrator W. Craig Fugate to the governor stated, “It has been determined that the damage was not of such severity and magnitude as to be beyond the capabilities of the State, affected local governments, and voluntary agencies.”

State Rep. Ed Clere, R-New Albany, said that the state and local governments are strapped for money, and volunteer agencies are also hurting for donations because of the economy. He believes FEMA should have taken that into consideration.

“I was hoping the federal government would be especially sensitive to the current economic condition,” Clere said.

John Erickson, public information officer for the Indiana Department of Homeland Security, said there is a process for appealing the federal government’s decision.

"We’re certainly taking a look at that as one of the options. We have 30 days to appeal," he said.

U.S. Rep. Baron Hill, D-Ind., released a statement that he too disagrees with the decision. He stated that Daniels is already working on an appeal of the decision, and he will do all he can to support that appeal.

“Every day I am getting more and more calls from constituents and public officials about the damage that was done to Southern Indiana communities during and after the severe storms in early August,” Hill said. “These calls only reaffirm that I believe FEMA should reconsider its decision.”

Terry Herthel, director of Floyd County Emergency Management, said they came up about $1.5 million short for public assistance statewide. They also came up well short of the threshold for individual assistance, he said.

For example, Herthel said 25 homes must have major damage or be destroyed in order to qualify for federal help. Herthel said inspectors looked at 76 houses that had damage, but they were not close to having 25 that suffered major damage, according to the federal governments criteria.

“The governor argued that even though we fell a little short, the impact as a whole was great,” Herthel said.

Even if FEMA does not grant the state’s appeal, Clere said there are other options for assistance.

He said that $5,000 grants may be available through Indiana’s Disaster Relief fund. Daniels can also declare that individuals and businesses are eligible Small Business Association loans of up to $5,000 available.

Clere said that volunteer organizations could donate services which would allow the grants or loans to be used only for the cost of materials. He said the most important thing is to act quickly before the weathers turns cold.

“This is a very localized disaster,” he said. “Those who were affected were affected greatly. To those folks, this was a disaster.”

Clere and Herthel said they are also researching how to request federal assistance to help move homes that are frequently flooded. Herthel said this would only be for a handful of houses. He said he knows of some houses that have flooded four times already this year.

FEMA’s decision could also hurt government agencies in Floyd County which will not be eligible for federal help. Floyd County claimed $889,821 in public damages, which includes overtime costs for people who had to work during the storm.

“It’s going to hurt us a little,” said Floyd County Commissioners President Steve Bush. “Disaster relief comes with a cost. It takes away from our general budget.”