News Releases for November 2005
November 22, 2005
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Hoeven Announces Presidential Disaster Declaration For 19 Counties, One Reservation
BISMARCK, N.D. – Gov. John Hoeven today announced that President Bush has approved his request for a $2.2 million Presidential Disaster Declaration for impacts resulting from the record-breaking early snow storm that moved through portions of North Dakota on October 4-6, 2005. The Declaration is based on preliminary damage assessments (PDA) compiled by joint local, tribal, state and federal PDA teams, which showed extensive losses to public infrastructure.
"Local and tribal communities felt real hardship and incurred extensive costs responding to and recovering from last month's record storm, and this federal disaster aid will help," Hoeven said. "It will also help our rural electric cooperatives recover some of the more than $1 million in uninsured losses they incurred working to restore power to thousands of households and businesses impacted by the storm."
Jurisdictions included in the declaration are the Three Affiliated Tribes of the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation, and the counties of Benson, Billings, Bottineau, Bowman, Burke, Dunn, Golden Valley, McHenry, McKenzie, McLean, Mercer, Oliver, Pierce, Renville, Rolette, Sheridan, Stark, Towner and Ward.
Additionally, 11 counties met criteria established by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) "for near record snowfall" and are eligible for assistance. Those counties include Billings, Bowman, Burke, Dunn, Golden Valley, McKenzie, Morton, Mountrail, Stark, Ward and Williams. Additional designations may be made at a later date after further evaluations.
The disaster declaration will open access to the FEMA Hazard Mitigation Grant and Public Assistance programs and will provide local governments federal grants to cover 75 percent of the public property damages. State and local governments must absorb the remaining 25 percent.
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