Pine State News

Governor Janet Mills and U.S. Senators Susan Collins and Angus King and Representatives Chellie Pingree and Jared Golden announced today that President Joe Biden has approved the State of Maine’s request for a Major Disaster Declaration for eight Maine counties impacted by a severe spring storm that brought heavy rain and wind that created flooding, swelling rivers, power outages, tree damage, and more than $2 million in infrastructure damage.

Last month, Governor Mills requested that President Biden issue the Major Disaster Declaration for Franklin, Kennebec, Knox, Lincoln, Oxford, Sagadahoc, Somerset, and Waldo Counties for damage sustained by the storm on April 30 and May 1.

“We are grateful that President Biden has approved Maine’s request for a Major Disaster Declaration,” said Governor Janet Mills and Maine’s Congressional Delegation in a Joint Statement. “This declaration will make available critical Federal funding that Maine will use to complete costly infrastructure repairs necessary after this spring’s severe storm.”

The President’s approval of the Major Disaster Declaration unlocks Federal assistance through the Public Assistance (PA) Program. The Public Assistance Program provides supplemental grants to State, local, and Tribal governments so communities can quickly respond to and recover from major disasters or emergencies.

The Disaster Declaration also unlocks Federal funding through the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program for the entire State of Maine. The Hazard Mitigation Grant Program provides funding to State, local, and Tribal and governments so they can develop hazard mitigation plans and rebuild in a way that reduces, or mitigates, future disaster losses in their communities.

On May 12th, Maine formally requested a Joint Preliminary Damage Assessment (PDA) for Public Assistance. On-site assessments conducted by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) were conducted across a total of nine counties between May 29th and June 2nd, and a total of three virtual assessments occurred between the dates of May 26th and June 9th. The assessment validated $2,978,440 in infrastructure damage.

Original source can be found here.