Federal Money Approved for Emergency Snow Grant Funding

With the stroke of his pen, President Barack Obama's signature became the silver lining to the Jan. 12 winter storm that walloped the state with historic snowfall totals and busted already cash-strapped municipal budgets.

The federal government is going to help cover the multi-million dollar price tag of the cleanup, and Hamden is expected to share in that payout.

It was announced Friday that Obama has approved Gov. Dannel P. Malloy's Feb. 18 request for a major disaster declaration for federal aid in connection with the Jan. 12 snowstorm. This declaration includes Fairfield, Hartford, Litchfield, New Haven, New London and Tolland counties, including the Mohegan and Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nations.

A preliminary cost estimate for storm cleanup in those counties in the 48 hours following the storm’s onslaught tops $14.5 million. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) will reimburse approximately 75 percent of that cost, said Brenda Bergeron, a spokesperson for Connecticut’s Department of Emergency Management and Homeland Security (DEMH).

“It’s very exciting to be getting this back,” she said.

New Haven County’s cost topped the state charts at $3.5 million. Due to the county’s high cost and the amount of snow that fell there, Bergeron said the area is eligible for reimbursement of costs incurred during the 72-hour period following the storm. That could put the county’s cost above $3.5 million, since that number was based on a 48-hour response time to the storm that dumped upwards of two feet of snow and essentially put the state at standstill.

In Hamden, that storm alone costs in the hundreds of thousands to clean up, adding to a snow removal bill that has topped a million dollars.

The Legislative Council has made several special appropriations from its Emergency and Contingency account to pay the bills, practically exhausting the line item.

Chief Administrative Officer Curt Balzano Leng has said that he anticipates the town receiving as much as $75,000 from the federal government in emergency payments.

"The town is very thankful to have the opportunity to recoup some of the snow removal costs, which for Hamden topped $1.1 million - almost three times our annually budgeted amount," he said. "This will help us to fill the hole this winter season has created in the budget."

The President did not declare a major disaster for Middlesex and Windham counties, so the state will be appealing to have them included. Bergeron is hopeful relief will come to those counties, too.

Snowfall totals in Middlesex and Windham counties were a couple inches short of FEMA’s guidelines, but the costs incurred there more than met requirements, Bergeron said.

“The process to determine what each town will get is just starting,” she said.

The first step is an applicant briefing during which representatives from FEMA and the state’s Department of Emergency Management and Homeland meet with municipal leaders in each of the state’s counties. She said those meetings should be set up within the next three weeks. Then FEMA and state officials will meet with town and city officials to nail down final figures.

All in all, she said, “I think it takes several months.”

“The major disaster declaration that President Obama declared will help our cities and towns with the gaping holes in their budgets left by a brutal, relentless winter,” Malloy said. “I’d like to thank President Obama and FEMA for their quick action in this regard. However, Middlesex and Windham Counties were not spared this winter, and I’m already moving forward with an appeal to this ruling on behalf of those counties.”

Congresswoman Rosa L. DeLauro, D-3, also weighed in on the news. “This critical aid will help Connecticut residents and businesses get back on their feet after the record-breaking storms we have had this winter. I applaud President Obama’s quick approval of the majority of the state’s applications, but I am concerned that Middlesex and Windham Counties, which each saw a staggering 22 inches of snow during the Jan. 11-12 storm, were left out. I will be working with Governor Malloy and federal officials to ensure that we secure the needed assistance for these counties, and will continue to support the state’s subsequent applications for the addit.