Gov. Wolf Announces Expansion of Federal Disaster Declaration Assistance Following Damage Caused by Ida Remnants

Public Assistance Awarded to Dauphin and Delaware counties

Governor Tom Wolf today announced that the federal government has granted his request for Public Assistance to reimburse state agencies, county and municipal governments and other eligible private non-profits for costs associated with heavy rainfall and severe flooding associated with the remnants of Hurricane Ida to parts of Pennsylvania from August 31 to September 5, 2021.

Public Assistance was awarded today to Dauphin and Delaware counties. The following counties were previously awarded Public Assistance: Bedford, Bucks, Chester, Fulton, Huntingdon, Luzerne, Montgomery, Philadelphia, Schuylkill and York.

"This storm is one that will long be remembered in communities across the commonwealth," Gov. Wolf said. "This federal funding makes a huge difference in how quickly these communities can recover and get back to normal."

Through the Public Assistance program, eligible applicants can be reimbursed up to 75 percent of the costs incurred for specific categories of assistance provided during the response to and recovery from the impacts of Ida in the commonwealth. Examples of expenses that may be reimbursed include costs associated with debris management, repairs to damaged roads and bridges, emergency sheltering of displaced individuals, equipment rentals and materials. State funding has been made available to assist in offsetting the remaining 25 percent.

Over the coming weeks, staff from the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency will hold meetings with applicants to thoroughly review all application documentation before forwarding it to FEMA. The process is expected to take several weeks, and all reimbursements are handled electronically.

In order to request Public Assistance, the commonwealth overall must meet a threshold of $19,688,913. Estimated costs associated with this incident period to date total $45.3 million. The governor signed a Proclamation of Disaster Emergency, which is first required to request federal aid, for this storm on August 31.

More information is available online at www.pema.pa.gov/ida.