Yesterday, the Administration extended its Disaster Declaration to include four additional communities impacted by flooding – bringing the total number of communities eligible for federal assistance to 38 – but still hasn’t extended the declaration to include Hennepin, Ramsey, and Dakota Counties 

In a letter, the lawmakers urged the President to expand the declaration to those three counties, which sustained significant flood damage this summer; letter follows Governor Mark Dayton’s formal request for federal assistance to help these communities rebuild and recover

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar and Al Franken and Representatives Betty McCollum, John Kline, Keith Ellison, and Erik Paulsen today pushed the Administration to provide federal assistance for additional Minnesota communities impacted by the devastating flooding that caused extensive damage across much of the state. Yesterday, the Administration extended its Disaster Declaration to include four additional communities impacted by flooding – bringing the total number of communities eligible for federal assistance to 38 – but still hasn’t extended the declaration to include Hennepin, Ramsey, and Dakota Counties. In a letter, the lawmakers urged the President to expand the declaration to those three counties, which sustained significant flood damage this summer. The letter follows Governor Mark Dayton’s formal request for federal assistance to help these communities rebuild and recover.

“We write in strong support of the request to issue a Major Disaster Declaration for three counties that were impacted by the June rain storms and flooding in Minnesota,” the lawmakers wrote. “After disaster strikes Minnesota, we hit the ground running and do not stop until we have the resources in place to ensure that communities can recover. We will continue to push for all available assistance at the federal level until the recovery is complete.”

The initial disaster designation issued in July declared a major disaster for Chippewa, Freeborn, Jackson, Murray, Nobles, Pipestone, Renville, and Rock Counties, paving the way for federal assistance of 75 percent of the cost of emergency work and the repair or replacement of infrastructure. On July 31^st, the Administration then extended the declaration to cover an additional 26 communities. Yesterday, the Administration extended the declaration to cover Lyon, Watonwan, and Wright counties, as well as the Bois Forte Band of Chippewa. The declaration also made all counties in Minnesota eligible for hazard mitigation funding on a cost-sharing basis to prevent future damage from natural hazards, and ensured that disaster designations for additional counties could be granted after additional damage assessments are completed.

The full text of the lawmakers’ letter is below:

Dear Mr. President:

We write in strong support of the request to issue a Major Disaster Declaration for three counties that were impacted by the June rain storms and flooding in Minnesota.

We appreciate you issuing a Presidential Disaster Declaration for 35 Minnesota counties and three tribal communities impacted by these storms to help recovery and rebuilding efforts. The Governor has determined that damage in Hennepin, Ramsey and Dakota Counties is also of such severity that effective response is beyond the capabilities of the State, and thus has requested a Presidential Disaster Declaration. While there is some disagreement between Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Minnesota Homeland Security and Emergency Management about the precise level of damage sustained in some of these communities, the damage in these counties is significant and warrants a Major Disaster Declaration. We strongly encourage you to issue a declaration in a timely manner and allow FEMA to begin to supplement state and local recovery efforts.

After disaster strikes Minnesota, we hit the ground running and do not stop until we have the resources in place to ensure that communities can recover. We will continue to push for all available assistance at the federal level until the recovery is complete.

Thank you for your consideration of this request and for your assistance in helping the recovery effort in Minnesota.

Sincerely,

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