After successfully urging the President last month to issue a Major Disaster Declaration to assist eight Minnesota communities in flood repair efforts, delegation advocated for the addition of other damaged communities
Delegation also announced today that the U.S. Department of Transportation has awarded Minnesota $5 million to repair roads damaged caused by flooding
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S Senators Amy Klobuchar and Al Franken and Representatives Collin Peterson, John Kline, Michele Bachmann, Tim Walz, Erik Paulsen, and Rick Nolan announced today that the Administration has extended its Major Disaster Declaration to include 26 additional Minnesota communities impacted by devastating flooding this summer. After successfully urging the President last month to issue a Major Disaster Declaration to assist eight Minnesota communities in their flood repair efforts, the delegation advocated for the addition of other damaged communities. Today’s announcement brings the total number of Minnesota communities that will receive federal assistance up to 34.
The delegation also announced today that the U.S. Department of Transportation has awarded Minnesota a $5 million statewide grant to repair roads damaged from recent flooding.
“As we’ve toured affected communities, we’ve seen firsthand the damage these storms have caused. From the Canadian border to the Iowa border, heavy rains have washed out roads, bridges and culverts and damaged wastewater systems,” the members said in their letter to the President calling for the disaster declaration. “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 additional communities the President added to his declaration are: Beltrami, Blue Earth, Brown, Carver, Dodge, Faribault, Koochiching, La Qui Parle, Lake of the Woods, Le Sueur, Marshall, Martin, McLeod, Nicollet, Redwood, Rice, Roseau, Scott, Sibley, Steele, Todd, Wadena, Waseca, and Yellow Medicine Counties and the Red Lake Band of Chippewa and Prairie Island Indian Community Tribes for Public Assistance.
The declaration allows for federal assistance of 75 percent of the cost of emergency work and the repair or replacement of infrastructure. The declaration also makes all counties in Minnesota eligible for hazard mitigation funding on a cost-sharing basis to prevent future damage from natural hazards.
The President originally declared a major disaster for Chippewa, Freeborn, Jackson, Murray, Nobles, Pipestone, Renville, and Rock Counties.
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