Additional Colorado Counties Approved For Disaster Aid

DENVER – Local governments in Adams, Boulder, and Park Counties and the City and County of Denver are now eligible to receive federal assistance for some of their costs incurred during this spring’s storms, according to state and federal officials.

The Colorado Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management (DHSEM) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency announced that the counties had been added to the disaster declaration issued by President Obama on July 16, 2015 for 11 counties as the result of the severe storms, tornadoes, flooding, landslides, and mudslides that occurred between May 4 and June 16, 2015.

The disaster declaration for Baca, Elbert, El Paso, Fremont, Logan, Morgan, Pueblo, Saguache, Sedgwick, Washington, and Yuma counties made state, county, and local governments, as well as certain non-profit organizations, eligible to receive reimbursement for repairing infrastructure damage caused by the storms, as well as the cost of responding to them.

“The addition of these counties to Colorado’s disaster declaration means that under FEMA’s Public Assistance Grant Program, qualified organizations in these counties will receive no less than 75 percent of the eligible costs incurred as a result of the disaster,” said Federal Coordinating Officer Dolph Diemont, head of FEMA’s recovery efforts in Colorado.

“We sincerely appreciate Administrator Fugate and FEMA for their prompt approval of our add-on county request. This opens the door for Federal assistance to these affected communities and ensures nobody is left behind,” said DHSEM Emergency Management Director Dana Reynolds.

The state and FEMA are working to schedule Applicants’ Briefings for officials of eligible entities and non-profit organizations in the newly declared counties.  DHSEM will provide information on the application process, as well as deadlines for submission of necessary documents to receive federal reimbursement.

The Applicants’ Briefings may be followed by face-to-face meetings in local communities between FEMA, Colorado DHSEM officials and eligible applicants.

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Colorado DHSEM’s mission is to provide leadership and support to Colorado communities to prevent, protect, mitigate, respond and recover from all-hazard events including acts of terrorism.

FEMA’s mission is to support our citizens and first responders to ensure that as a nation we work together to build, sustain, and improve our capability to prepare for, protect against, respond to, recover from, and mitigate all hazards.