Commissioners agreed Wednesday to request emergency funding from elected representatives to reimburse local governments for storm-related expenses because nine counties fell $6.6 million short of the threshold to unlock federal disaster aid.
The March 14-15 storm paralyzed the region with more than 2 feet of snow and cost county governments, municipalities, school districts, nonprofit organizations and state agencies $11.6 million in cleanup costs over 48 hours — the only period eligible for reimbursement.
Lackawanna, Luzerne, Pike, Susquehanna, Wayne, Wyoming, Bradford, Northumberland and Montour counties reached or exceeded their individual benchmarks to qualify for federal aid. But the total fell short of the $18.2 million required to qualify for the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s assistance that pays back 75 percent of the two-day cleanup costs.
Can’t qualify
Lackawanna County commissioners added to the chorus of public officials who expressed disappointment and frustration the region can’t qualify for help, and also questioned FEMA’s formula.
“We only have a 48-hour window,” Democratic Commissioner Patrick O’Malley said. “This storm, we were digging out for four or five days ... Some of these municipalities, now they have small budgets, and they’re not prepared for this type of snow storm.”
Fellow Democrat Jerry Notarianni believes it is problematic that what happens in other counties determines whether FEMA considers the storm an emergency in Lackawanna County.
Republican Commissioner Laureen Cummings hopes in the future, Pennsylvania will set aside some of its own disaster funding.
Not prepared
“I find it disconcerting that our governor and our representatives did not have any funding put aside for such emergencies,” she said. “Our state wasn’t prepared for this. It just is mind-boggling that in our state, especially with knowing how our weather patterns work here, that there isn’t some type of funding available.”
J.J. Abbott, a spokesman for Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf, said the administration would be open to discussing the idea with the Legislature, but he also noted the state is struggling to close a nearly $3 billion deficit.
He described Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency as historically being a pass-through for federal dollars to distribute aid and pointed out state agencies spent millions of dollars themselves during the storm.
The commonwealth deployed 650 National Guard members statewide for three days, with 350 of them deployed in Northeast Pennsylvania to help with items like medical transports and support state police, who went to “full activation,” Abbot said.
Another example he cited was the state Department of Transportation sending three extra mobile equipment teams — each composed of five plow trucks, 10 equipment operators and a supervisor — to Scranton, Stroudsburg and the Lehigh Valley.
“In the end, a lot of the management of the state roads was strong,” he said. “Disaster relief is a long-standing federal responsibility that FEMA covers ... I think the reality is with the way the federal government structures it, snow and winter weather is difficult to get to disaster aid for.”
Democratic U.S. Sen. Bob Casey said he will write a letter to the Trump administration urging the executive branch to help defray the cost to the region.
“Northeastern Pennsylvania communities should not bear the cost of this cleanup alone,” he said in a prepared statement.
Contact the writer:
kwind@timesshamrock.com; 570-348-9100 x5181;
@kwindTT on Twitter
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