COOK- Much needed financial help will be on its way to Cook and other parts of St. Louis County soon as President Joe Biden approved a disaster declaration for the extensive Minnesota flooding on Friday, paving the way for the Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA, to direct federal funds to the recovery effort.
Local citizens have been anxiously awaiting the development since Gov. Tim Walz visited Cook on Thursday, June 20 and promised support would be forthcoming.
“I’ve seen the damage across our state firsthand — it’s going to take a united effort at every level of government to quickly rebuild and recover. This assistance is going to make all the difference in that recovery,” said Walz in a news release announcing the declaration. “I’m grateful to our partners in the federal government for doing their part, just as Minnesotans have done theirs, filling tens of thousands of sandbags, checking in on their neighbors, and volunteering their time.”
Walz filed a request for an expedited declaration as flooding in the southern part of the state was continuing this past week, making the normally required damage estimate that accompanies an application for disaster aid to be impossible to produce at the moment. Twenty-two of the 42 counties with flooding are covered by Biden’s declaration, including St. Louis County. Damage assessments are ongoing and more counties could be added in the future.
However, Biden’s declaration applies only to federal funding is available to state, tribal, and eligible local governments and certain private nonprofit organizations. Such funding is provided on a cost-sharing basis for emergency work and the repair or replacement of facilities. Federal funding is also available on a cost-sharing basis for hazard mitigation measures statewide.
The Timberjay communicated with the governor’s office on Monday and learned that the state has to submit a separate application for FEMA individual assistance programs. Additional damage assessments need to be completed before Walz can make the request for individual assistance, but the state is still collecting and validating the necessary data.
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