President signs federal disaster declaration for Jan. 26-28 storm

President Barack Obama yesterday signed a disaster declaration for a severe late January storm that paralyzed 10 Massachusetts counties.
 
The declaration will make federal aid available to reimburse state and local governments in the 10 counties for 75 percent of eligible snow removal and infrastructure repair costs incurred due to the storm of Jan. 26-28.
 
At a news conference yesterday evening, Gov. Charlie Baker – who made two trips to lobby federal officials for the aid – said the state’s estimate of the qualifying costs is between $80 million and $90 million, meaning that the federal aid could reach $67.5 million.
 
The governor, with the support of the state’s congressional delegation, had requested assistance for the period of Jan. 26 through Feb. 22, urging the Federal Emergency Management Agency to consider the 28-day period of debilitating weather as one prolonged event. But FEMA stuck with past practice and isolated the worst single event, the late January storm.
 
The governor’s request was for the state’s 10 hardest-hit counties – Barnstable, Bristol, Dukes, Essex, Middlesex, Nantucket, Norfolk, Plymouth, Suffolk and Worcester – where numerous communities saw record-setting snowfall totals during the winter of 2014-15.
 
The declaration, according to the Baker administration, will provide federal disaster assistance to approximately 250 cities and towns, state agencies and private nonprofit organizations. The aid will cover eligible snow removal costs as well as costs to repair damage to public infrastructure such as roads, bridges, piers, seawalls and storm-related overtime costs for first responders during the storm.
 
According to FEMA, application procedures for state and local governments will be explained at a series of joint state-federal applicant briefings in the affected area by recovery officials (details to be announced). Approved public repair projects are paid through the state from funding provided by FEMA and other participating federal agencies.
 
Mark Landry has been named the federal coordinating officer for federal recovery operations in the affected area. Landry said additional designations may be made at a later date if requested by the Commonwealth and warranted by the results of further damage assessments.
 
As of March 1, Massachusetts cities and towns had spent a total of $251 million on snow and ice costs in fiscal 2015, according to analysis of data gathered through an MMA statewide survey. Many communities were forced to spend more than double what they had budgeted. Statewide, the deficit in local snow removal budgets is estimated at $142 million, according to Division of Local Services data and the MMA survey.
 
• President Declares Disaster for Massachusetts, FEMA Press Release (141KB PDF)