State, fed EMA seek storm damage info

DAVE MOSIER/independent editor

Local officials met with representatives of county, state and federal emergency management agencies as part of a statewide process to seek a disaster declaration from President Barack Obama due to the June 29 storm that did widespread damage around the county and state.

A total of 38 Ohio counties are submitting damage estimates to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) as part of the disaster declaration process. If the president does issue a disaster declaration, affected counties could receive up to 75 percent reimbursement for costs involved in debris removal and restoration of electric power (click graphic for a larger version).

A number of local officials, including Van Wert Mayor Don Farmer and Safety-Service Director Jay Fleming, County Engineer Kyle Wendel, and Van Wert City Schools Treasurer Mike Ruen worked with state EMA and FEMA representatives to submit damage estimates from the storm.

Van Wert Emergency Management Director Rick McCoy explained the need for Thursday’s meeting.

“Today’s meeting was for FEMA to review costs and confirm local numbers to verify that the state is eligible to apply for a federal declaration with the president,” he noted.

McCoy said Ohio must exceed $15 million in storm damage costs to be eligible for a presidential disaster declaration, but noted that preliminary numbers from around the state show estimated costs were approximately $29 million in the 38 counties making submissions.

“So if numbers are correct, we stand a good chance for the declaration,” McCoy added.

Van Wert County’s share of the $29 million storm price tag was estimated at $593,000, with Paulding-Putnam Electric Cooperative estimating its storm-related costs in Van Wert County alone at $363,000, while local agencies had an estimated $230,000 in estimated costs related to the storm, much of that coming in debris removal and disposal expenses.

If the project request is approved by the federal government, which should be known sometime in the next two weeks, FEMA would obligate project funds that would then be awarded to the Ohio EMA.

Those funds would then be used to reimburse local entities and agencies for costs incurred in connection with the June 29 storm, which caused widespread damage and outages over a large portion of the state, as well as much of the East Coast, leaving millions of people without power and thousands of downed trees and power lines in Van Wert County alone.

FEMA officials would then be back in the county to obtain more detailed documentation of costs incurred, including overtime hours paid out, vehicle operation hours, and usage time for grinders, chainsaws, loaders and other equipment used in storm cleanup operations — mostly debris removal in Van Wert County.