Contact: Ernie Blazar 202.224.7627 Shana Stribling 202.224.0309
Tuesday, June 10, 2003

WASHINGTON, DC - Senator Kit Bond today personally called Ralph Steele, the Mayor of Stockton, to announce that the city will receive almost $1 million in federal funds from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for debris removal. Stockton, Missouri is one of the towns hit hardest by the tornados that swept through the state in May.

"I've visited a lot of tornado sites over the years, but the damage in Stockton is the worst I've ever seen," said Bond, who visited Stockton following the tornados to meet with residents and survey damage. "This $1 million in federal dollars will make a big difference to the community and their efforts to rebuild."

The $926,550 in funding will be used to remove and haul 46,200 tons of vegetation, construction and demolition debris, along with 300 uprooted tree stumps, to a landfill. The total project cost is $1,235,400. FEMA provides 75 percent of the clean-up cost, the remaining 25 percent comes from non-federal funds.

The federal cost-share of the project is available under FEMA’s Public Assistance (Infrastructure) Program. Under this program, local governments are eligible for reimbursement costs for public projects, such as debris removal, after a major disaster.

As a result of the severe storms, tornadoes and flooding that began on May 4 in Missouri, 31 counties in the state are now eligible to apply to FEMA for Public Assistance. They are: Barton, Bollinger, Camden, Cape Girardeau, Cass, Cedar, Christian, Crawford, Clay, Dallas, Franklin, Gasconade, Greene, Howard, Jackson, Jasper, Jefferson, Johnson, Knox, Lawrence, Lewis, Maries, Miller, Oregon, Osage, Pike, Platte, Polk, Pulaski, Scott, and Washington.

Bond has set up a web page with additional information helpful to those looking for direction on how to tap into the resources available through the federal government. That list can be found at http://bond.senate.gov.

Bond served Missouri twice as Governor and now continues his service in his third term in the U.S. Senate.