Braley secured funding in FY 2010 Energy and Water Appropriations Bill

Washington, DC – Congressman Bruce Braley (D-Iowa) announced today the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, Jones County Conservation Board and the US Army Corps of Engineers used approximately $20,000 in funds secured by Braley as part of the Fiscal Year 2010 Energy and Water Appropriations bill to conduct an aerial debris mapping review yesterday afternoon. The funds used for this aerial mapping were part of the $250,000 Braley secured for the Army Corps of Engineers’ Flood Plain Management Services fund.

“The aerial debris mapping conducted yesterday is critical to understand the true extent of the damage cause by this weekend’s historic flooding,” Braley said. “I’m proud to hear that the critical funding I secured is being put to work, almost immediately, to expedite the recovery process and help evaluate what exactly happened during this weekend’s flooding.”

The aerial debris mapping will cover the Maquoketa River corridor from approximately River Marker 77 to River Marker 105. This reach extends from the Delhi dam to Pictured Rocks Conservation Area, located just downstream of Mon-Maq dam. The photos will show topography, the debris line and other visual evidence that will help the Army Corps of Engineers delineate the flood extent for this section of the Maquoketa River watershed.

Yesterday, the House passed $5.1 billion to replenish the U.S. Disaster Relief Fund administered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).  The $5.1 billion is necessary to pay for known costs of past disasters, including the Floods of 2008, as well as to address the needs that arise from new disasters.  Without this emergency funding, FEMA estimates that the Fund will be exhausted before September, and would be unable to pay claims in the event of an emergency or for either old or new Presidentially-designated disasters.

Also on Tuesday, Braley led the Iowa House delegation in sending a letter to President Obama, urging him to accelerate the process of the Preliminary Damage Assessment for Iowa. The Preliminary Damage Assessment is used to determine the magnitude and impact of an event's damage and is needed for the allocation of federal assistance.

Over the course of the weekend, Braley visited more than a dozen communities affected by record-setting floods to meet with local officials, survey the damage and talk with residents about the assistance they need. On Monday, Braley unveiled a new website, http://braley.house.gov/disasterrelief,  that will be updated in real time as information about flood recovery assistance becomes available.