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Klobuchar, Walz say Expanded Emergency Declaration Will Bring Much-Needed Aid for Southeastern Minnesota

August 28, 2007

(Washington, DC) - Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar and Congressman Tim Walz today said that today’s announcement to expand the federal disaster declaration to include Dodge County and expand assistance for Fillmore, Houston, Olmsted, Steele, Wabasha, and Winona Counties will ensure localities damaged by flooding will be eligible for the full extent of federal public assistance dollars.  Klobuchar and Walz have both made several tours of the area to see the damage first-hand and pushed to ensure the affected region would have the federal assistance it needs to start rebuilding.

“The scale of the flood damage throughout the region clearly qualifies as a major disaster.  Today’s announcement is a step in the right direction to rebuild roads and bridges, homes and businesses, and whole communities,” said Klobuchar, who is a member of the Senate’s Environment and Public Works Committee.  “These floods have devastated entire communities which will have to rebuild from the ground up.  We must make sure that the infrastructure is in place to restore and sustain these communities, and help prevent future flooding.”

"This amended disaster declaration improves the chances that our communities will recovery quickly," Walz said.  "Recovering from a flood isn't just about clearing debris and removing moldy sheetrock - for a community to truly recover, the residents need to see roads and bridges repaired, preventative measures put in place to prevent future flooding, and community institutions like schools and parks restored.  I'm pleased that Minnesota's seven flood damaged counties are now eligible for federal assistance for these types of projects and I will work every day to make sure that the federal government is a good partner in these recovery efforts."

The previous declaration made Olmsted, Steele, Wabasha, Winona, Fillmore and Houston Counties all eligible for Category B funds from the FEMA Public Assistance program.  Today's declaration expands the previous declaration by adding Dodge County to the list of Minnesota counties eligible for Public Assistance.  It also expands Public Assistance eligibility - all seven counties are now eligible for Categories A-G of the FEMA Public Assistance program. Public Assistance categories are as follows:

* Category A: Debris removal
* Category B: Emergency protective measures
* Category C: Road systems and bridges
* Category D: Water control facilities
* Category E:  Buildings and contents
* Category F: Public utilities
* Category G: Parks, recreational, and other

The declaration does not expand eligibility for individual assistance.  This means that Dodge County residents are not currently eligible to apply for Individual Assistance (IA) from FEMA.  Residents of Steele, Winona, Wabasha, Olmsted, Houston and Fillmore counties are eligible for IA assistance, which comes in the form of grants up to a maximum of $28,200 and low-interest loans to help replace housing, personal property, business structures and inventory, and crops.

Minnesota Families         

The emergency declaration qualified residents of Steele, Winona, Wabasha, Olmsted, Houston and Fillmore counties affected by this disaster for a number of federal programs including:

•       Temporary Housing - homeowners and renters can receive funds to rent a different place to live or a temporary housing unit when rental properties are not available.

•       Repair - homeowners can receive grants to repair damage from the disaster that is not covered by insurance. The goal is to make the damaged home safe and sanitary.

•       Semi-Permanent or Permanent Housing Construction - homeowners and renters can receive direct assistance or a grant for the construction of a new home.  This type of assistance occurs only in very unusual situations, in locations specified by FEMA, where no other type of housing is possible

•       Home disaster loans to homeowners and renters to repair or replace disaster-related damages to home or personal property,

•       Business physical disaster loans to business owners to repair or replace disaster-damaged property, including inventory, and supplies; and

•       Economic injury disaster loans, which provide capital to small businesses and to small agricultural cooperatives to assist them through the disaster recovery period.

People wishing to apply for federal assistance should visit www. FEMA.gov or call the FEMA helpline at 1-800-621-FEMA (3362).  The application process should take 20-30 minutes, and they will need the following information to apply over the phone or online:

•       Social Security numbers for all members of the household

•       Current address where they can be reached and pre-disaster address

•       A phone number where they can be reached presently

•       Insurance information

•       Total household income

•       A check, or bank routing and account number (this is only necessary if they want to have disaster assistance funds automatically deposited in a bank account)

•       A description of the losses caused by the disaster.

FEMA Disaster Recovery Centers are now in operation at the following locations:
* Winona County: the J.C. Penney building at Highways 61 / 14 and Pelzer St. in Winona
*Houston County: the Hokah fire station at Highways 44 and 16
*Fillmore County: the TRW West Automotive building, 901 Home Street in Rushford

For immediate help, people can reach the following organizations:

*       Red Cross for Southeastern Minnesota: 507-287-2200
*       Minnesota Department of Health flood cleanup hot line: 1-800-657-3903.
*       Winona County: (507) 457-8858. Volunteers are encouraged to call (507) 457-8882.
*       Fillmore Country Flood Hotline:  507-765-2278

Also, the United Way is operating a volunteer match service.  Individuals wanting to volunteer and affected people needing help can both call 211 from land line telephones or (800) 362-8255 to reach the United Way and sign up.

Minnesota Farmers

With the emergency declaration, Minnesota's farmers in the declared counties will have the opportunity to apply for emergency USDA loans for production crop loss, as well as physical livestock and real estate loss, though farmers will still need to meet USDA's eligibility requirements (see links to USDA websites below for more information).

Senator Klobuchar and Congressman Walz encourage farmers to register their farm damages with their local FSA office and to contact their insurance provider as soon as possible. Additional information can be found at the following websites:

Emergency Farm Loans  http://www.fsa.usda.gov/FSA/webapp?area=home&subject=fmlp&topic=efl <http://www.fsa.usda.gov/FSA/webapp?area=home&subject=fmlp&topic=efl>
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