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SALT LAKE CITY — Five Utah counties will receive federal emergency funds to aid recovery following floods caused earlier this year by record snowfall, the Federal Emergency Management Agency announced Tuesday.
Utah Gov. Spencer Cox declared a state of emergency on April 18, and the federal aid will bolster local efforts to repair and replace public property that was damaged between May 1 and May 27.
President Joe Biden approved the disaster funding on Dec. 23, which will go to Iron, Morgan, Sanpete, Utah and Wasatch counties.
The approval is just the first step of the process, and it's unclear how much money the counties will ultimately receive, according to Wade Mathews, a spokesman for the Utah Division of Emergency Management.
"Right now this is very preliminary; we don't know any of those details yet. This just basically gets the ball rolling," he told KSL.com.
He said many of the repairs to roadways, drainage systems and water facilities have already been completed or are underway, and the federal government will reimburse the counties for work they've already paid for. FEMA generally reimburses up to 75% of projects the counties undertake, he said.
The federal funds will only go to public infrastructure, not private residences or other property damage.
Mathews said the state applied for disaster funds in August, and had been expecting a response sometime in October or November, but the timeline is often unpredictable based on things happening in Washington.
"We are glad to finally have the response back that there is a declaration being made," he said. "Anything is better than nothing, so we're just glad to have this approval."
The funding will be available to "state, tribal and eligible local governments and certain private nonprofit organizations on a cost-sharing basis," a White House news release states.
Jon K. Huss, a FEMA federal coordinating officer based in Denver, has been appointed by the agency to coordinate operations in all affected areas.
"Additional designations may be made at a later date if requested by the state and warranted by the results of further damage assessments," the White House stated.
