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LOGAN, Utah (AP) -- Officials say flooding caused about $12.7 million in infrastructure damage across Utah from April to July, making the state eligible to request a presidential disaster declaration to help defray costs.
The estimate is $9 million more than needed for a presidential designation, Utah Division of Emergency Management spokesman Joe Dougherty said. The estimate covers a 13-week period ending July 18.
The Herald Journal of Logan reports that the Federal Emergency Management Agency would pay 75 percent of all eligible damage costs if Utah gets the designation. The remainder would come from state and local government matching funds. Emergency work done during a flooding event can count toward the match.
State officials are drafting a letter for Gov. Gary Herbert to send to President Barack Obama through FEMA, Dougherty said. A signature from Obama could be weeks, if not months away, he said.
Officials from FEMA, the Army Corps of Engineers and other federal agencies have visited 18 of 29 Utah counties and reservation land of the Ute and Ouray tribes to assess damage.
Flood-stricken cities in northern Utah's Cache County are among those hoping to get some federal funds.
The most notable flooding in the region was the overflow of the Blacksmith Fork River and Spring Creek in Providence. Both incidents were tied to heavy snowmelt runoff that brought rushing water and debris to the Cache Valley. The Millville bridge was also heavily damaged.
The flooding caused widespread damage to some homes and yards, as well as heavy agricultural damage. Some farmers are either behind on planting for the season or have opted not to plant at all.
"I don't know what the declaration means for me personally," said Meg Erekson, a Providence resident whose backyard and surrounding property was damaged by Center Street flooding. "I am sure if they fix Center Street they probably have to fix some of the stuff in my yard."
Providence City Administrator Skarlet Bankhead and Public Works Director Randy Eck visited the points of impact that the Spring Creek flooding has caused, including the wiped out Center Street.
Officials are documenting the damages for FEMA in hopes that Providence will qualify for funding if the disaster designation is awarded, Bankhead said.
(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
