Federal disaster aid heading to North Dakota, but some funding denied

BISMARCK, N.D. (North Dakota Monitor) — North Dakota expects to receive roughly $17.8 million in federal disaster relief aid related to two summer storms, but a request for another estimated $3.6 million was denied by the federal government.

The state applied for the funding as part of requests for disaster relief for multiple storms that hit the state in June and August.

North Dakota’s requests to the Federal Emergency Management Agency seeking assistance for damage caused by the storms was approved, said Darin Hanson, North Dakota’s Homeland Security and Emergency Management director.

But in addition to seeking public assistance to address the impacts of those disasters, states can also ask for hazard mitigation money to help communities better protect themselves from future harm.

Hazard mitigation funding can be used to pay for things as wide ranging as flood control infrastructure, weather warning sirens and storm shelters, Hanson said.

“Some of these are relatively small projects, but they can make a big difference,” he said.

While North Dakota’s requests for this kind of assistance are often also approved, North Dakota’s hazard mitigation requests for the June and August storms were denied, said Hanson.

Hanson said he doesn’t know for sure why those applications were denied, since the federal government doesn’t share that information with states.

It appears to be a policy decision by the Trump administration, since other states are having their hazard mitigation requests rejected, too, he said.

Gov. Kelly Armstrong said in a Tuesday Emergency Commission meeting that the denials may stem from the executive branch’s belief that FEMA has been mismanaged by previous presidential administrations.

“It seems like the response to that is just to spend less money instead of figuring out how to run FEMA better,” Armstrong said.

He said hazard mitigation may have been targeted since FEMA’s primary role is emergency response, as opposed to emergency prevention.

“I think some in D.C. would say FEMA is expanding their scope beyond what they were originally intended to do,” said Armstrong, a Republican who served three terms in Congress.

North Dakota is appealing both denials, Hanson said. FEMA will review the requests and make a recommendation to the White House on whether to grant the appeals. The president makes the final call on what to do next, he said.

Hanson said that in the appeal letters, the state tried to make the case that it has a track record of using hazard mitigation funding effectively.

“About 97% of the funding we receive, we’re able to get out to communities to do these projects,” he said. “We do have a list of future projects ready to go should funding become available.”

The 19 counties eligible for relief under the June storm disaster declaration are Barnes, Burleigh, Cass, Eddy, Emmons, Foster, Grant, Griggs, Kidder, McLean, Morton, Oliver, Ransom, Sheridan, Sioux, Steele, Stutsman, Traill and Wells.

Counties eligible to receive relief for the August storms are Barnes, Grand Forks, Griggs, Kidder, Nelson, Steele and Stutsman counties.

Hanson said FEMA will reimburse 75% of the costs for projects addressing storm damage, with the state government covering 10% and local communities paying for the other 15%. Communities are reimbursed for the projects after they are complete.

So far, FEMA has committed funding for one public assistance project related to the June storms, Hanson said. He said another 16 project proposals for the June disaster are under review by FEMA, and the state expects to submit an additional 59 projects for review over the next few weeks.

Hanson noted relief funding for both disasters wasn’t impacted by the government shutdown.

The June 20-21 storms were devastating to the state’s agricultural industry and included multiple tornadoes, one of which touched down in Enderlin and claimed three lives. The Aug. 7-8 storms also caused extensive damage, especially to electrical infrastructure, state officials said previously.

Earlier this year, FEMA canceled more than $20 million in infrastructure grants for North Dakota that were part of the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities program.

In August, a federal judge temporarily blocked FEMA from reallocating money originally earmarked for the program after a group of states sued. North Dakota is not part of the lawsuit.

The $20 million included $7.8 million for a regional wastewater treatment project in Lincoln, $7.1 million for a water intake project in Washburn and $1.9 million for a wastewater lagoon project in Fessenden.

North Dakota Monitor reporter Mary Steurer can be reached at msteurer@northdakotamonitor.com.