Disaster aid approved for local counties

Nov. 29--Three months after heavy rainfall brought flash flooding to parts of Northeast Pennsylvania, federal aid is on the way for Scranton and other local municipalities battered by the high water.

President Donald Trump declared county and local governments, state agencies and certain private nonprofits in Lackawanna, Wyoming and Susquehanna counties eligible for reimbursement for costs associated with the storms that hit the area from Aug. 10 to Aug. 15, Gov. Tom Wolf's office announced.

The public assistance disaster declaration will help cover the costs of repairs to flood-damaged roads, bridges and other public infrastructure, along with expenses such overtime, equipment rental and debris removal. Under the program, eligible costs are reimbursed by the federal government up to 75 percent.

"I can tell you it's great news for Wyoming County," Gene Dziak, the county's emergency management coordinator, said Wednesday. "Our municipalities took a beating in August."

The local counties were among 10 in Pennsylvania covered by the presidential declaration. The others were Bradford, Columbia, Lycoming, Montour, Schuylkill, Sullivan and Tioga.

Still pending before the Federal Emergency Management Agency is Wolf's request for individual assistance to help homeowners and businesses in the 10 counties that sustained flood-related losses. The governor submitted a letter to the White House on Nov. 2 seeking approval of both public assistance and individual assistance.

In seeking the public assistance disaster aid, the governor's office estimated the overall costs associated with the storms would total almost $62.8 million, more than three times the $19.1 million threshold the commonwealth had to meet to make the request.

In Lackawanna County, where officials declared a state of emergency at the height of the August flooding, the city of Scranton bore the brunt of the disaster.

A preliminary assessment by city officials came up with estimated storm-related damages in excess of $4 million -- a figure city Business Administrator David Bulzoni said is almost certain to grow.

"The damage was absolutely incredible, beyond comprehension," Bulzoni said. "It affected practically all of the city's flood control projects that are in place, in addition to creeks and other waterways that may or may not have been included in those flood control projects. The damage was really extensive."

The preliminary list generally contains only items with "larger dollar-cost estimates," he said. Still to be added are smaller cost items and potentially reimbursable storm-related expenses incurred by the city, which "could be fairly significant," he said.

"It's a work in progress, so to speak," Bulzoni said of the assessment.

Dziak said damages in Wyoming County also will be in the millions of dollars.

"How many millions I don't know yet," he said.

He said the county has already spent about $230,000 to make immediate repairs to a bridge on Catlin Hollow Road in North Branch Twp. where floodwaters undercut a concrete approach, and it was just one of several bridges across the county that had damage.

"The numbers are going to be significant for us," he said. "There was a lot of road damage. There were a lot of pipes damaged."

The state Department of Transportation anticipates seeking reimbursement for repairs it made to flood-damaged Lonesome Road in Old Forge, along with any other eligible expenses it incurred in counties that were part of the declaration, spokesman James May said.

The declaration sets in motion a process that will include meetings in the coming weeks between municipal officials and representatives of FEMA and the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency to go over project guidelines and review their assistance applications, said David Hahn, Lackawanna County director of emergency services.

"Although a municipality may say they have 'X' amount of dollars of this, it may get knocked down a little bit or they may get a little bit more," he said.

It will be several weeks at a minimum before any municipality receives a reimbursement, he said.

"It's not going to happen overnight," Hahn said.

More than 7 inches of rain fell at the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport between Aug. 10 and Aug. 15, including a record 4.34 inches on Aug. 13. In all, 10.59 inches of rain fell during the month, making it the second wettest August on record.

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