Illinois counties impacted by flooding to get federal aid

Sep. 20--Federal disaster aid will be available to 27 Illinois counties impacted by spring flooding along the Illinois and Mississippi rivers, President Donald Trump's administration announced Thursday.

The administration's approval makes federal funding available to state and local governments and nonprofit organizations that absorbed the costs of emergency and recovery work from severe storms and flooding between Feb. 24 and July 3.

Assistance will be available to Adams, Alexander, Bureau, Calhoun, Carroll, Cass, Fulton, Greene, Hancock, Henderson, Henry, Jackson, Jersey, Knox, Madison, Mercer, Monroe, Morgan, Pike, Randolph, Rock Island, Schuyler, Scott, St. Clair, Stephenson, Union and Whiteside counties.

Local governments and districts can submit expenses that will be assessed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. They can be reimbursed for up to 75% of eligible costs, according to Gov. J.B. Pritzker's office.

The approval also makes funding available to share the costs of mitigation efforts.

"My administration stands with every resident and business impacted by this year's flooding, and we will help our communities rebuild stronger and more resilient," Pritzker said in a statement. "I want to thank our congressional delegation for their advocacy, as well as our state and federal partners, for their help securing the additional resources I requested."

Phil McCarty, Morgan County's emergency management director, said Thursday's announcement "is a critical portion of the recovery and the long-term mitigation of flooding" and will help communities recoup the "overwhelming amount of expenses we had."

McCarty estimated $750,000 in costs were absorbed by road districts, levee districts and local governments in Morgan County.

Major expenses that hit counties along the rivers included road damage, pumping costs, sandbagging efforts, and trash and debris cleanup.

Scott County's preliminary accounting of expenses from the flooding totaled $1.4 million, Emergency Management Director Justin Daws said.

Pumping costs hit the levee districts hard, Daws said.

The districts would have to borrow the money to pay the entirety of extra pumping costs from this year, Daws said.

"I don't see how that would even be feasible," he said.

Without the pumping, key infrastructure -- including Interstate 72 and access to the town of Bluffs -- would have been at risk.

"That pumping, that's very critical to keep these roads all open," Daws said.

Greene County also had estimated flooding-related costs exceeding $1 million, Emergency Management Director Cale Hoesman said.

Levee districts spent "an abundance of money and still have an abundance to spend to clean up the after effects," he said.

___

(c)2019 the Jacksonville Journal-Courier (Jacksonville, Ill.)

Visit the Jacksonville Journal-Courier (Jacksonville, Ill.) at www.myjournalcourier.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.