Trump approves N.Y. disaster declaration for Halloween storms

Dec. 20--WASHINGTON -- President Trump has issued a major disaster declaration for Erie, Chautauqua and 16 other New York counties that suffered severe damage during the storms that blew through the state on Halloween and the day after.

The White House announced Friday that Trump signed the declaration, which means that state and local governments and some nonprofit organizations can get federal emergency funding to help to repair storm damage. The emergency declaration does not include funding for private property damaged in the severe winds and rain as well as the flooding that followed.

"This is very important," Erie County Executive Mark C. Poloncarz said on Twitter. "Our Lake Erie breakwall and other water resiliency structures suffered significant damage in the storm. I thank the president for signing the disaster declaration."

That breakwall and the Bird Island Pier suffered between $10 million and $17 million in damages during those storms, but the disaster declaration won't come close to paying for all of the damages to those facilities.

The breakwall, which aims to protect LaSalle Park and parts of downtown Buffalo from flooding, is an Army Corps of Engineers facility -- and as such, is ineligible for aid from the federal disaster declaration program, which is aimed to help states and localities rather than federal facilities.

An Army Corps spokeswoman declined to comment, but the office of Rep. Brian Higgins, a Buffalo Democrat, said the Army Corps is seeking funding from other federal sources for repairs to the breakwall.

However, federal money from the disaster declaration should be eligible to help with repairs to the Bird Island Pier. That's because the pier's sidewalks and railings are owned and maintained by the city of Buffalo. Higgins' office said that other locally owned public facilities that were damaged in the storm, such as the Erie Basin Marina, will also be eligible for federal matching repair funds.

So will other municipal facilities throughout the region that need to be fixed after the Halloween storms..

"We had significant wind damage in Amherst and associated recovery costs," Brian Kulpa, the Amherst town supervisor, tweeted.

The city of Dunkirk and other parts of northern Chautauqua County also sustained major damage, which is why Rep. Tom Reed, a Corning Republican who represents the county, lobbied for the disaster declaration.

"This is a big win for our district and our state," Reed said of Trump's move. "Getting this funding to the areas in need will allow repairs to be made and rebuilding to start,"

Statewide, the Federal Emergency Management Agency has already validated more than $33 million in damages and public response costs from the storm, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo's office said.

Cuomo stressed that the federal government has not yet acted on the state's request that New Yorkers in the affected counties be eligible for federal aid, too, under FEMA's Individual Assistance Program.

"The federal government has validated our experts' assessments on the damage this storm caused to public infrastructure, but it is only the first step in getting the assistance we need to help these communities build back," Cuomo said. "I was on the ground the morning after the storm and witnessed firsthand the severe damage sustained by hundreds of homes, and the federal government must now do its part to ensure these families immediately get the funds they need to repair and rebuild their lives."

Other New York counties eligible for federal infrastructure aid under the disaster declaration are Chenango, Cortland, Essex, Fulton, Hamilton, Herkimer, Jefferson, Lewis, Madison, Montgomery, Oneida, Oswego, Otsego, Saratoga, Tioga, and Warren.

Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer and Sen. Kirsten E. Gillibrand, both New York Democrats, pushed for the federal disaster declaration.

"This Halloween, our state, from one corner to the other, saw severe damage after being ravaged by heavy rain, flooding and tempestuous winds," Schumer said. "This federal aid is absolutely critical to allow these upstate communities to recover and rebuild -- and will ease the burden on New York taxpayers."

Schumer called on the Trump administration to expand the emergency declaration so that individuals affected by the storm can get federal aid, too, and Gillibrand agreed.

"While this is a positive first step, it is past time for New Yorkers to get the help they need to recover, and the Trump administration must not drag its feet in providing critical aid to individual households as well," Gillibrand said. "With the estimated damage costs of these storms reaching tens of millions of dollars, our communities can't afford to wait any longer."

This developing story will be updated.

___

(c)2019 The Buffalo News (Buffalo, N.Y.)

Visit The Buffalo News (Buffalo, N.Y.) at www.buffalonews.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.