Gov. Tom Wolf announced that the federal government has granted his request for a one-month extension for county and local governments, as well as eligible nonprofits, to file their Request for Public Assistance, which is the first step in the process of applying for Public Assistance funds through the commonwealth and FEMA to cover costs associated with the response to and recovery from the remnants of Hurricane Ida.
“We want to make sure that every applicant has sufficient time to get the assistance that they’re entitled to,” Wolf said. “This extension also gives us time to make sure that every eligible organization that wants to apply knows how to do so.”
The extension is staggered because counties received their eligibility on different dates. The deadline for Bucks County is Dec. 7.
Through the Public Assistance program, eligible applicants can be reimbursed up to 75 percent of the costs incurred for specific categories of assistance provided during the response to and recovery from the impacts of Ida in the commonwealth. Examples of expenses that may be reimbursed include costs associated with debris management, repairs to damaged roads and bridges, emergency sheltering of displaced individuals, equipment rentals and materials. State funding has been made available to assist in offsetting the remaining 25 percent.
Over the coming weeks, staff from the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency will hold meetings with applicants to thoroughly review all application documentation before forwarding it to FEMA. The process is expected to take several weeks, and all reimbursements are handled electronically.
In order to request Public Assistance, the commonwealth must meet a threshold of $19,688,913. Estimated costs associated with this incident period to date total $43.5 million. The governor signed a Proclamation of Disaster Emergency, which is first required to request federal aid, for this storm on Aug. 31.
