TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — FEMA has approved a $9,842,926 grant to the state of Florida that will reimburse the Florida Department of Transportation (DOT) for the costs of debris removal in Jackson County following Hurricane Michael under FEMA’s Public Assistance program.
Florida DOT was responsible for the collection, reduction, disposal and site management of debris within Calhoun, Franklin, Gadsden, Gulf, Holmes, Jackson, Liberty, Wakulla and Washington counties following the October 2018 storm.
This is the completion of an Expedited Project, which was first awarded at 50 percent of eligible costs incurred. The initial 50 percent of the grant was awarded in March. The total project cost is $19,685,852.
The grant is funded by FEMA’s Public Assistance program, an essential source of funding for communities recovering from a federally declared disaster or emergency. Florida Division of Emergency Management (FDEM) works with FEMA during all phases of the PA program and reviews these projects prior to FEMA final approval.
Applicants work directly with FEMA to develop projects and scopes of work. FEMA obligates funding for the project after its final approval.
Once a project is obligated by FEMA, FDEM works closely with the applicant to finalize the grant and begin making payments. FDEM has implemented new procedures designed to ensure grant funding is provided to local communities as quickly as possible.
FEMA’s Public Assistance program provides grants to state, tribal, and local governments, and certain types of private non-profit organizations, including houses of worship, so that communities can quickly respond to and recover from major disasters or emergencies.
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FEMA’s mission: Helping people before, during, and after disasters.
For a list of resources available to individuals and businesses affected by Hurricane Michael, visit www.floridadisaster.org/info.
For more Hurricane Michael recovery information, visit www.fema.gov/disaster/4399.
Follow FEMA and the Florida Division of Emergency Management on Twitter at @FEMARegion4 and @FLSERT. You may also visit FEMA and the Division’s Facebook pages at Facebook.com/FEMA and Facebook.com/FloridaSERT.
Disaster recovery assistance is available without regard to race, color, religion, nationality, sex, age, disability, English proficiency or economic status. If you or someone you know has been discriminated against, call FEMA toll-free at 800-621-FEMA (3362) 711/VRS - Video Relay Service). Multilingual operators are available.
(Press 2 for Spanish). TTY call 800-462-7585.