San Juan, Puerto Rico — FEMA announced that the Major Disaster Declaration issued on Sept. 21, 2022, has been amended to include the municipalities of Loíza, Vieques and Culebra for permanent work (Categories C-G). These municipalities are already designated for Individual Assistance (IA) and assistance for debris removal and emergency protective measures (Categories A and B), including direct federal assistance, under the Public Assistance (PA) program. With this addition, all 78 municipalities are now eligible to apply for reimbursement of permanent eligible work, including repairs to roads, bridges, water control facilities, public buildings and equipment, public utilities, parks, recreational and other facilities.
The executive director of the Central Office of Recovery, Reconstruction and Resilience (COR3), Eng. Manuel A. Laboy Rivera, thanked the inclusion of these three towns in the Declaration of Major Disaster after the impact of Hurricane Fiona. He also recognized the work done by the COR3 team, which was important to ensure that all municipalities can soon begin to formulate their projects for permanent works.
“Fulfilling the commitment of the administration of Governor Pedro Pierluisi, together with FEMA we achieved that all municipalities could claim federal funds for the reconstruction of public infrastructure that is vital for the socioeconomic development of Puerto Rico. This is in addition to the availability of funds from the Risk Mitigation Grant program, which will contribute to resilient reconstruction,” said Laboy Rivera.
On Nov. 21, President Biden announced the federal share for Public Assistance has been increased to 90 percent of total eligible costs, except assistance previously approved at 100 percent, to further supplement territorial and local recovery costs after Hurricane Fiona.
“The expansion of permanent work reimbursement to three additional municipalities demonstrates FEMA’s full support to the Government of Puerto Rico and our local partners across the island as rebuilding continues,” said Federal Coordinating Officer Nancy Casper. “We’re committed to getting federal disaster assistance dollars into these communities, so they're available when needed the most.”
The PA grant program supports communities’ recovery from major disasters with assistance for debris removal, life-saving emergency protective measures and restoring public infrastructure.