DENVER – FEMA has approved more than $2.4 million in Public Assistance funding for the city of Salt Lake City. The assistance was made available under a major disaster declaration issued January 12, 2021 for four Utah counties due to damage from strong straight-line winds. FEMA has provided more than $5.4 million in Public Assistance funding for the Utah disaster recovery to date.
FEMA awarded the $2.4 million to reimburse the city for the cost of debris removal following a severe straight-line wind event in September of 2020. The wind event deposited large amounts of vegetative debris throughout Salt Lake City creating a health and safety hazard. The project included removal of large quantities of vegetative debris including removal of damaged trees from public property and right of ways along with chipping and disposal of the debris.
The $2.4 million from FEMA represents a 75 percent federal cost-share for the project. The federal funding is provided through FEMA’s Public Assistance Grant Program, which reimburses state, tribal, local and certain non-profit agencies for a portion of the repair and rebuilding of public infrastructure damaged as a result of a presidentially-declared disaster.
Additional information about FEMA’s Public Assistance program can be found at www.fema.gov/assistance/public.