Gov. DeWine requests Biden issue disaster declaration despite FEMA saying damage not enough

Gov. Mike DeWine requested this week that President Joe Biden issue a disaster declaration for April storms that caused flooding, tornadoes and other damage in eight Ohio counties, including Washington County, despite the Federal Emergency Management Agency determining the amount of damage is too low to qualify for federal assistance.

On Monday, DeWine sent a letter to Biden requesting he issue a Presidential Disaster Declaration for damage to critical public infrastructure in Washington, Morgan, Meigs, Monroe, Noble, Guernsey, Jefferson and Belmont counties that was the result of storms that rolled through these counties April 1-4 and caused flooding, landslides and tornadoes, according to a media release from DeWine's office.

"The widespread system of storms impacted underserved Applachian communities that are now in need of supplemental federal assistance," the release said.

According to DeWine's letter, the federal threshold for receiving public disaster assistance from FEMA is $21.7 million, and a FEMA/State/Local Joint Preliminary Damage Assessment performed the week of April 29 for 10 counties including, Morgan, Meigs, Monroe, Noble, Guernsey, Jefferson and Belmont counties showed the damage total in the eight counties to be $17.4 million, which is under the threshold. The letter said local damage assessments for the eight counties showed damage totaled $50.5 million. That is a difference of $33.1 million.

In his letter, DeWine said after reviewing the documentation from FEMA and local officials the state agrees with $16.6 million of the reduction in the damage amount due to ineligible facilities, ineligible work and pre-disaster damage being included in the damage total and corrections being made to estimated costs, but it disagrees with the other $16.4 million in reductions.

According to the letter, FEMA used Google Earth images and typically only one indicator to evaluate sites in the majority of its $33.1 million in reductions, instead of requesting additional documents from local officials and using multiple factors to evaluate sites.

"Frankly, we think FEMA's estimate is incorrect," DeWine said in the letter. "The federal government's reliance on Google Earth and its failure to give local officials the opportunity to provide additional information to support its estimate is concerning. These eight Appalachian counties cannot afford to fix the tremendous amount of infrastructure damage on their own, and I believe it's the President's duty to step in and help."

Washington County Commissioner James Booth agrees with DeWine's view that FEMA's damage amount is too low.

He said he believes the amount of damage is "way over" what FEMA determined. Booth is glad that DeWine is asking for the disaster declaration.

"I'm glad to see the process move forward," Booth said. "I appreciate Gov. DeWine doing what he can."

Booth said the problem with the government and disasters is it doesn't move fast enough.

Washington County Emergency Management Agency Director Rich Hays said that if a disaster is not declared then it will be the responsibility of the county, cities, and townships to fix damage out of their own funds or to find grant funds.

An example of local assessments of damage not matching FEMA's assessment of damage lies in Washington County's roads.

According to Hays, the damage for Washington County for roadways is estimated at a little over $2 million. DeWine's letter shows that FEMA listed the total damage in roadways in Washington County to be $1,332,232, a difference of more than $1 million.

The release said that if Biden issues a disaster declaration, grant money would be available to state and local governments and certain non-profit organizations for costs associated with debris operations, emergency protective measures and infrastructure repairs, and it would pave the way for Hazard Mitigation Program funds to be available statewide.

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency website, the Hazard Mitigation Program gives funds to states, territories and tribes for long-term hazard reduction after a major disaster is declared.

FEMA responded to requests for comment, confirming that DeWine submitted the request for presidential disaster declaration on Monday.

"That request is under review," FEMA Public Affairs Specialist Nicole Wilson said by email. "There is no set time frame for a decision to be made."

No further comment was made by FEMA on the request or the amount of damage the agency determined in its assessment.

Michelle Dillon can be reached at mdillon@newsandsentinel.com