Published: July 02, 2008 10:33 pm         

90 percent back does not cover everything

FEMA official: Extra funding only for emergency protective services

TERRE HAUTE — A 90-percent reimbursement on costs associated with June flooding is limited to emergency protective services, not for replacement of roads or bridges, said Greg Hughes, public information officer for the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Hughes said he informed Vigo County officials Wednesday of the clarification.

“That 90 percent is only for emergency protective services, not for everything. It is one category for reimbursement,” Hughes said.

“An example would be police and fire keeping roads open during the worst of the storms, reimbursing for overtime. It is not for rebuilding roads,” Hughes said.

Gov. Mitch Daniels, along with governors from Illinois, Iowa and Wisconsin, earlier this month requested that Federal Emergency Management Agency funds be increased to a 90-percent reimbursement, as was done after Hurricane Katrina, which devastated New Orleans in 2005. Federal dollars are paid to the State of Indiana, which, in turn, pays local government agencies for reimbursement costs from the flooding.