Engineer: FEMA funding will last 3 years
Published 12:00 am Tuesday, August 17, 2010
An estimated $6 million in FEMA funding is now set to make its way to Covington County, County Engineer Darren Capps said.
The Federal Emergency Manage-ment Agency (FEMA) announced in March it was running out of money after responding to a host of natural disasters. The agency was recently given an additional $5.1 billion in funding to help cover those costs.
For Covington County, a portion of that $5.1 billion will help fund an estimated $6 million in repairs to more than 60 local roadways after December 2009 rains caused flooding, road closures and bridge damages.
Capps said it is expected to take approximately two months for the money to arrive locally.
“From my other county counterparts, I’ve been told (the money) should arrive at the state level in three to four weeks,” Capps said. “Then, it will take another three to four weeks before we see it.”
To date, the county has received nearly of all the estimated $3.9 million from FEMA to cover damages from March 2009 storms.
Capps said once this additional FEMA money is received, the county can operate for three years on the funding.
He said work on the major projects will begin as soon as the funding is received.