WASHINGTON – Senator Chuck Grassley said today that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA, has awarded funds totaling $15,655,614.44 to Cedar Rapids through the Public Assistance Grant program as the state continues its recovery from severe flooding in 2008.
“Iowans have been working hard to recover from the devastating floods. It’s good to see this funding come through to help Cedar Rapids as they continue to make progress in their recovery,” Grassley said.
FEMA obligates the funding for the projects listed below to the state of Iowa. It’s the state’s responsibility to use these funds to reimburse eligible sub-grantees after a review process and upon receipt of appropriate documentation. The eligible sub-grantees are:
· Cedar Rapids – Demolition Debris Removal – 403 Emergency PHS Demolition,$5,504,868.68 to reimburse for the cost to identify, process, document per legal specifications, monitor, demolish, and remove eleven buildings on the city-owned Wilson-Sinclair/Farmstead Foods site which poses an immediate threat to public health and safety. These buildings have been determined to be unsafe and will be demolished as Regulated Asbestos Containing material (RACM).
· Cedar Rapids – Demolition Debris Removal – 403 Emergency PHS Demolition, $7,880,490.00 to reimburse the cost to identify, process, document per legal specifications, monitor, demolish, and remove several of the 402 building/structures located in the City of Cedar Rapids, zone 1 NW Quadrant which pose an immediate threat to public health and safety.
· Cedar Rapids – Temporary Sludge Hauling and Disposal, $2,270,255.76 to reimburse for the cost of emergency protective measures at the Water Pollution Control Facility which include temporary sludge hauling, temporary repairs to the existing incinerator, and construction of a shell around the replacement facility.
The Public Assistance Grant program provides assistance to State, Tribal and local governments, and certain types of Private Nonprofit organizations so communities can quickly respond to and recover from major disasters or emergencies declared by the President.
Thanks, in part, to the efforts of the Iowa congressional delegation, FEMA pays for 90 percent of the costs associated with the Public Assistance project shown above. The delegation sent several letters requesting the federal government take another look at the disaster level to ensure Iowa communities got the assistance they were entitled.