FEMA Grants Offer $23 Million to 10 Fla. Applicants

The Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) announced this week the award of 10 federal Public Assistance grants, totaling $23,510,855, to county and local governments and qualified non-profit agencies. These funds are earmarked to assist recipients in their recovery efforts from the four hurricanes that affected Florida during 2004.

“Communities across our state, and the residents they serve, benefit greatly from these grants,” said Gov. Jeb Bush. “On behalf of all Floridians I thank the president and our federal partners for their commitment and support.”

These 10 projects represent but a small portion of the ongoing assistance that FEMA has been providing to communities, counties, the state and qualified non-profit organizations since the first declaration for Hurricane Charley on Aug. 13, 2004.

“FEMA continues to follow through on President Bush’s pledge to help the state of Florida to recover from the devastation caused by the four hurricanes that hit the state last year,” said Under Secretary for Emergency Preparedness and Response Michael Brown with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. “These grants will reimburse the local governments for their efforts and expenditures for debris removal and repair of critical resources.”

FEMA provides 90 percent of the funding for these approved projects. The State of Florida, county and local governments, and the non-profit organizations are responsible for the remaining 10 percent.

The 10 projects approved for funding this week are:

* $2,264,969 for the Kissimmee Utility Authority for electrical power grid damages and debris removal as a result of Hurricane Charley.
* $1,093,320 for the City of Lake Worth for the repair of damages to sections of the Lake Worth Fishing Pier as a result of Hurricane Frances.
* $1,073,502 for the City of Melbourne for debris removal as a result of Hurricane Frances.
* $3,752,126 for Brevard County for debris removal as a result of Hurricane Frances.
* $5,037,880 for Santa Rosa County for debris removal as a result of Hurricane Ivan.
* $1,102,911 for Escambia River Electric Cooperative to respond to emergency outage reports, purchase and disburse emergency materials and supplies, and cover mutual aid costs necessary for restoration of damaged power lines as a result of Hurricane Ivan.
* $1,705,885 for the City of Fort Pierce for debris removal as a result of Hurricane Jeanne.
* $3,490,226 for St. Lucie County for debris removal as a result of Hurricane Jeanne.
* $1,038,644 for the City of Vero Beach for debris removal as a result of Hurricane Jeanne.
* $2,951,392 for the City of Palm Bay for debris removal as a result of Hurricane Jeanne.

The State Emergency Response Team (SERT) is a collaboration of Florida’s state agencies led by the state coordinating officer. SERT’s mission is to ensure that Florida is prepared to respond to emergencies, recover from them, and mitigate their impact.