Tri-State Neighbor: South Dakota Farm Newspaper

PIERRE, S.D. - South Dakota Gov. Mike Rounds is requesting a presidential disaster declaration for federal assistance in 29 counties and three reservations most impacted by the early June storms and subsequent flooding.

The request is part of the process for receiving federal disaster funds. If the president approves the declaration, up to 75 percent of the eligible costs could be reimbursed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). The state will cover 15 percent of the cost, and the local jurisdiction will be responsible for the remaining 10 percent.

“Preliminary damage assessments indicate nearly $4 million in damage to public infrastructure. I want to stress that number is just an estimate,” Rounds said. “Nonetheless with the widespread and extensive damage, the people of South Dakota would certainly benefit from a presidential disaster declaration.”

Rounds is requesting two different kinds of federal assistance - public assistance and individual assistance.

Public Assistance

The governor is requesting public assistance for Aurora, Bon Homme, Brule, Buffalo, Butte, Charles Mix, Clay, Dewey, Douglas, Gregory, Haakon, Hand, Hanson, Hughes, Hutchinson, Jackson, Lawrence, Lyman, McCook, Meade, Mellette, Moody, Perkins, Stanley, Tripp, Turner and Ziebach counties. The governor is also requesting assistance for the Crow Creek, Cheyenne River, and Lower Brule tribes.

Public assistance dollars are used to reimburse the cost to repair eligible public infrastructure like roads, bridges and sewer systems.

Individual Assistance

The governor is requesting individual assistance for people in Butte, Charles Mix, Grant Haakon, Hughes, Hutchinson, Jackson, Jones, Lawrence, Meade and Pennington counties, as well as, the Crow Creek, Cheyenne River and Lower Brule tribes.

If the president approves an individual assistance declaration, several disaster assistance programs will be made available to individuals with qualifying damage. Those include FEMA grants for basic needs and emergency assistance and U.S. Small Business Administration disaster loans.

The request for a presidential disaster declaration does not guarantee federal funds will be made available to South Dakotans. There is no deadline for the White House to either accept or deny the declaration request.

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