Romney Amends Snow Aid Request
WASHINGTON, Feb. 1 – Gov. Mitt Romney amended his federal aid request last week to include the entire state of Massachusetts to help cover snow removal costs after a blizzard blanketed the Bay State.
Gov. Romney is expected to get a response in about two weeks, according to Peter Judge, a spokesman for Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency.
The original request, declaring a “snow emergency” in central and eastern Massachusetts, was sent to President George W. Bush last Monday, but was amended Friday to include Berkshire, Franklin, Hampshire and Hampden counties.
“We had not had those official numbers from the National Weather Service,” Mr. Judge said. “Once we got them they were worth requesting.” The snowfall in the four counties was at or near record level, he added.
While Gov. Romney has requested aid for the entire state, each county is not guaranteed to receive aid.
“It’s not going to be all or nothing; it’ll be on a county by county basis,” Mr. Judge said.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency will now determine which counties should receive aid and make recommendations to Bush. The president will make the final decision and respond to Gov. Romney’s request for aid, something Mr. Judge said he expects in about two weeks.
Mr. Judge also said that adding the four western counties will not slow down the response process or hurt Cape Cod’s chances for receiving aid.
“We’re still looking at the better part of a two-week timeframe before we even get the response,” he said. “The checks aren’t going to be showing up in two weeks, but the process will be beginning.”
Once a response is given, the Massachusetts agency will work with the federal agency to reach out to communities to explain the paperwork, which must be filed within 30 days of the “snow emergency” declaration, according to FEMA spokeswoman Jane Teehan .
Last week Ms. Teehan said she expected her agency to assist Connecticut, Massachusetts and Rhode Island which were all hit in the recent storm.
While the federal government grants aid to the counties, Massachusetts works with the agencies, cities and towns on an individual level.
Private, non-profit organizations such as colleges, hospitals, nursing homes and schools may apply for the aid but individuals and small businesses are not eligible.
While numerous small businesses were forced to close during the storm, the Small Business Administration – which offers loans to individuals and small businesses – has not become involved in the aid process, said Perry Pedini, a spokesman for the organization’s Disaster Area Office in Niagara Falls, N.Y.
“We continue to monitor the situation, but as of this point we haven’t received a request,” Mr. Pedini said.
Individuals and small businesses would have been eligible for direct aid such as low-interest loans if Gov. Romney had made a “major disaster” declaration, instead of a “snow emergency” declaration, and the aid was granted, Mr. Pedini said.
Jurisdictions and non-profit organizations eligible for aid must demonstrate that during a two-day period extra costs, such as overtime for employees, extra salt and equipment, was used.
Gov. Romney’s request also asked for a 72-hour period to be used for cost reimbursements related to the storm, rather than the48-hour time period frequently used in these cases.
Mr. Judge said documenting the additional expenses may take time, although some of those affected have already begun collecting information for submission.
“If they’ve been around awhile they’ve done this kind of drill before,” he said.
