White House Declares 9 New York Counties Disaster Areas

Albany, NY (AHN) - The White House on Wednesday announced federal disaster assistance for nine New York counties following three weeks of severe winter storms in December that state officials said caused $28 million in damages.

President Barack Obama ordered federal aid on a cost-sharing basis for emergency work and repair in the counties of Albany, Columbia, Delaware, Greene, Rensselaer, Saratoga, Schenectady, Schoharie, and Washington.

New York Gov.David Paterson had originally requested assistance for seven other counties: Chenango, Dutchess, Orange, Otsego, Putnam,Sullivan and Ulster.

A severe winter storm struck New York from Dec. 11-31, cutting off power in some areas. The FEMA had initially rejected a request from Paterson to declare 16 counties disaster areas, but the governor had filed an appeal, saying, "The more than $28 million in public costs associated with this storm and borne by taxpayers is staggering. While New Yorkers responded heroically during this storm, they cannot fully recover without the necessary federal assistance."

The aid, under the Department of Homeland Security's Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA) guidelines, will cover at least 75 percent of costs for repairing or replacing damaged public facilities and certain private non-profit organizations, costs for removing debris from public areas and for emergency measures taken to save lives and costs for hazard mitigation projects undertaken by state and local governments to prevent or reduce long-term risk from natural disasters.

Marianne C. Jackson was named as the federal coordinating officer for federal recovery operations in the affected areas.