Gov. Andy Beshear is pushing back against the federal government’s denial of aid after this summer’s deadly weather.
Beshear asked the Federal Emergency Management Agency to provide public assistance to areas that experienced flooding this June. In September, 20 counties received that support, but five — Bracken, Carroll, Grant, Pendleton and Trimble — were denied public assistance. In a letter Friday, the governor asked FEMA Acting Associate Director David Arnot to reconsider.
In his appeal, Beshear is asking for those five counties to be offered public assistance, which allows local governments to recover some emergency costs incurred during the storm. He’s also asking for the five denied counties, along with Bullitt, Clinton, Cumberland, Jackson, Madison, Marion and Meade, to be offered individual and household assistance, too.
“This flooding event was devastating for Kentucky — and while we are grateful that 20 counties affected were approved for Public Assistance, we need the additional federal support to fully recover and rebuild,” Beshear said in the news release. “Without this assistance, recovery from this event far exceeds the capabilities of the affected counties, and it will have negative impacts for years to come. I ask that FEMA reconsider the areas listed in my letter and approve my request to correct Kentucky’s declaration.”
The governor also asked FEMA to reconsider its denial of Kentucky’s inclusion in the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program and for the time frame of the disaster to be extended through June 17 to 30.
His original request came July 23, days after flooding, tornadoes and straight-line winds. Six Kentuckians died as a result of the storm systems.
