Governor appeals two Trump Administration decisions denying tens of millions of dollars in Public Assistance and Hazard Mitigation disaster relief for Wisconsin communities
MADISON — Gov. Tony Evers urged the Trump Administration to reverse course on its decisions last month to deny Wisconsin communities tens of millions of dollars in disaster relief in the wake of extreme August weather and flooding that caused millions of dollars in damages across several Wisconsin counties. The Trump Administration, in October, chose to deny Wisconsin communities Public Assistance and Hazard Mitigation grant program funding following devastating storms and flooding in August that caused millions of dollars of damage to homes, businesses, and public infrastructure across several Wisconsin counties. In two respective and nearly identical letters, the Trump Administration informed the state of Wisconsin that both requests for disaster assistance and aid “are not warranted.”
After the Trump Administration declined Wisconsin’s requests for Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) assistance last month, Gov. Evers immediately directed Wisconsin Emergency Management (WEM) to gather additional information and details on costs to the public sector and certain nonprofit organizations impacted by the August storms to file appeals of both Trump Administration decisions.
In the intervening weeks, WEM has gathered additional information from the impacted counties, including Door, Grant, Milwaukee, Ozaukee, Washington, and Waukesha counties, as well as any agency involved with the response and recovery for this disaster. The additional reviews found an additional more than $1 million in additional damages beyond the initial total, bringing the total validated damages between both Public Assistance Preliminary Damage Assessments to more than $27.5 million, more than double the state’s official per capita threshold for FEMA Public Assistance. A copy of Gov. Evers’ letter to the Trump Administration urging them to reverse course on both disaster aid denials can be found here.
“The Trump Administration told us that our requests for disaster aid to help respond to tens of millions of dollars in severe weather damages across several Wisconsin communities ‘are not warranted.’ Well, I couldn’t disagree more, and we’re not going to sit here and take ‘no’ for an answer,” said Gov. Evers. “Our communities are facing an uphill battle repairing and rebuilding in the wake of extreme flooding and severe weather this August. Wisconsinites need help, and they deserve to know the Trump Administration isn’t going to leave them behind when there’s federal disaster assistance funding available to help. FEMA exists to help states and communities respond during and after an emergency, and we’re asking the Trump Administration to make good on that promise. It’s clear Wisconsin communities qualify for disaster support and assistance, so I’m urging President Trump and the Trump Administration to reverse course to ensure our local communities have the resources they need and deserve to rebuild, recover, and prevent devastation like this in the future.”
The governor has been steadfast in his efforts to ensure the communities impacted by these severe weather events have the support and resources they need. On Aug. 11, Gov. Evers declared a state of emergency in response to the severe weather across Wisconsin that occurred over the previous weekend. Following this declaration, the first step needed to receive federal disaster aid and assistance, the governor announced he submitted a request for FEMA to assist the state in conducting a formal federal preliminary damage assessment of the damage caused by the extreme storms and flooding across the state. The governor’s request came as a result of WEM’s reports that the initial state and local damage review suggested Wisconsin would meet the federal threshold to receive federal aid and assistance. On Aug. 27, Gov. Evers requested a formal presidential disaster declaration from President Donald Trump, a portion of which was approved in September.
The Public Assistance program provides supplemental grants to state, local, and tribal governments as well as certain types of private nonprofits to recover from major disasters or emergencies. The grants may provide funding for:
- Restoration of damaged public buildings and equipment, such as public schools, hospitals, and facilities providing community services;
- Restoration of roads and bridges;
- Debris removal from obstructed public roadways and infrastructure; and
- Repair of damaged or impacted public utilities and water system.
The Hazard Mitigation Grant Program provides funding to help state and local governments implement projects aimed at reducing the risks and impacts of future disasters and is only made possible following a presidentially declared disaster.
FEMA’s decision to deny the Public Assistance and Hazard Mitigation grants limits support for certain public infrastructure and community-level projects but did not affect homeowners or renters who may have qualified for federal assistance through the Individual Assistance program. More information on this program is available on WEM’s website here.
To learn more about the Public Assistance Program, more information can be found at https://www.fema.gov/assistance/public. Additional information on the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program is also available at https://www.fema.gov/grants/mitigation/learn/hazard-mitigation.
An online version of this release is available here.
