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PRESIDENT BIDEN APPROVES GOVERNOR SCOTT’S MAJOR DISASTER DECLARATION REQUEST

Berlin, Vt. – President Joseph Biden has approved Governor Phil Scott’s request for a major disaster declaration for Vermont to assist individuals and communities recover from historic flood from July 7-12, 2023. The approval was given in under 24 hours.

“I want to express my sincere appreciation to President Biden and his team at FEMA for their incredibly quick approval of the declaration,” said Governor Scott. “Vermonters are hurting, and federal assistance will be critical as we rebuild and recover. My team is committed to working with federal and local partners to make sure Vermonters get all resources available to them to recover from these catastrophic floods.”

The declaration provides funding under the federal Public Assistance (PA) and Individual Assistance (IA) programs. A Public Assistance disaster declaration allows communities to receive at least 75% reimbursement for emergency storm repairs to public infrastructure. A further declaration for recovery repairs is pending an official Preliminary Damage Assessment (PDA)

The Individual Assistance program helps individuals impacted by the disaster seek reimbursement for necessary expenses and serious needs that cannot be met through insurance or other forms of assistance. Eligible expenses include rental assistance, home repair, home replacement, and lodging, among other expenses. Pending a formal assessment, counties included under this declaration are also pending a PDA.

You can get more information and register at www.DisasterAssistance.gov or call 1-800-621-3362.

Individuals who suffered losses in the storm should continue clean up and repairs, taking photos and documenting expenses. You should also report that damage to Vermont 211, either by dialing 2-1-1 or by visiting vermont211.org. This data informs the disaster assessment and allows FEMA to reach out to applicants directly.

Vermont counties should continue making repairs to public infrastructure, documenting all work carefully for their applications. Eligible reimbursement costs include emergency repair work on public roads, tree and debris removal from public rights of way, municipal employee overtime spent working on the emergency, contractor help, equipment rentals, and other costs associated with the emergency response.

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From VT 211 Officials:
Individual Damage Collection Process
Vermont 211 serves as a 24/7/365 centralized access point for the collection of unmet needs and/or individual property damage (IA) statewide, whether during an exercise or real incident. Vermont 211, with input from its partners from across state government, created a centralized statewide system to capture Individual Assistance information, such as property damages incurred resulting from a natural or man-made disaster. Vermont 211 will be available 24/7/365 to field questions from the public and offer vetted information on services. Information is collected using a data form for each incident/disaster (whatever the scale).

The information obtained will be shared with the Emergency Management Director (Jason Gosselin, 2022) with the Vermont Agency of Human Services for purposes of updating the partners, providing situational awareness, and indicating trends, and may be used to determine if the Federal Individual Assistance declaration threshold has been met.

Dial 211 then selecting option #5 (Community Support). You will be asked the following questions:
First name
Last name
Physical street address
Town
County
Owner or renter?
Best number to be reached at
# of people in residents? & Ages
Any chronic health conditions or mobility issues?
Do you need shelter?
Do you need water?
Did any have any utilities disconnected due to the storm?
Do you have a well or municipal water?
Is the home habitable?
Is there damage to the foundation?
Damage to walls or roof?
Is there mold in the house as a result of this disaster?
Height of water in home, if applicable?
What floors are impacted?
Damage to exterior property and outbuildings?
Are there Chemical spills inside or outside of home as a result of the disaster?
Is your drinking water system impacted as a result of the disaster?
Is the wastewater system damaged as a result of the storm?
Is this a primary or secondary residence?
Is this a multi family dwelling?
Is this a Mobile home?
Do you have homeowners or renters insurance?
Do you have flood insurance?
Do you need volunteer assistance in cleaning up if available?
Do you give permission to share your information with volunteers or case managers to get assistance?
Other things to note specific to your situation?

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Town of Wallingford has experienced extensive damage to infrastructure as a result of the 07/10/23 weather event. Damage includes but is not limited to: Carrara Camp Road Bridge, Church St., Sugar Hill Road, Homerstone and Hartsboro Roads, Audy Ln, Creek Rd, River St., Centerville, Blackwood, North End Drive, Seward Hill, Parker Rd, Hawkins, Wall Pond Road, Waldo Lane, Dawson, Maple/River/Creek Rd Intersection, Creek Rd Bridge, Carrara Camp Rd, Elm St Ext, Ice Bed plus the Recreation area off Meadow Street and many culverts.

If you have photos of infrastructure damage – Town roads, Town bridges, and culverts – please email to townadmin@wallingfordvt.com Reminder, Route 140 East, Route 7 and Route 103 are state roads and any damage should be reported to VTrans.

District 3 – Rutland

Christopher Taft, District Transportation Administrator
61 Valley View Suite #2
Mendon, Vermont 05701
Phone: (802) 379-2266
Fax: (802) 786-5894
E-Mail: Christopher.Taft@vermont.gov

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As you likely have heard by now, Governor Phil Scott has declared a State of Emergency in Vermont due to severe rainfall and flooding across the state.  Significant rainfall is expected to continue into the evening hours and widespread flooding is expected to follow.  The State Emergency Operations Center has been activated, and emergency management officials are working around the clock to deploy resources and support to local communities damaged by the flooding.

First and foremost, if you are currently in a situation that needs immediate support, please reach out to https://vermont211.org/ as that is the most direct way to reach state emergency management officials. Please continue to encourage businesses and individuals in your regions to use Vermont 211 as a first point of contact, and as always, report any emergencies to 9-1-1.

The Agency of Commerce and Community Development (ACCD) is engaged in the response to this storm and supporting emergency officials as needed to keep communities and Vermonters safe. ACCD realizes this storm has impacted many communities in a multitude of ways, with flooding damaging homes and businesses in addition to critical infrastructure.  Right now, the most important thing you can do is stay safe until the storm passes and the waters recede.

State Emergency Management officials will be working with FEMA and the U.S. Small Business Administration on a disaster declaration which will allow for federal assistance in repairing damage from this storm. As the State shifts from emergency first response to economic and community recovery, ACCD will continue to keep our partners informed and support recovery efforts statewide.  In the days ahead, and when safe to do so, it will be important to document any damage and estimate the cost of damage which will be used to help the state’s disaster declaration criteria.  Again, as we have more information on that process, ACCD will share and engage just as soon as we can.

There is more to come, but for now – please stay safe and please know emergency responders are working hard to respond to this statewide weather event. Thank you for your efforts on the ground to support your local communities.

Lindsay Kurrle, Secretary
Agency of Commerce and Community Development

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We are working with Rutland County Solid Waste District in reinforcing outreach to each home to offer incentives, best practices, and opportunities to save $1,000.00’s. This project starts with a 4-minute on-line pre survey, some outreach, and a post survey.  A few minutes to learn how to save $1000.00’s, receive incredible discounts on composters, food scrapers, and many more items to increase your savings.  Click on this link for more details:  https://www.rcswd.com/home/news/usda-solid-waste-extended-outreach-grant

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NEW!! Thanks to efforts by the Conservation Commission, the transfer station has partnered with the Trex Plastic Film Recycling Program to provide special bins to accept:  grocery bags, bread bags, bubble wrap, dry cleaning bags, newspaper sleeves, ice bags, plastic shipping envelopes, zip-lock and other re-closable food storage bags, cereal bags, case overwrap, salt bags, pallet wrap and stretch film, wood pellet bags, produce bags.  As with all recycling, the materials should be relatively CLEAN. These items must go in the specially marked bins and NOT mixed with Zero Sort. Trex does NOT accept pet food bags, mesh/net produce bags, pool covers, frozen food bags, candy bar wrappers, chip bags, six pack rings, vinyl shower curtains (see transfer station employees if you have questions).

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Vermont Veterans’ Home officials requested towns post links on municipal websites to VVH’s website in order to help increase awareness about the programs offered to service men and women. For more information, visit http://vvh.vermont.gov/

You may also find the link from this website by clicking on Community at the top of the home page and then clicking on Helpful Links. You will find Vermont Veterans’ Home under the State of Vermont list.