LANSING, Mich. (WLNS) — Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer has announced that Michigan will be appealing several disaster aid denials after the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) failed to approve requests for assistance following an ice storm that devastated the state in March.
The severe ice storm caused wide infrastructure damage and power outages across northern Michigan.
The Michigan Office of the Governor reports that in July, President Donald Trump approved a federal disaster declaration authorizing FEMA Public Assistance (PA) funding for emergency work and certain permanent repairs across 13 counties and the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians.
While local municipalities received approved federal funding, families, businesses, and utilities were denied.
FEMA denied assistance for:
PA Category F, which would fund permanent repairs to damaged utilities.
Individual Assistance (IA), which helps residents with housing and disaster-related losses.
Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP), which funds long-term projects to reduce future risks.
The office reports that the denial of Category F funding has significant implications for smaller electricity companies or rural electric cooperatives.
“Many Northern Michiganders are still reeling from the impacts of the ice storm that devastated communities earlier this year,” said Whitmer in a news release sent to 6 News.
“Michigan families and businesses deserve the support they need to recover from these storms. That’s why I’m appealing FEMA’s disaster aid denials. I’ll keep fighting like hell to deliver relief for our residents, local governments and utility providers.”
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