HUD Approves Three Pennsylvania Disaster Recovery Plans
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has announced the approval of the three disaster recovery plans totaling more than $49 million in emergency aid to help several communities throughout Pennsylvania, specifically Luzerne and Dauphin Counties, to recover from Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee. With the acceptance of these disaster plans, the real work of long-term disaster recovery throughout Pennsylvania can now begin.
Provided through HUD’s Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Program, these grants will support long-term disaster recovery efforts in local communities devastated by last year’s disasters.
“Now that these plans are in place, it’s time to get down to the real business of rebuilding the housing and infrastructure damaged by last year’s terrible storms,” said Jane Vincent, HUD’s Regional Administrator. “Pennsylvania, and most especially Luzerne and Dauphin Counties, can now begin to make their neighborhoods whole again.”
On November 18, 2011, Congress appropriated $300 million in CDBG funds to support long-term disaster recovery in the most impacted and distressed areas resulting from a major disaster in 2011 (Public Law 112-55). Concurrently, Congress gave HUD the authority to allocate up to an additional $100 million for the recovery efforts. Secretary Shaun Donovan exercised HUD's full authority by targeting the maximum amount of CDBG funding allowed toward helping these most impacted state and local areas.
These funds are intended to confront unmet housing, business and infrastructure needs beyond those addressed by other forms of public and private assistance. Using a combination of federal data from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Small Business Administration (SBA), HUD identified those states and local communities most impacted and requiring the greatest assistance to recover due to the devastating tornadoes in the Southeast and Missouri; the remnants of Hurricanes Irene and Lee in the Northeast and New England; severe flooding in parts of North Dakota; and destructive wildfires in Texas.
Earlier this year, HUD allocated $27,142,501 to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, most of which will support long-term recovery activities in Bradford, Dauphin, Columbia, Wyoming, and/or Luzerne Counties which had significant damage following Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee. In addition, Luzerne County will receive $15,738,806 and Dauphin County will receive $6,415,833 directly from HUD.