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Friday, September 2, 2011

Bramnick wants Feds to include Union County in disaster relief



Damage in Plainfield included flooding and downed trees.

Assembly Conference Leader (and Plainfield native) Jon Bramnick has been working with the Christie Administration and federal officials to include more counties in the federal disaster designation, which enables counties to be eligible to receive Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) recovery assistance funding.

After speaking with New Jersey Homeland Security Director Charles McKenna, Bramnick indicated the federal government is conducting aerial surveys of the state and is seriously considering expanding the list, as the Ledger reports today (see here).

Bramnick reports that since the hurricane touched down on Sunday, he has personally witnessed the damage inflicted across Union County, adding "...while I am grateful that [President Obama] included Essex, Morris and Somerset counties in the federal disaster declaration, I am hopeful that a revised federal disaster declaration includes other affected counties, such as Union County."

President Obama declared New Jersey a disaster area on Wednesday afternoon, making residents and business owners in Bergen, Essex, Morris, Passaic, and Somerset counties eligible for federal programs to cover damages caused Hurricane Irene.  The declaration also allows for federal funding to repair public infrastructure such as roads and bridges in Atlantic, Cape May, Cumberland and Salem counties.

A spokeswoman for the Federal Emergency Management Agency said more counties could be added later for both kinds of relief, and Bramnick is working to ensure the federal government will include as many counties as possible.

Meanwhile, NJ Today offers tips to affected residents and businesses in Union County, suggesting they begin preparing disaster relief applications in anticipation of the county being added to the disaster proclamation (see here) .



-- Dan Damon [follow]

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1 comments:

olddoc said...

Could Union County (Cranford} been excluded because we have a Democrat President whose administration receives local advice from a Republican Congressman,a Republican Governor, and a feuding State legislature? Far fetch? One look at the pictures on TV should have been convincing.