Delaware applies for federal funds to pay for snow removal

Governor Markell hopes to recover some of the money Delaware spent while responding to last month’s double dose of winter weather.

Governor Jack Markell wants President Obama to declare that the two storms that buried Delaware in snow last month were a disaster.  That would allow the state to be reimbursed by the federal government for some of what it spent on storm response.

The initial estimate is the state and local governments spent $8.8 million while responding to the storm, $6.7 million of that on snow removal itself.  If the state gets the disaster declaration, it would be eligible to receive 75% of its costs.

Markell says, “We did what we needed to be done to keep Delawareans safe and get the state back on its feet, regardless of the cost.  The federal disaster process may allow us to recoup some of those expenses.”

According to the National Climactic Data Center the official snow storm total for the first storm (Feb. 5-6) was 25.8 inches for New Castle County.  Kent County got 23.41 inches, and Sussex received 21 inches.  When adding in the second storm, all three counties received more than 30 inches of snow in less than a week.