HARRISBURG -- Governor Wolf is asking President Obama to declare a disaster in Pennsylvania in order to provide some communities financial assistance following the major snowstorm in January.
The request would give federal money to municipalities in 31 counties for snow cleanup costs.
Wolf claims municipal, county, and state agencies have spent more than $55 million in response to the storm.
"In many places, it wiped out an entire year's budget for snow response and removal, and winter isn’t over yet," said Wolf.
In order to qualify for federal public assistance, counties must meet the following criteria:
- a record or near-record snowfall event must occur within the county
- the costs to the county and municipalities for snow removal operations during a continuous 48-hour period and any other costs for emergency protective measures must exceed the county per capita threshold of $3.56
- the total costs of all counties meeting both criteria must exceed the state threshold of $17.9 million
The counties that met both record or near record snowfall totals and county costs are: Adams, Bedford, Berks, Blair, Bucks, Chester, Cumberland, Dauphin, Fayette, Franklin, Fulton, Huntingdon, Juniata, Lancaster, Lebanon, Lehigh, Mifflin, Montgomery, Northampton, Perry, Philadelphia, Schuylkill, Somerset, Snyder, Westmoreland, and York.
The Governor's request also includes the following counties that met their record or near record snowfall totals, but have not yet met their county costs: Cambria, Columbia, Montour, Northumberland, and Union.
If the governor's request is approved, applicants can be reimbursed up to 75 percent of the money spent on eligible expenses.