CUMBERLAND — Allegany County’s cost for emergency repairs related to the May flood continue to rise.
The flash flood caused $33 million in damage along Georges Creek, according to Gov. Wes Moore’s office.
Allegany County Director of Public Works Adam Patterson at Thursday’s county commissioner meeting requested approval of 13 new projects that total $706,000.
The latest figure takes the county’s expenditures to roughly $7.1 million for flood-related repairs.
“I just continue to be hopeful that we can get in front of the right (state officials) to work on a presentation that shows … all the work that’s been done, specifically some of these sewer projects,” Patterson said.
He spoke of a particular compromised sewer that required a 90-day bypass “at the tune of about $1,000 of fuel a day to pump.”
The commissioners approved Patterson’s request.
At a work session prior to Thursday’s public meeting, Allegany County Commissioner Bill Atkinson said he recently met with Yaakov “Jake” Weissmann, acting secretary of the Maryland Department of Budget and Management, to discuss the county’s need for more than $30 million related to the flood.
“He was very open … they’re still trying to figure out where that money would come from,” Atkinson said, adding that county and state talks on the issue will continue.
Atkinson said county officials this week met with Maryland Commerce Secretary Harry Coker and Labor Secretary Portia Wu.
“We had just an open discussion of … what our needs are,” Atkinson said. “It was another good meeting.”
Background
Widespread flash flooding hit Western Maryland May 13.
In June, Moore announced the first-ever use of the State Disaster Recovery Fund that provided $459,375 to support people impacted by the flood.
At that time, FEMA, the Maryland Department of Emergency Management and local officials estimated more than $15.8 million in emergency response costs and damage to infrastructure, “including more than 200 homes, numerous businesses, roads and bridges, railroads, sewer systems, drinking water and public utilities,” according to the governor’s office.
Moore requested the White House issue a major disaster declaration for areas of Allegany and Garrett counties damaged in the stormwaters.
In July, the governor announced an additional $1 million in Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program funds for families in Garrett and Allegany counties.
Since the flood, FEMA validated more than $33.7 million in damages, which is nearly three times the state’s qualifying threshold for assistance, according to Moore’s office.
A presidential disaster declaration would have made Allegany and Garrett counties eligible for federal funding to repair critical public infrastructure such as roads, bridges, and water and sewer systems, the governor’s office said.
Moore in October said a “politicized” decision from the Trump administration denied Western Maryland’s last chance for federal help to recover from the flood.