Governor Baldacci's letter requesting additional federal aid for Oxford
July 24, 2007
Dear Mr. President:
Under the provisions of Section 401 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, 42 U.S.C. §§ 5121-5206 (Stafford Act), and implemented by 44 CFR § 206.36, I request that you declare a major disaster for Oxford County in the State of Maine as a result of a severe summer storm which impacted the County on July 11 and 12, 2007.
The storm dropped from 6 to 8 inches of rain in approximately 45 minute timeframe, overloading capacities to handle this amount of rainfall. Based on stream gages and other meteorological data, we estimate this to be a 1,000 or 2,000 year rain event. The incident began late in the evening on July 11 and lasted until July 12. The incident is specific to Oxford County, Maine, which is currently under a declared disaster that occurred earlier this year (ME-DR-1693).
In response to the situation, I have taken appropriate action under State law and directed the execution of the State Emergency Plan on Friday, July 13, 2007 in accordance with Section 401 of the Stafford Act. The State of Emergency was declared for Oxford County due to the significant damage to roadways, public structures and the public water supply for several western Maine communities. As such, the State of Emergency remains in effect.
Specifically, the public water supply for 650 customers in the Town of Bethel has incurred catastrophic damage and the facilities have since been condemned by the Maine Drinking Water Program, an agency in the Maine Department of Health and Human Services. The Drinking Water Program has revoked the Bethel Water District’s permits to operate their system as a public water supply. As a result, the Water District has been forced to truck an average of 80,000 gallons of water per day, at the Town’s expense, since the event two weeks ago. These efforts have been taken to meet the health and sanitary needs of the District’s customers and to ensure adequate water supplies are available for public safety response and firefighting.
On July 17, 2007, I requested a Declaration of Emergency for these same areas. Preliminary estimates of the types and amount of emergency assistance needed under the Stafford Act, and emergency assistance from certain Federal agencies under other statutory authorities are tabulated in Enclosure A.
I have determined that this incident is of such severity and magnitude that effective response is beyond the capabilities of the State and the affected local governments and that supplementary Federal assistance is necessary to restore essential and critical services. Based on the latest findings, I am requesting that our original July 17, 2007 request for Declaration of Emergency be withdrawn and replaced with this new request. I am requesting Public Assistance for Oxford County and I intend to implement the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program statewide.
State, local and private resources that have been or will be used to alleviate the conditions of this disaster include:
• County and Local first responders worked collaboratively to close impacted roads and assess damages to roads, bridges, and water supply.
• Response and assessment efforts continue.
• County EMA officials have been on scene at Bethel since July 12th.
• Regular conference calls between County and State EMA, Maine National Guard, Army Corps of Engineers, Maine Rural Water Association, Maine Public Utilities Commission (PUC), private companies, and FEMA Region One.
• State Dam Inspector on scene July 16th.
• Inspections by Maine Department of Environmental Protection, Maine Drinking Water Program, Maine Rural Water Association, and Auburn Water District to help with damage assessments to Bethel public water system.
• The filter and treatment plant for the Water District has been condemned and operating permits revoked by the Maine Drinking Water Program, the State regulatory agency under the Maine Department of Health and Human Services.
• Town of Bethel currently trucking 80,000 gallons of water per day from neighboring water supplies to meet public water needs.
• Construction of temporary reservoir, however this structure has only been intermittently effective. Additionally, the temporary pipes have been installed above ground. The pipes and water source itself will freeze when cold weather arrives in Western Maine in just a few short months.
• Participation of FEMA R1 and ACOE officials in conference calls and strategy discussions since event two weeks ago.
• Discussion of use of Reverse Osmosis Water Purifying Unit (ROWPU) however at this time, this option has been deemed inadequate to implement.
• Preliminary survey of damages in Oxford County performed by FEMA officials currently in Maine working on prior open disasters. The Patriot’s Day storm (disaster 1693) already includes this area for both Individual and Public Assistance.
I certify that for this major disaster the State and local governments will assume all applicable non-federal share of costs required by the Stafford Act.
In addition, I anticipate the need for debris removal, which poses an immediate threat to lives, public health, and safety.
Pursuant to Sections 403 and 407 of the Stafford Act, 42 U.S.C. §§ 5170b & 5173, the State of Maine agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the United States of America for any claims arising from the removal of debris or wreckage for this disaster. The State agrees that debris removal from public and private property will not occur until the landowner signs an unconditional authorization for the removal of debris.
I have designated Ginnie Ricker as the State Coordinating Officer for this request. She will work with the Federal Emergency Management Agency in damage assessments and may provide further information or justification on my behalf.
Sincerely,
John Elias Baldacci
Governor
Enclosure A as cited
ENCLOSURE A TO REQUEST
(Estimated Requirements)
Estimated requirements for other Federal agency programs:
Public Assistance (PA) Totals: $1,832,927.00
Estimated Requirements for assistance under the Stafford Act:
Coordination
Technical and advisory assistance,
Debris removal 85,336.00
Emergency protective measures
241,651.00
Roads and Bridges 311,906.00
Water Control Facilities
Buildings, Contents and Equipment
Utilities 1,160,000.00
Parks, Recreational and Other Facilities 34,034.00
Totals:
Grand Total: 1,832,927.00
Note: Estimates are to reflect total eligible costs before any cost sharing.
*The $1.16 million estimate is the cost to take corrective action for the Bethel Water District, a critical and essential facility for public health, sanitation, and emergency services. The town currently has conservation measures in place however the BWD is unable to provide adequate water for fire protection, sanitation and drinking water. Due to the severity of damages to the facility, the Maine Dept. of Health and Human Services has voided all permits for the facility to operate. As a result of the storm, the BWD is currently out of compliance with Title 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations, Section 141.71 (a) (2), which requires that public water systems maintain turbidity levels under 5 NTUs to maintain filtration avoidance. Based on inspections since July 12, 2007 the Maine Drinking Water Program (a bureau of DHHS) has determined that the levels not only exceed the filtration avoidance criteria, but may never return to required standards. The water district must install filtration within 18 months (no later than January 12, 2009). Also, with turbidity levels above 5 NTUs, MDWP has required an immediate boil water order for the BWD to continue to use the current water source.
