By Rep. Paul Anderson
The excess moisture and flooding situation grew worse this past week as more heavy rain hit parts of Minnesota. Areas around Mankato and other parts of southern Minnesota were especially hard hit, with rainfall amounts in double figures for the weekend alone. This has developed into a major disaster, and government agencies have sprung into action dealing with the situation. The state must reach a threshold of $7.3 million in damage to public infrastructure in order to qualify for federal disaster status. It appears that may happen and, if it does, the federal government would pay for up to 75 percent of repair costs to those affected structures.
The Legislature last year approved a new disaster plan for the state with $3 million being set aside for payments without needing a special session to appropriate those funds. However, it appears the scope of this disaster may be such that a special session will be required anyway. The governor said over the weekend that he may call us back to deal with the situation.
Individual counties will also total up their damages to uninsured public structures, and if they reach certain amounts, they would be declared disaster counties. The formula uses population figures and multiplies that by a set dollar amount, in this case, $3.50, to come up with individual county thresholds. For Stearns County, whose 2010 census figure was just over 150,000, the threshold is just over $527,000. The figure for Pope County with its population of just under 11,000 is $38,000. And for Douglas County and its 36,000 residents, the amount is just over $126,000. Under the new state disaster legislation, if damage in a county amounts to one-half of those set figures, they would become eligible for disaster aid.
The Department of Commerce has activated its Consumer Response Teams to help residents understand their rights and make informed decisions. They can also assist in dealing with insurance companies to settle claims. The phone number to get in touch with these teams is 1-800-657-3602.
The DNR has information on state park closings on its website, and MnDOT has the latest road closings on its site. In addition, the State Emergency Operations Center has been activated, and they have updated information on Homeland Security and Emergency Management along with other state agencies.
Ever since this wet spell began, I have said some of the largest losses are to agriculture in the form of eroded top soil and lost crop production. If individual counties are declared disaster areas, farmers in those and adjacent counties will be eligible for federal aid in the form of emergency loans. Losses must exceed 30 percent in crops or livestock. Rural Finance Authority disaster loans are also a possibility that can be utilized for losses not covered by insurance such as feed stocks being washed away. One farmer mentioned that his manure pit has filled with rainwater and the cost to pump it out amounts to several thousand dollars.
Forecasts are calling for chances of rain nearly every day this week and this wet cycle not ending until sometime around the 4th of July. If I can be of assistance to anyone with questions or problems dealing with the excess water situation, contact my office in St. Paul at 651-296-4317 or my home phone at 320-239-2726.
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