Disaster Recovery

(CSAH 7, Rock County) – After Event Emergency events Safety first Protect the public Protect the facility Document! Event Damage Repairs Ask for help DSAE SALT Disaster Coordinator (CSAH 7, Rock County) – After Repair Safety is always our first priority. The public and then the facilities from further damage. Document: Event: When, What, Where and How Damage: Location, Assess extent of damage Repairs: Time, Materials, Equipment, Quotes, Bids, Plan Sets Ask for help: Ask to help early from your DSAE and SALT Disaster Coordinator. Getting on the right track can help save time and money. Pictures: The after event picture provides a good example of disaster related damage as it shows extent, type and location to the roadway. The frame is wide enough to show site context. Pictures framed tightly lose scale and do not provide an accurate extent of the damage. This picture is also taken soon after the damage occurred, before any repairs have begun, but after the water has receded to an extent sufficient to reveal the disaster related damages. The after repair photo shows how the roadway, shoulders and slopes have been restored to pre-event conditions. (CSAH 7, Rock County) – After Event

Funding sources Three funding sources at MnDOT State Aid Disaster Account FHWA Emergency Relief State general/bond funds The following are the 3 funding sources available to counties through the MnDOT State Aid Office. These are listed in level order of increasing effort for project related paperwork. This pictures offers a good example of a deep seated slope failure, but the extent and scale of the damage is more difficult to understand. The frame of the photo should have been set wider. The next few slides will provide greater detail about each of these funding sources and their requirements. (CSAH 1, Scott County)

State Aid Disaster Account Requirements Damage greater than 10 percent state aid allotment Eligibility approved by Disaster Board State aid system only Pros Easily accessible (fast) Cons Must be repaid (if) when other funds are available If damage to the SA system event exceeds 10% of the county’s or city’s SA allotment (maintenance and construction), the request be made for the disaster board to inspect the damages and provide approval for the type of repairs. This account provides quick CASH, but must be repaid if additional funds are available. The State Aid Disaster Account (SADA) has an increase level of oversight due to the extend of damage/need for funds created by the 2012 flooding. Improvements include a modification of State Aid Rules to provide greater clarity of when and how funds can be accessed. As an example, a work plan for impacted roadways and required repaired must be provided for each roadway. Once this information have been submitted and approved up to 95% of the estimated cost to repair will be provided to the county upon its request. This picture from the 2012 Duluth flood event provides a good example of the damages occurring, but not the full or final extent of the damages at this location. (Vermilion Rd, City of Duluth)

FHWA Emergency Relief FHWA Emergency Relief Requirements Pros Cons Governs Executive Order and/or Presidential Disaster Declaration Minimum $700K damage to major collector and above Pros 100 percent of emergency repair cost 80 percent of permanent repair cost Emergency concurrent with permanent repair cost Cons Federal process Reimbursement The FHWA Emergency Relief (ER) program provides reimbursement funds for both emergency and permanent repairs, but damage to the roadway network must be extensive. The total damage to the eligible system must exceed $700K. These funds are only made available after a governs executive order and/or presidential disaster declaration has been issued and are limited to roadways with a functional class of major collector and above. The federal process must be followed, some requirements are streamlined for emergency repairs. The application of Emergency Repairs will be limited in future events, due to audit findings at the national level showing the over use of this tool. In future events, the expanded use of emergency concurrent with permanent repairs will used to begin the needed work with the attempt of reducing delays connected with the required contracting and clearance requirements. (Not in Minnesota)

State general/bond funds Requirements Legislative action to appropriate Pros Greater Flexibility than FHWA Cons Bond agreement process Must follow MnDOT grant’s program Not guaranteed In the past, the state legislator has provided general and bond funds to assist counties with the recovery from disasters. These funds offer greater flexibility over FHWA funds, but the bond agreement process must be followed and there is no guarantee that it will be provided and if it is to what extent. MnDOT’s grants agreement’s process has been used only in a limited capacity to date. The new process greatly increase the time needed to complete the grant’s process through MnDOT, for this reason the program has been rated as more difficult to navigate then the federal process at this time…stay tuned. (CSAH 6, Scott County)

Emergency events (continued) State Disaster Assistance Contingency Account Pros Covers cost-share for FHWA emergency relief program Funds are available for 20 percent FHWA match Cons Bond agreement process This account was created during the 2015 session. Its has not been used by MnDOT since inception. This account is intended to allow for a more streamlined, stable and quicker process for providing match monies to other disaster funding sources. (CR 6, Sibley County)

Project reminders Reminders FHWA permanent repair projects follow normal DCP process Ask for State Aid Disaster Account monies and ER help early and often! Talking to your DSAE and SALT Disaster Coordinator put you on the right track; saving time and money. Document Event: when, what, where and how Damage: location, assess extent of damage Repairs: time, materials, equipment, quotes, bids, plan sets All permanent repair projects using disaster recovery funds from FHWA must follow the Delegated Contract Process. We are here to help! Remember to ask for money early and help often. Benjamin Franklin stated it well as, “Don’t put off until tomorrow what you can to today”. (CSAH 101, Scott County)

Questions? Mark Vizecky mark.vizecky@state.mn.us 651-366-3839