Governor Mike Dunleavy has requested the Federal Emergency Management Agency approve an adjustment to the federal cost share agreement for the 2018 Cook Inlet Earthquake. If approved, the state of Alaska will save millions in response and recovery costs.
Governor Dunleavy said:
“We have seen an unprecedented amount of disasters in the state in the past four years alone. Massive wildfires, equally large or larger earthquakes, several strong fall and winter storms, and the COVID-19 pandemic have come at great cost to the state. Taking care of Alaskans impacted by a disaster will always be the first priority, but we can also be good stewards of our public funds. This request for a cost share adjustment will return a significant amount of money to the state for other uses.”
Following the November 30, 2018, earthquake, President Donald Trump activated the federal Individual and Public Assistance, and Small Business Administration Disaster Recovery Loan programs, to help the State recover from this event. Individual assistance is designed for individuals and families who experience damages to their homes that are not covered by insurance or other disaster assistance. Public Assistance is designed to help local government and certain non-profits recover emergency response costs and repair critical infrastructure damaged by the earthquake.
The state and federal government, through FEMA, entered into a cost share agreement to fund disaster recovery programs such as Public Assistance and Individual Assistance. Under the current agreement, the federal government is responsible for 75% of eligible disaster costs, and the state is responsible for the remaining 25%. Under U.S. Code of Federal Regulations, Title 44, Section 406.47, if the federal share exceeds a qualifying per capita threshold, the disaster can be deemed “extraordinary”, and the federal cost share may be increased to 90%. In the governor’s request, the state provides sufficient justification that this threshold can be met, and a change to the cost share agreement is warranted.
If the request for the cost share adjustment is granted, the state cost share would be reduced to 10% of the total eligible costs for the disaster. Currently, the estimated cost of the 2018 Cook Inlet Earthquake recovery effort is more than $150 million. Under the revised cost share agreement, if approved, Alaska’s approximate share would be reduced from $35 million to $15 million.