FEMA Grants the County of Monterey Additional Disaster Relief

January 27, 2023 – The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) amended the California Major

Disaster Declaration on Thursday January 26, 2023, to include additional grant funding for permanent work to

County infrastructure, that were already designated for Individual Assistance and assistance for debris

removal and emergency protective measures, including direct federal assistance, under the Public Assistance

Program. (See link to the 4683-DR-CA Amendment 005: https://www.fema.gov/disaster-federal-register-

notice/4683-dr-ca-amendment-005)

What this specifically means for Monterey County is funding to complete permanent work to restore critical

infrastructure to its pre-disaster design. The amendment also allows the county to receive reimbursement for

necessary repairs to public infrastructure that are not considered an emergency protective measure, such as

the road failure in Carmel at Scenic Drive.

FEMA’s requirements are very specific, meaning the projects must be built back to the original state before

it was destroyed. The funding does not allow for improvements or betterment to reduce the risk of the

infrastructure failing again in a future disaster. However, with Public Assistance funding as defined by

FEMA’s categories C-G, it will allow the county to reduce the risk of infrastructure failing again in future

disasters utilizing Section 406 Hazard Mitigation funding, which is allowable under categories C-G.

Examples of such measures include constructing floodwalls around damaged facilities; installing new

drainage facilities (including culverts) along a damaged road; dry floodproofing both damaged and

undamaged buildings.

The action that FEMA took on Thursday, January 26 will also benefit other entities within the County. Municipal

jurisdictions, special districts, and non-profits within Monterey County should contact the Recovery Branch

in the Monterey County Emergency Operations Center if they have sustained any damages, debris, or

emergency work related to the 2022-2023 Winter Storms. For more information e-mail

emmonsl@co.monterey.ca.us or call 831-796-1900.

The team at the County of Monterey’s Department of Emergency Management have been working tirelessly

to get access to as much federal resources as possible to help residents and stakeholders get their lives

back to normal as quickly as possible,” said Tracy Molfino, Interim Department Manager. He continued,

“This has been a heroic team effort and I am proud of the work our county employees are doing to help the

community recover from this current disaster.”