Atlantic County Added to List of Counties Receiving Relief

Atlantic County was added Tuesday afternoon to the list of counties that will be covered under the Federal Disaster Declaration issued Feb. 4.

The declaration approves the State of New Jersey’s request for reimbursement of cost and damage done by the winter storm that dropped over 10 inches of snow on Galloway Township.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency typically covers 75 percent of any public entity’s expenses as it relates to a storm. This includes employee overtime, materials and damages.

“This is a very good thing for Galloway,” Acting Township Manager Steve Bonanni said Wednesday morning. “We did send a request for reimbursement. … FEMA can cut that number, so we won’t know what we’re going to get until they review it.”

Overall, Atlantic County incurred $1.9 million in expenses from the storm.

“The past two winters have been particularly harsh and expensive,” Atlantic County Executive Director Dennis Levinson said in a statement released Tuesday. “This aid is crucial to county and municipal governments that are already stretched thin.”

Atlantic and Cumberland counties were both excluded from the initial declaration, but further review of the situation by FEMA led to both being placed on the list.

Federal and state emergency management officials will be hosting application briefings over the next few weeks for affected municipalities, local boards and authorities and nonprofit agencies. For information regarding eligibility, contact the county Office of Emergency Preparedness at 609-407-6743.