President Biden made additional disaster assistance available to the U.S. Virgin Islands by authorizing an increase in the level of federal funding for costs resulting from hurricanes Irma and Maria in September 2017, FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell announced Thursday.
With this adjustment, eligible disaster costs will be funded at a 95 percent federal cost share and permanent work projects funded under Section 428 Alternative Procedures will now be funded at a 98 percent share for a fixed amount of time, including projects supporting the repair and replacement of critical services across the islands, according to the press release.
These cost share adjustments are an extension of the administration and FEMA’s commitments to supporting long-term recovery and making the territory more resilient to future storms. The Insular Area Act recognizes the U.S. Virgin Islands’ special circumstances and provides increased flexibility to maximize rebuilding efforts, the press release stated.
Increasing the federal cost share will not only enable and accelerate needed recovery projects but it will also allow the U.S. Virgin Islands to leverage existing Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery funding to address other critical aspects of disaster recovery, including resilient, affordable housing, economic revitalization and other projects that will invest in the territory’s future, the release stated.
The president acknowledges the challenges that the cost share requirement presented to the U.S. Virgin Islands and this increase will provide more than $1.1 billion in additional funding to accelerate holistic and resilient recovery across the territory, it said.
Gov. Albert Bryan Jr. has called a press conference Friday morning to discuss the latest developments and their implications for the territory.
