In response to the unprecedented weather that blasted Massachusetts this past winter, Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker and Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito submitted a request Friday to U.S. President Barack Obama for a Major Disaster Declaration.
The declaration, according to a Friday press release from Baker’s office, would make federal aid available to 10 Massachusetts counties through the Federal Emergency Management Agency Public Assistance Program.
Baker and Polito are requesting that the federal government provide 75 percent reimbursement for eligible snow removal costs, costs to repair damage to public infrastructure such as roads, bridges, piers and seawalls and storm-related overtime costs for first responders, the request stated.
The 10 Massachusetts counties that Baker and Polito are requesting federal assistance for include Barnstable, Bristol, Dukes, Essex, Middlesex, Nantucket, Norfolk, Plymouth, Suffolk and Worcester.
On its website, FEMA has outlined procedures that allow states to gain federal aid for emergency responses.
“As part of the request, the Governor must take appropriate action under State law and direct execution of the State’s emergency plan,” the website states. “Based on the Governor’s request, the President may declare that a major disaster or emergency exists, thus activating an array of Federal programs to assist in the response and recovery effort.”
The site also states that not all programs are activated for every disaster, and the determination of which programs are activated is based on the needs found assessment.
As of March 3, the state had faced 110.6 inches of snow in the 2014-15 season, costing the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority around $36 million in expenses and revenue lost, according to the Massachusetts Department of Transportation Standing Committee on Finance and Audit’s MBTA Winter Storm Response and Recovery presentation .
“Facing historic snow accumulations, the transit system faced challenges that would take significant time (too long) to overcome without sizable additional resources,” the presentation stated. “Many organizations came to the aid of the MBTA to support this recovery effort including: The Office of the Governor , Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency [and] The Executive Office of Administration and Finance .”
Other offices that helped the MBTA included the Massachusetts Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development , MassDOT, Massachusetts Department of Corrections , National Guard , Peter Pan Bus Lines , the New York City Transit System and area contractors, according to the presentation.
Laurie Goldman, lecturer at the Tufts University urban and environmental policy and planning department, said the effects of the winter weather raise many questions about the division of resources in tiers of government.
“What is important here is to think about that given what is happening with climate change, that is affecting flooding, that is affecting large quantities of snow, that is affecting drought in various parts of the country,” Goldman said. “How do we, as a society, think about the allocation of responsibility for contending with the aftermath of that?”
Goldman said it is difficult to discern which tiers of government should incur the financial burden of the storm recovery.
“What part of that is the federal government? What part of that is the state government? What part of that is the local government? What part of that is the private sector?” she said.
Goldman also said this question will continue to present itself following future natural disasters.
“This [the unprecedented weather conditions] raises important questions for what will be the allocation of responsibility for the costs of climate change as they impact cities and regions in our country moving forward,” she said.
Jessica Emond, spokeswoman for the Massachusetts branch of the American Red Cross, said the responsibility and mission of the Red Cross as a non-profit volunteer organization, as far as disaster response is concerned, consists of two main points: preparedness and volunteer response.
“Our main focus really is preparedness before the storm: helping people understand how to repair their homes, if people are using non-traditional heating sources that they are using that in the best way, so that during these times they feel safe in their homes so there are not any accidents,” she said. “But we also have hundreds of volunteers across the state on call who are ready to assist with shelters if they need to be opened.”
Emond said the Red Cross was actively assisting both residents and work crews during the unprecedented winter storms.
“During the blizzard, there were 16 shelters around the state that our volunteers were staffing and helping operationalize for people if they did need to leave their homes,” she said. “We also supply food and snacks to the crews that were doing snow removal, such as people from the National Guard, and a lot of other teams doing work, so we were providing them with hot chocolate and other things while they were doing that.”
As for the impact federal aid may have on the American Red Cross and its programs, Emond said the Red Cross can apply for FEMA grants, but the money will be counted as donations to help carry out the efforts of the organization.
“The Red Cross might apply for grants that are available through any funds that come from FEMA, to help support our efforts of preparedness,” she said. “We often rely on grants and donations from corporations and individuals.”
Several residents said though Massachusetts should be granted the additional funding, it won’t necessarily fix the problems brought forth by the winter storms.
Joe Harrington, 44, of Allston, said additional funding from the federal government won’t help the problems with the MBTA.
“The MBTA was broken before the storm. It wasn’t operating correctly,” he said. “So, the problem needed to be fixed even before the snow. The snow just enlarged it and made it known what the problems were. The problem is not that they need money but that they need better management.”
James Shea, 60, of Back Bay, said the extreme nature of the damage warrants additional funding.
“The state is going to run out of money because it can’t pay the bills,” he said. “They just did not budget for those extraordinary events. And the state is entitled to the money just as New York City was entitled to it after the hurricane.”
Robert Kodiuga, 56, of Allston, said prior planning could have avoided the financial problems Massachusetts is now facing.
“Boston has around 44 inches, average, of snow every year,” he said. “If you have an outlier year like this one, when you have 107 inches of snow, that means it is almost triple the average. You should put it in a fund. You have to make a plan, and you have to go through with it.”
