The Federal Emergency Management Agency will be sending more than $1.3 million to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to reimburse the City of Boston for some of the costs of clearing snow after Winter Storm Kenan in January 2022.
Kenan caused record or near record snowfall in four counties in Massachusetts. This created an immediate threat to the health and safety of the public and improved property, requiring emergency response and protective measures.
The $1,351,689 Public Assistance grant will reimburse the City of Boston for 22,777 overtime hours worked by employees and for contracting for plowing services between Saturday, Jan. 29 and Monday, Jan. 31, during which time it had to clear 785 lane miles continuously.
The city also had to clear parking lots, building entrances and walkways at 73 fire station, 121 public schools, 25 libraries, five municipal facilities, 35 Boston Center for Youth and Families Community Centers, 16 stations for 26 Boston EMS ambulances, and the harbor.
President Joe Biden’s disaster declaration made federal funding available to commonwealth, tribal and eligible local governments, and certain private nonprofit organizations on a cost-sharing basis for emergency work and the repair or replacement of damaged facilities in Bristol, Norfolk, Plymouth and Suffolk counties, and for the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe.
FEMA has awarded almost $25 million in Public Assistance grants to state and local governments for the disaster to date.
“FEMA is pleased to be able to reimburse the City of Boston for the costs incurred recovering from Winter Storm Kenan,” said FEMA Region 1 Regional Administrator Lori Ehrlich. “Re-opening highways for public safety vehicles required extraordinary measures deserving of federal assistance.”
FEMA’s Public Assistance program is an essential source of funding for states and communities recovering from a federally declared disaster or emergency.