FEMA shuts down St. George office

ST. GEORGE — Seven weeks after setting up a joint field office here to assess flood damage in Utah's Dixie, the Federal Emergency Management Agency shut down its joint field office on Friday.

"This was an unusual disaster. There had to be a very high level of coordination with a lot of other agencies," said Laurie Hassell, a FEMA public information officer. "We needed to make sure we were providing all the assistance we could to this area."

Estimates of the damage from January's floods vary, but most officials agree that the total hovers around $180 million. Dozens of homeowners lost millions when the rising floodwaters gobbled houses and the land on which they stood. Millions more were lost when parks, golf courses, bridges, roads, utility lines and other public property was damaged or destroyed.

Once President Bush signed a federal disaster declaration for Washington and Kane counties on Feb. 1, FEMA was able to begin its public assistance efforts from an office established in St. George. The field office, which employed 59 people, also accommodated the Utah Division of Emergency Services (DES).

Federal agencies like FEMA worked with the various state and local agencies to identify which potential public projects qualified for federal assistance funds.

"It really was a unique coordination effort," said Derek Jensen, DES spokesman. Among the agencies cooperating in the recovery effort were the Natural Resource Conservation Service, the Federal Highway Administration and the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers, he said.

Jensen and Hassell took time Friday to meet with reporters one-on-one to thank them for their coverage, and to emphasize the work that remains to be done.

"Even though we're leaving, there are still some projects we haven't been able to get to for an assessment," said Hassell.

To date, she said, FEMA has obligated slightly more than $4.19 million in public assistance funds for approved work projects submitted by 16 applicants. A total of 145 project worksheets have been processed and approved to receive funds.

Jensen explained that the $4.19 million in FEMA funds has been received by the state and is being passed through to the approved applicants.

"We've been doing that for awhile now," he said. "As the money comes in to the state, we pass it along."

Of the 145 approved projects, 123 are considered to be "small projects," or those that cost less than $55,500, and another 22 are identified as "large projects." The largest outstanding work project that qualifies for federal assistance funds is in Santa Clara, Jensen said.