State Seeks April Storm Disaster Declaration

Press Release

Gov. Mike Rounds has requested a Presidential Disaster Declaration to help three South Dakota counties recover from an early-April snowstorm.

The request is for public assistance in Corson, Perkins and Ziebach counties, where heavy snow and high winds on April 2, 2010, caused an estimated $1.6 million in damage.

The storm knocked down power lines and poles. At the peak of the blizzard, more than 1,500 rural electric customers lost power; some of those customers had no electricity for a week.

The three counties were also among those struck by a late-January ice storm that qualified them for an earlier Presidential Disaster Declaration. Some of the power lines damaged by the April storm had just been repaired from damage caused by the January ice storm.

In a letter to President Obama, Gov. Rounds said the April storm left homes, schools, businesses and critical facilities without power. Unless federal assistance is provided, the impacted rural electric cooperatives will be forced to pass repair costs onto customers, the Governor said.

"In this time of economic hardship, the last thing people need is an increase in energy costs above and beyond costs that have already risen in the past several years,'' the Governor said.

Gov. Rounds has made a separate request for a Presidential Disaster Declaration to help 30 counties recover from widespread spring flooding.

Such requests are necessary steps for federal disaster funds to be made available in South Dakota. If the President grants the declarations, up to 75 percent of eligible costs could be reimbursed by the federal government. The governor's requests do not guarantee federal funding will be made available to South Dakota.

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