Months after the melting ofUtah’s historic snowpack washed out roads, caused concerns of widespread flooding and led Gov. Spencer Cox to declare an emergency, some counties will now see some relief.
Iron, Morgan, Sanpete, Utah and Wasatch counties were approved to receive federal emergency funds for damage sustained between May 1 and May 27, according to a White House news release. The funds — approved by President Joe Biden — will go toward repairing public infrastructure, like roads and storm drains, damaged during the runoff.
The total dollar amount the state could receive is up in the air, as the federal approval is just the beginning in the process, said Wade Mathews, a spokesperson for the Utah Division of Emergency Management. Neither the state nor the counties have received federal funds yet — and there is no single check the counties or the state receives to pay for the damages.
Utah County Sheriff’s Sgt. Quin Fackrell told The Salt Lake Tribune that the county will use much of the funds toward reimbursing repairs that have already been made or to pay for repairs and cleanup that have yet to happen.
For example, he said, federal funding could help fix damage to the Nebo Loop Scenic Byway and emergency repairs to Spanish Fork’s culinary water systems.
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This article is published through the Utah News Collaborative, a partnership of news organizations in Utah that aim to inform readers across the state.