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Governor OKs office to aid flood recovery

By MICHELE F. MIHALJEVICH
Indiana Correspondent

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. — The newly created Office of Disaster Recovery will help guide Hoosiers through the process of getting assistance with spring flood damage, the governor said last week.
The office will help make residents and communities aware of aid that is available, and will help them with the application process, added Gov. Mitch Daniels. The office will also help coordinate state and federal agency storm relief efforts.

“We want to make certain that every Hoosier and every community avails themselves of the potential assistance,” Daniels said during a press conference last week.

“We’ll be reaching out person by person, community by community, making certain that no one is confused by, frankly, some application forms and some processes that are a little confusing.”
The office will be open as long as necessary and will be led by Andy Miller, the director of the state’s department of agriculture, Daniels said.

The pace for individuals and communities to apply for aid has been slow, he said. Of the 1,000 communities and governmental subdivisions that might be eligible for aid, only 179 have filed applications.

Of the individuals who might be eligible for federal Small Business Administration (SBA) loans, about 10 percent have applied, he said.

In talking to representatives from the federal government, state officials learned the slow pace is common, Daniels said.
“We’re just not prepared to sit and let people miss out on opportunities that might be there,” he said. “We want to make certain Indiana does a better job than whatever normal is.”

The deadline for submitting applications for SBA loans is Aug. 11. Public assistance deadlines for the first 26 counties in the state approved for that category of assistance are July 21.

Despite the severity of the flooding, no farmers or farm families have gone out of business because of the situation, Miller said.
“That’s why it’s so important they apply for all the assistance they can get, to help make sure that doesn’t happen,” he said.

Farmers who have lost homes or personal property are eligible to apply to FEMA, Miller said. The USDA also has programs that may help, he said. USDA offers emergency loans and emergency conservation programs, such as debris removal, to help restore the land.

In addition to helping farmers get immediate aid, the new office will provide technical assistance and education to local governments and private organizations, and will present a report to the governor that will include ways to improve recovery efforts in the future.
“Hoosiers just showed America how people here look out for each other and respond quickly to disaster and to danger,” Daniels said. “It’s now important that we do as effective and competent a job at recovery as we did at response.”

CRP land released for grazing

Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) acres have been released for livestock grazing in counties designated as presidential disaster areas because of flooding, the USDA said in a statement last week.
The release permits grazing only in counties designated as primary and contiguous disaster areas, and only because of flooding.

To be approved, CRP participants must write their county Farm Service Agency office, obtain a modified conservation plan and receive county office approval before beginning to graze. Participants will experience a 25 percent reduction in their CRP rental payments.

States with counties that will permit livestock grazing include Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky and Ohio.

7/18/2008