KENTUCKY TODAY

Residents in parts of eastern Kentucky covered by the Presidential Disaster Declaration may be able to get financial aid from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to repair privately owned driveways, roads, and bridges.

Assistance for those privately-owned access routes is intended to restore access to the owner’s primary residence.

If you have reported damage to FEMA and receive a dollar amount between $179 – $195, you may have received this money to pay a contractor to inspect and provide an estimate of the cost to repair damage to your HVAC, septic system, well, retaining wall or single-family road or bridge.  After you receive the contractor’s estimate, file an appeal, which can be done in several ways:

• Bring the appeal to a local Disaster Recovery Center.  Locations can be found at fema.gov/drc

• Mailing Address: Individuals and Households Program, National Processing Service Center; P.O. Box 10055; Hyattsville, MD 20782-8055

• Fax Number: 800-827-8112

• If a Disaster Assistance Center account has been created, applicants can also upload documents through the Upload Center in their online account at disasterassistance.gov.

For instances where multiple households use a privately-owned access route, FEMA encourages all homeowners to apply for aid to help all affected households.  Where multiple homes share a privately-owned access route, assistance is shared between applicants, requiring additional coordination and documentation between FEMA and the applicants.  In some cases, more than one owner may receive funds for a contractor’s estimate.  Please be sure to use these funds as intended.  FEMA also requires:

• Written consent from all applicants as pertains to the shared privately-owned access route.

• A declarative statement affirming any assistance FEMA provides will be used to make repairs to the access route and the applicant understands they are responsible for getting permits and complying with local codes and ordinances.

• The households are not part of a homeowner’s association or covenant responsible for repair of the access route, or the established homeowner’s association or covenant is unable to receive assistance from the U.S. Small Business Administration or private insurance to repair the access route.

• A FEMA inspection determines repairs are necessary for drivable access to the primary residence.

• The applicant is responsible (or shares responsibility with other homeowners) for maintaining the privately-owned access route to their primary residence.

• The privately-owned access route is the only way to reach the applicant’s primary residence; repair (or replacement) of a secondary route is necessary for practical use (for example, it is impossible to access the residence without a bridge or road); or the safety of the occupants or the residence would be adversely affected because state or local government emergency equipment (ambulances, firetrucks) cannot reach the residence.

To apply, call FEMA at 800-621-6632, visit disasterassistance.gov, or download the FEMA mobile app.