HERMANN – The mounting expense of repairing Gasconade County roads damaged by this year’s ongoing heavy rains will be offset somewhat by federal dollars that have been freed up through a presidential disaster declaration.

Acting on the formal request from Gov. Mike Kehoe, President Donald Trump earlier this month issued a major disaster declaration covering 34 counties that were hit hard by storms from June 4-18. Included in those counties are Gasconade and Osage, which experienced significant damage to their gravel roads. Much time and effort have been spent by the Gasconade County Road Department in making repairs to the county roads, which continue to be hammered by a series of storms that have struck the region this summer.

The presidential declaration clears the way for funds in the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) Public Assistance program to be allocated to Missouri. The State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) oversees the distribution of the funds to local governments. The preliminary disaster assessment of the June 4-18 storms amounted to about $32.3 million.

Kehoe formally made the request for the declaration on July 9. Ironically, that’s the start date for another period of storms that rakes the state causing damage to public infrastructure and which resulted in another request for a presidential declaration. The White House has yet to act on that request.

How long it will take for the FEMA funds to make their way to the counties isn’t clear. As noted by Gasconade County Presiding Commissioner Tim Schulte, R-Hermann, during a Commission session earlier this summer, some counties in the region have been waiting to receive funds that were authorized by presidential declarations two years ago.