FRANKFORT, Ky. — FEMA has approved $ 1,917,941 to the Commonwealth of Kentucky to help the Mayfield Electric & Water Systems (Mayfield EWS) defray the costs of emergency protective measures taken following December 2021 tornadoes.
During the incident period, severe storms, straight-line winds, flooding, and E4 tornadoes caused widespread and prolonged electric power outages in the city of Mayfield, Graves County, Kentucky. This created an immediate threat to the health and safety of the public. As a result, Mayfield EWS sustained damages to water, sewer, and electrical lines throughout multiple locations. In response, the applicant will utilize contract labor to restore the electrical and water system back to its pre-disaster design, function, and capacity within the existing footprint.
Mayfield EWS will use these funds to remove and replace 65,548 linear feet (LF) of service conductors and related hardware, 27,436 LF of primary conductor and related hardware, 398 electric meters and related hardware, 226 pole-mounted light fixtures, 329 additional hardware components, 67 crossarms, 222 poles of various sizes, and 223 each of transformers of various sizes.
Funding for this Public Assistance project is authorized under Section 403 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, reimbursing eligible applicants for the cost of debris removal; life-saving emergency protective measures; and the repair, replacement or restoration of disaster-damaged facilities like buildings, roads and utilities.
FEMA’s Public Assistance grant program is an essential source of funding for communities recovering from a federally declared disaster or emergency. The Kentucky Division of Emergency Management (KYEM) works with FEMA during all phases of the PA program and conducts final reviews of FEMA-approved projects.
Applicants work directly with FEMA to develop project worksheets and scopes of work. Following approvals by FEMA and KYEM, FEMA obligates funding for the project.
FEMA’s Public Assistance program provides grants to state, tribal, and local governments, and certain types of private non-profit organizations including some houses of worship, so that communities can quickly respond to and recover from major disasters or emergencies.
The federal share for Public Assistance projects for this disaster is 90 percent of the eligible cost. The commonwealth determines how the non-federal share of the cost of a project (up to 10 percent) is split with the sub-recipients like local and county governments.
