Dakota County won't get any federal-disaster aid in the wake of this summer's storms and rampant floods, but it will get money from the state.
Minnesota is newly able to step in when federal funds aren't available, thanks to a law passed during the latest legislative session. Dakota is one of two counties set to receive state aid for damage sustained in storms and floods between June and July — rural Morrison County was the first to benefit from the new law.
The state will work directly with affected cities, reimbursing 75 percent of costs sustained through storm and flood damage between June 11 and July 11.
"We've never really been able to do that in any coordinated manner," said Minnesota emergency management director Kris Eide.
In Dakota County, the state will kick in 75 percent of about $1.3 million, based on a preliminary damage assessment conducted in July.
Gov. Mark Dayton earlier this year signed legislation establishing a state fund that provides aid to local communities after natural disasters.
Following news Tuesday of the denial from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Dayton directed Eide to provide state aid to Dakota County. In a letter, he said she could allocate both funds and other types of assistance as needed.
FEMA's denial came after the state's second request for funds. The federal agency put the county's storm and flood damage at just over $1 million — under the threshold for federal assistance, based on the county's population — after concluding that a landslide in Mendota was not triggered by the heavy rains that pounded the area.
