The Minnesota Senate today took steps to prepare for potential flood damage and other natural disasters by approving a bill authored by Sen. Warren Limmer (R-Maple Grove), chairman of the Senate Judiciary and Public Safety Committee, which would transfer $10 million to the state’s Disaster Assistance Contingency Account.

“When natural disasters strike we rely on our neighbors to help with the rebuild process,” said Sen. Warren Limmer. “As a state, we have always made it a priority to help our fellow Minnesotans through difficult times, be it tornadoes, straight-line winds, severe thunderstorms, flooding or relentless blizzards. Funding the disaster contingency account gets the money to a place where it can easily and quickly flow to the people who are in need. The account has a proven track record of success, and I’m glad we had such bipartisan commitment to it yet again.”

The account currently has a balance of only $500,000 due to an unusually large number of disasters in 2018.

One of those disasters occurred in St. Louis County. In late October, FEMA declared a major disaster in St. Louis County after gale force winds, damaging waves, and flood damage caused significant damage. The original estimate for the state share of the disaster was $2.9 million. The overall estimate of the state share increased to about $4 million in February, when FEMA made the disaster declaration official.

Replenishing the Disaster Assistance Contingency Account will expedite recovery and rebuilding efforts.

“When severe storms hit St. Louis County last October they left a trail of damage behind,” continued Sen. Limmer. “Rebuilding is always difficult, but people who live there can breathe easier now because help is on the way.”

The state typically replenishes the account with a $10 million appropriation each year to cover cleanup efforts based on an average number of disasters, but the appropriation is not built into the budget and must be made each biennium.

Minnesota created the Disaster Assistance Contingency Account in 2014 to cover the state’s share of disaster recovery costs in a timely manner, both during session and interim. The Department of Public Safety’s Homeland Security and Emergency Management Division oversees the account and distributes funding to disaster zones as necessary.

The state share for Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) declarations is a 25% match, with the rest coming from the federal government.