Governor Mike Pence received word today that the Federal Emergency Management Agency has granted his appeal for federal assistance for the severe winter storms that impacted much of the state from Jan. 5-9.

The major disaster declaration from FEMA will allow grants to 19 counties, including Kosciusko County. The state can now request assistance for additional counties.

“This has been an arduous process, but the outcome is good news for Hoosiers,” said Governor Pence. “These grants will provide millions to local governments and select nonprofits that are hurting financially, and I congratulate the counties, cities and towns for their perseverance.”

Counties granted public assistance include: Boone, Clay, Hendricks, Huntington, Jasper, Kosciusko, Madison, Morgan, Newton, Noble**, Owen*, Parke, Putnam, Sullivan, Tipton, Vigo, Wabash, White and Whitley**.

All counties except Owen (designated by asterisk) also will receive 48 hours of snow assistance. Noble and Whitley counties (designated by two asterisks) will be provided 72 hours of snow assistance.

Kosciusko County Emergency Management Director Ed Rock said he cannot say how much money the county may receive in federal assistance, but he feels confident that when FEMA teams come to re-evaluate the costs associated with the winter storms, “we should still be around $250,000.”

Kosciusko County was covered in 39.9 inches of snow in January alone. According to the National Weather Service near North Webster, a total of 89.1 inches fell from Nov. 11, 2013, through March 17 of this year.

FEMA public assistance grants will pay 75 percent of eligible expenses for damage to roads, bridges, utilities, debris removal, buildings’ contents and equipment, water control facilities, parks and recreational facilities, and others, as well as emergency protective measures like traffic control and rescue operations in the aforementioned counties. The Indiana Department of Homeland Security will work with FEMA and local agencies to document allowable expenses.

Counties that were denied assistance include Allen, Benton, Blackford, Carroll, Cass, Clinton, DeKalb, Delaware, Elkhart, Fountain, Fulton, Grant, Hamilton, Hancock, Henry, Howard, Jay, Johnson, LaGrange, Lake, LaPorte, Marion, Miami, Montgomery, Rush, Shelby, Vanderburgh, Vermillion, Warren and Wells.