DeKalb County Denied Federal Aid for Snowstorm

By Kristal Dixon

A winter storm that swept through DeKalb County in mid-February did not cause enough damage to warrant federal aid.

That's according to a press release from the office of Gov. Nathan Deal, who announced Thursday evening that 39 counties received federal disaster declaration from President Barack Obama.

The ruling allows the feds to reimburse 75 percent of "eligible expenditures and damage costs" in relation to the storm that hit Feb. 10-14, the press release states. 

The 39 counties were: Baldwin, Bulloch, Burke, Butts, Candler, Carroll, Columbia, Coweta, Dade, Emanuel, Fayette, Fulton, Gilmer, Glascock, Hancock, Haralson, Heard, Jasper, Jefferson, Jenkins, Johnson, Jones, Lamar, McDuffie, Meriwether, Monroe, Morgan, Newton, Pickens, Pike, Richmond, Screven, Spalding, Upson, Walker, Warren, Washington, Whitfield and Wilkes counties.

Cherokee, Bartow, Cobb, Dawson, DeKalb, Forsyth, Paulding, Polk and White counties were included in the governor's request, but not granted assistance "due to not meeting the per capita threshold of $3.50 per person," the governor's office said in a release.

"The winter weather that overtook our state in mid-February caused millions of dollars' worth of damage in many parts of our state," Deal said. "The state of Georgia mobilized significant resources to ensure the safety of our citizens and our property during a time of crisis, and our costs far exceeded the federal threshold for disaster assistance. I appreciate the cooperation of President Obama and FEMA during this response effort."