DisastersTexas to appeal FEMA decision not to declare West, Texas a disaster area

The Federal Emergency Management Agency said President Obama would not declare  West, Texas a disaster area in the wake of the  massive fertilizer plant explosion there two months ago, and Texas governor Rick Perry is not happy.

“I was on the stage when the president looked into the eyes of the people of West, Texas, and said we’re going to do everything we can to make sure you are taken care of,” Perry told reporters at the State Capitol. “This doesn’t square with that.”

CBS DFW reports that FEMA officials said the request for presidential declaration was denied because Texas could not explain  why it could not come up with  the money – estimated to be $17 million — for  cleanup and recovery.

“Texas’ request… was denied because there was no evidence presented that the state of Texas lacked the fiscal resources to address the remaining $17 million,” FEMA officials said.

CBS DFW notes that Texas’s two-year budget, which takes effect in September, totals $197 billion, and that the state’s “rainy day fund” is expected to reach $8 billion in 2015.

Speaking at the State Capitol last week, Perry told reporters: “We haven’t made a decision on whether we’re going to ask them to reconsider that or not.”

Perry did say that his office will most likely appeal FEMA’s decision because Obama promised to not abandon West.

“Maybe FEMA wasn’t paying attention or maybe FEMA didn’t get the message from the President that he has told these people that he’s going to do everything that he can,” Perry told reporters.

West’s mayor Tommy Muska estimates the city will need $17 million to repair roads, pipes, and a sewage system.  West School Superintendent Marty Crawford saidthe West Independent School District expects it will cost $86 million to $96 million to rebuild three schools, with insurance likely to cover about two-thirds of that.

To date, FEMA and the Small Business Administration (SBA) have provided more than $7 million in grants and low-interest loans to West victims. The deadline to apply for the grants is Tuesday.

Muska admitted he was upset when he found out about the decision last Tuesday, but he’s feeling more confident about the situation.

“I feel better today. The President said he was going to be with us and not forget about us, and I take him as a man of his word. He has the ability to call up and say look, do you think this is the right thing to do?”