A federal disaster declaration has been approved to assist with the response and recovery efforts after flooding in Ellicott City. Maryland and Howard County will now be eligible for federal assistance to help pay costs associated with the response to and recovery from the July 30 flooding event that damaged much of Main Street in Ellicott City as well as surrounding areas.

From a Howard County Press Release,

By granting the declaration, federal assistance will be made available for expenses related to infrastructure repair and replacement, hazard mitigation projects, debris removal, and other costs associated with the storm. Kittleman said a FEMA declaration means that Howard County will be able to recover 75 percent of FEMA eligible costs.

“This is welcome news for the people of Ellicott City,” said Kittleman.“This Declaration will help us coordinate and take advantage of the many Federal resources available to us. These resources will help us implement long-term flood mitigation projects to rebuild Ellicott City to become a model resilient community. I am thankful to Governor Hogan and our Federal delegation for their continued support throughout this process.”

Kittleman, along with Senators Barbara Mikulski and Ben Cardin and representatives from Hogan’s and Congressman Elijah Cumming’s offices, met with FEMA on Wednesday where Kittleman stressed the urgency of receiving the disaster declaration.

Kittleman also noted that Howard County already had a head start on recovery efforts, with former State Senator and County Executive Jim Robey serving as a special advisor, a Community Advisory Group in place, and a list of possible mitigation projects put together by the Historic Ellicott City Flood Work Group that Kittleman established in 2015.

Read the full press release for more information.