FEMA brings federal share of Port of Alaska quake storm drain repairs to $2.34 million

The Federal Emergency Management Agency added about $3,900 on Tuesday to the Municipality of Anchorage's storm drainage system repairs at the Port of Alaska, bringing the federal share to $2.34 million of a $2.6 million project, FEMA's project data shows.

The work is part of recovery from the Nov. 30, 2018, earthquake. The project includes $382,150 for mitigation, work meant to reduce the risk of repeat damage rather than only restore the system to its pre-quake condition. FEMA lists it under roads and bridges.

An obligation is a federal commitment of money to a specific approved project. FEMA first obligated about $1.3 million for the storm drains on Feb. 26, 2021, then added about $260,000 in May 2022 and about $777,000 in December 2023. Tuesday's addition was the fourth.

The federal government covers 90 percent of eligible costs under a 2022 amendment to the disaster declaration. The original declaration generally limited the federal share to 75 percent.

FEMA declared the disaster Jan. 31, 2019, authorizing Public Assistance, its grant program for repairing damaged public facilities, in Anchorage and the Kenai Peninsula and Mat-Su boroughs. Public Assistance obligated for the whole disaster stands at about $186.3 million.

Other quake projects adjusted this fall include the Thomas Training Center on Eagle Glacier, now at a $7.5 million federal share, and an Anchorage School District project, where FEMA took back about $288,000 as it closed the project out.

At an Anchorage Assembly Budget and Finance Committee meeting in August, Office of Management and Budget Director Ona Brause said the city was under $10 million in remaining FEMA earthquake reimbursements. In September, she told the committee, "FEMA is still processing through some of the outstanding earthquake projects."