President Trump Amends U.S. Virgin Islands Disaster Declarations

• The amendment includes a 100 percent federal cost share for debris removal

President Donald J. Trump on Thursday made additional disaster assistance available to the territory of the U.S. Virgin Islands by authorizing an extension of increased federal funding for debris removal and emergency protective measures, including direct Federal assistance, under the Public Assistance program, the Trump administration announced today. This extension applies to the major disaster declarations for Hurricanes Irma and Maria.

On September 26, 2017, Mr. Trump authorized a 100 percent federal cost share for debris removal and emergency protective measures, including direct federal assistance, for 180 days from the start of the incident period for Hurricane Irma. The president gave the same approval and duration for Hurricane Maria on October 3.

Under Mr. Trump’s Thursday order, the time periods for 100 percent federal funding for debris removal and emergency protective measures, including direct federal assistance, have been extended for 60 days, according to the White House.

In a statement issued today, Delegate to Congress Stacey Plaskett said with the federal government now fully at the helm of the removal, residents should rest assured the hurricane-related refuse will be removed.

“The debris build-up on the U.S. Virgin Islands left by Hurricanes Irma and Maria has reached devastating heights. Under a mission assignment from FEMA, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has been in charge of the timetable for collecting and removing debris,” Ms. Plaskett said. “Over the past 4½ months, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and local contractors have collected more than 736,000 cubic yards of debris — the equivalent of 61,000 truckloads. As the mountains of wreckage continue to grow, crowding landfills and littering roadsides, we now know that the federal government will cover 100% of the cost to rid us of the debris tarnishing the islands’ famous Caribbean landscapes.”