Published: 11/28/2006
Day 5: Romney seeks federal aid for explosion victims
By Edward MasonStaff writer
Gov. Mitt Romney yesterday sought federal relief for victims of last Wednesday's pre-dawn blast that leveled homes and businesses in Danvers.
Romney asked the U.S. Small Business Administration to declare an emergency in Danvers, which would free up millions of dollars in low-interest loans to help the North Shore town recover.
Small Business Administration assistance depends on at least 25 primary residences or businesses having at least 40 percent of their damages not covered by insurance.
Administration officials are also considering asking for a disaster declaration from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which would help the town's government pay for the cost of cleanup and recovery. To receive the FEMA declaration, Danvers must have at least $7.7 million of damage to public buildings or overtime costs of police, fire and cleanup crews.
Late yesterday, Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency chief Cristine McCombs met with Romney aides, as well as Rep. Ted Speliotis, D-Danvers, and a top aide to Sen. Fred Berry, D-Peabody.
Peter Judge, a Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency spokesman, said his agency is confident Danvers met the SBA threshold but is still collecting data to show it can meet the FEMA requirement.
A Small Business Administration emergency declaration would let homeowners or renters borrow up to $200,000 from the SBA for real estate repairs, and as much as $40,000 to replace personal property. Business owners could borrow up to $1.5 million to fix damaged businesses. The loans come with low interest rates, 3 percent for individuals and 4 percent for businesses.
With a Federal Emergency Management Agency declaration, Danvers could be reimbursed for up to 75 percent of the cost of cleaning up the blast-ravaged area.
The Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency spent the weekend compiling loss information from some 153 Danvers families and businesses. The state also had officials from the Massachusetts Division of Insurance visit Danvers to answer insurance questions.
After the May 12 flood, Romney asked for and received a federal disaster declaration for Essex, Middlesex and part of Suffolk counties.
So far, Massachusetts residents have received $71 million in federal assistance. Of that, municipal governments received $16 million in grants to cover their costs, while individual aid has totaled $14 million. The Small Business Administration made $41 million in low-interest loans to businesses and homeowners.
