By admin 
The Trump administration has denied Alaska’s request for a larger federal cost share for disaster recovery efforts following devastation wrought by the remnants of Typhoon Halong in Western Alaska last fall.
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In a May 31 denial letter, a senior official with the Federal Emergency Management Agency denied the state’s appeal for a 90% federal cost reimbursement for the first three months following the disaster, saying the request for additional funding was “not warranted.”
The denial leaves the federal government covering 75%, and the state covering the remaining 25% of disaster recovery costs, putting Alaska on the hook for tens of millions of dollars.
Gov. Mike Dunleavy claimed the federal government would fully reimburse the state for the first 90 days of immediate disaster relief and recovery efforts, when President Trump signed a federal disaster declaration in October.
But FEMA denied the request for full reimbursement in December. The state appealed and requested a 90% federal cost reimbursement, and that request was again denied on May 31.
Officials with Dunleavy’s office did not comment on the decision on Tuesday or Wednesday.
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In the letter, the FEMA official said the department will continue to monitor the costs and could consider a 90% federal cost share if the costs run up to a certain level established by federal law.
Jeremy Zidek, public information officer with the Alaska Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, which oversees the state’s disaster response, said by email Tuesday the 75% federal cost share is standard. He said that reimbursement rate will be for all past and future disaster recovery costs related to the storm.
“After the denial of the state’s 90/10 request the state is still in a good position to address all 2025 West Coast Storm related funding requirements which are eligible for state disaster recovery programs and to fund the federal cost share,” he said.
There is not yet a full cost estimate for the Western Alaska storm disaster, including ex-Typhoon Halong. In February, the division’s director, Bryan Fisher, told lawmakers the latest FEMA assessment at that time was $125 million.
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