Wednesday, September 7, 2011

Governor Cuomo Requests Federal Waivers

Waivers Would Allow Homeowners, Businesses and Farmers to be Eligible for Additional Coverage and Disaster Assistance Programs

Governor Andrew Cuomo sent a letter to U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator Craig Fugate requesting waivers to allow homeowners, businesses and farmers to retroactively enroll in federal flood insurance and crop insurance programs.

If granted, the waivers would allow New York farmers to receive financial assistance to support rehabilitation and recovery efforts in Hurricane Irene's aftermath, and would permit homeowners and small businesses to access the National Flood Insurance Program. Similar requests were made by federal, state, and local officials in the wake of other major disasters, including Hurricane Katrina.


Preliminary estimates indicate crop and agricultural damage totals in the tens of millions, with over 140,000 acres of farm land lost. The vast majority of New York farmers are not eligible for most federal disaster aid under USDA programs.

USDA requires that farmers be enrolled in crop insurance programs in order to receive farm disaster aid. However, enrollment in these programs makes little sense for New York farmers who grow specialty crops or plant on New York’s diverse landscapes.

As a result, New York farmers are locked out of most federal farm disaster aid. The waiver would permit farmers to receive up to $100,000 in federal aid, depending on the program, to rebuild their farms.


Homeowners and small businesses have also been hit hard. Due to the unexpected nature of the floods in upstate New York, which have been described by some experts as a "once in 500 year event," most residences and businesses are without flood insurance.

A retroactive enrollment and payment of premiums into the National Flood Insurance Program would provide support to homeowners and small businesses seeking to rebuild.


The letter is below:

Dear Secretary Vilsack and Administrator Fugate:

I want to take this opportunity to thank you for your visits to New York to view the devastating damage to our communities, businesses, homes, farms and agricultural lands from Hurricane Irene. The neighborhoods, downtowns, and farms that make up these impacted regions are the lifeblood of these rural communities and critical to the long term viability of upstate New York’s economy.

Given the location and rarity of such a severe flood event, many homeowners and business owners are not enrolled in federal flood insurance and thus may not be able to make claims on the damage done to their homes. Enabling New Yorkers in impacted areas to retroactively enroll in FEMA’s National Flood Insurance Program would provide a much needed lifeline to devastated communities at nominal cost to the federal government, and I ask you to take action to make that possible.

In addition, the USDA- Farm Service Agency estimates to date that approximately 5000 farms in New York incurred damage during the aftermath of Irene. The majority of the FSA Disaster Assistance Programs require the producer to be enrolled in crop insurance or the non-insured crop disaster assistance program (NAP) in order to be eligible for disaster relief. In New York State, only a small percentage of the state’s 35,250 eligible farms are insured. For New York, crop insurance is not efficient for our producers as the program has been designed for large mid-west flatland operations and not geared towards the smaller, diverse specialty crop operations of New York. Given the statewide enrollment rate, it is estimated that only a handful of those farms that incurred damage carried crop insurance or were enrolled in NAP.

Given the unique nature of New York’s agriculture and incompatibility of the crop insurance requirement, I request a waiver that will allow producers to retroactively enroll in crop insurance and NAP in order to be eligible for all disaster assistance programs. A waiver of the requirement for farmers to have previously obtained crop insurance in order to be eligible for federal disaster aid is an appropriate step given the unique circumstances of this event and the critical impact that losing these farms would have on the upstate New York communities that you visited.

I am committed to working with you in the future to make the permanent adjustments necessary in the federal flood insurance program and the USDA disaster assistance program so as to accommodate the needs of all types and sizes of agricultural operations.

I appreciate your consideration of this matter and look forward to hearing your response. Once again, thank you for taking the time to visit New York and view first-hand the tragedy of Hurricane Irene.

    Sincerely,


    ANDREW M. CUOMO

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