JAY — President Joseph Biden issued a federal disaster declaration Tuesday for damages done to roads in Franklin County during severe rain and flash flooding on June 29.

The storm damage caused more than $6.5 million in infrastructure damage in the county with the bulk of it, nearly $4 million, in Jay. Some roads in Jay are still not through ways of travel. The storm also wiped out a section of the state-owned Whistle Stop Trail in Jay, which is estimated at $860,000 to repair.

The county’s estimated damage and the state infrastructure’s damage, not including state roads, is about $4.6 million.

Chesterville reported $19,094.79 in preliminary damage and Wilton reported $9,000, Sara Bickford, deputy director of Franklin County Emergency Agency, said previously.

In addition, there was also an estimated $1.8 million in damage not factored into the preliminary estimates for the county that was done to state roads in Franklin County, a state spokesman previously said.

The Whistle Stop Trail,  multi-use trail, is closed for the year from Steve’s Family Market in Wilton to Jay Plaza. The other ends from Wilton to Farmington and from Jay Plaza to Livermore Falls are open to trail travel.

In Jay alone for its damaged roads and 1,300 feet of sewer lines, the total cost is about $7.9 million to repair and gain temporary access to the roads during the fall and winter months, according to town officials.

The affected towns are responsible for about 10% of the cost. It includes donations and in-kind work already done. The federal government’s share is 75% and the state’s share is 15%.

A section of state Route 133 in Jay has also been closed since June 29.

“There are two large sections left to pave. It could be a couple more weeks depending on if the weather cooperates. It seems like we are heading into a dry spell, so that is good for outdoor construction,” Paul Merrill, spokesman for the Maine Department of Transportation, wrote in an email on Aug. 31.

Gov. Janet Mills and U.S. Sens. Susan Collins and Angus King, and Reps. Chellie Pingree and Jared Golden, all of Maine, applauded Biden’s approval of the disaster declaration on Tuesday, according to a joint news statement sent out by the representatives of the state and federal government.

Mills requested the president to issue a Major Disaster Declarations last month for storms that brought heavy rainfall and flooding on June 29 in Franklin County and June 26 in Oxford County that resulted in public infrastructure damage beyond the state’s capability to address, according to the release.

The Major Disaster Declaration for the June 26 storm in Oxford County is still pending.

“We are grateful that President Biden has approved Maine’s request for a Major Disaster Declaration,” said Governor Janet Mills and Maine’s Congressional Delegation in a joint statement. “This declaration will make available critical Federal funding that Maine will use to complete costly infrastructure repairs following the severe rain and flooding in Franklin County.”

President Biden’s approval of the Major Disaster Declaration unlocks federal assistance through the Public Assistance Program. The Public Assistance Program provides supplemental grants to State, local, and Tribal governments so communities can quickly respond to and recover from major disasters or emergencies, according to the release.

The declaration also unlocks federal funding through the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program for the entire State of Maine. The Hazard Mitigation Grant Program provides funding to state, local, and Tribal and governments so they can develop hazard mitigation plans and rebuild in a way that reduces, or mitigates, future disaster losses in their communities.

On July 10, Maine formally requested a Joint Preliminary Damage Assessment for public assistance for Franklin County from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. On-site assessments validated $6.5 million in infrastructure damage, including local and state. On July 18, Maine formally requested a damage assessment for Oxford County, which validated $2.6 million in infrastructure damage.

Now that the declaration is issued, the federal agency will work with the towns on what they actually have for damages and to verify all the projects to move forward with each town, Amanda Simoneau, director of Franklin County EMA, said Wednesday.

Preliminary estimates were collected for consideration of a federal declaration of disaster to get money for repairs. Otherwise, towns and the state would have had to pay for the repairs.

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