PUBLIC ASSISTANCE APPLICATION DEADLINE EXTENSIONS

OKLAHOMA CITY - The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management (OEM) remind local government officials of approaching deadlines to apply for Public Assistance related to the Jan. 12 Ice Storm. Under Public Assistance, the federal government pays 75 percent of costs of debris removal, infrastructure repairs, emergency protective measure and restoration of utilities. The state and local governments each pay 12.5 percent.

The deadline to file a Request for Public Assistance (RPA) for Oklahoma counties declared on Feb. 1 and Feb. 2 has been extended to March 15. This deadline applies to the following 22 counties: Adair, Atoka, Bryan, Cherokee, Coal, Cotton, Craig, Delaware, Haskell, Hughes, Johnston, Latimer, Mayes, McIntosh, Muskogee, Okfuskee, Okmulgee, Ottawa, Pittsburg, Seminole, Sequoyah and Wagoner.

The deadline to file an RPA for Oklahoma counties declared on Feb. 21 is March 22. This deadline applies to the following 20 counties: Alfalfa, Canadian, Comanche, Dewey, Garvin, Grant, Greer, Jackson, Jefferson, Kay, Lincoln, Osage, Pontotoc, Pottawatomie, Rogers, Tillman, Tulsa, Washington, Washita and Woods.

The deadline to file an RPA for Oklahoma counties declared on March 5 is April 3. This deadline applies to Cleveland and McClain counties.

The RPA marks the first step toward accessing the federal disaster Public Assistance program. In addition to cities, towns and counties, state governments, Indian tribes or other tribal organizations and certain private non-profit organizations are also eligible for assistance.

###