U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet has requested that the federal government’s auditing agency review the roadblocks to communities that exist in the Emergency Watershed Protection Program.

“In 2018, Colorado also had one of its most destructive fire years ever, with over 400,000 acres burned across the state. Major wildfires included the Spring Creek Fire in Costilla and Huerfano Counties, the 416 Fire in La Plata County, and the Lake Christine Fire in Eagle County,” Bennet wrote in a letter with U.S. Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, to the Government Accountability Office.

The senators said that there is “concern” with how communities access EWP funds. They requested that the GAO examine any eligibility restrictions on special districts, how projects are reimbursed after a natural disaster, and how to improve disaster recovery in rural areas.

The EWP offers financial and technical assistance after disasters that affect communities’ watersheds. The activities it funds include removing debris from streams, reshaping eroded stream banks, repairing levees, and addressing damaged drainage facilities.

EWP cannot correct problems that existed before the disaster or improve an area beyond what existed before disaster struck.

In 2016, Colorado received $10.2 million from EWP following flooding in Colorado Springs and the Waldo Canyon Fire. Only Mississippi, Texas, and Utah received more money, also due to heavy rains.