El Paso County and Colorado Springs expect to receive millions in federal disaster assistance funding to help recover from storms, flooding and tornadoes that blasted the region in June, officials announced Monday.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency has “validated” at least $8.3 million in damages across El Paso County to roads, bridges, and stormwater and parks facilities stemming from extreme weather that hit the region between June 8-23, Pikes Peak Regional Office of Emergency Management director Andrew Notbohm said.

Biden issues disaster declaration for Colorado after June storms, flooding

President Joe Biden on Friday issued a disaster declaration for Colorado, ensuring funding is available to help the state after extreme weather hit El Paso, Cheyenne, Douglas, Elbert, Kit Carson and Lincoln counties in June and July.

“This is the first step into now a longer process. Recovery is a marathon,” Notbohm said Monday afternoon. 

The Pikes Peak Regional Office of Emergency Management in late June asked El Paso County residents to report damage caused by historic rainstorms to help officials better gauge financial impact to the region.

After storms dumped more than an average year’s worth of rain between April and June, El Paso County and Colorado Springs officials approved a disaster declaration resolution in hopes of securing federal infrastructure repair funding. By late June, Colorado Springs had received 16 inches of rainfall since April – surpassing the average 15.9 inches the city receives in one year, according to the National Weather Service.

In total, damage reported by municipal and county public works and other departments within El Paso County by late June exceeded $19.5 million. To receive federal aid, the state had to meet a verified $10.2 million threshold for damages, Notbohm said Monday.

After state and Federal Emergency Management Agency officials conducted a joint preliminary damage assessment in El Paso County in late June to facilities damaged in the recent weather events, they verified just over $8.3 million in needed repairs across the city and county, he said.

State and federal officials determined El Paso County needed about $384,000 for debris removal, just under $2 million to restore roads and bridges, about $1.6 million to repair damaged stormwater facilities and around $4.3 million to fix parks, recreation and other facilities, he said.

Notbohm expects the county will receive more federal disaster funding as local officials identify additional eligible projects, including in municipalities like Fountain, Monument and Green Mountain Falls. 

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To receive disaster funds, the project applicant must be a government or nonprofit entity; the project must relate to public infrastructure, including utilities; and the work must address an immediate threat or restore roads, bridges, stormwater facilities, buildings or equipment, utilities, or parks and other recreational facilities. 

“Some of (the damage) we initially gave to FEMA they determined was not maybe eligible, but there’s a lot of work out there that is eligible work that we haven’t looked at yet and verified,” Notbohm said.

It could take three to four months for local officials to review the projects applying for disaster assistance funding and determine whether they are eligible, he said. Once a project is approved, the state will facilitate the receipt of federal funds and the project can get underway. 

Depending on their scope and cost, projects could take years to complete; the last time a president declared a flood disaster in the area was for flooding along the Front Range in mid- to early September 2013, officials said. It wasn’t until 2022 that the city completed the last repair project from that disaster, said Tim Biolchini, a program manager for stormwater capital projects in Colorado Springs.

Notbohm could not say Monday how many city or county projects would now apply for the federal funding Biden approved last week.

Over the course of several storms between June 12 and June 22, El Paso County shut down about 40 roads, including five bridges, in its northeastern and southeastern areas, county digital specialist Deborah Contreras said. Many of the closed roadways included portions of Ellicott, Falcon and Peyton highways and their nearby interweaving rural roads in the eastern part of the county.

All of the roads “have been made safe” and reopened to the public, Contreras said, but some of the right-of-way areas associated with the roads need additional permanent work, such as installing culverts, re-establishing channels and reinforcing streambanks with protective coverings like rocks, vegetation or riprap.

The federal funds could help repair stormwater facilities in Colorado Springs, such as multiple embankments along Sand Creek south of Airport Road and along Wildflower Park, which sustained damage in the June 12 storm that dumped hail and a record 4.02 inches of rain for the date.

In the meantime, the city and county have addressed high-priority problem areas to ensure public safety. The entities can then apply to the federal government for reimbursement of up to 75% of the cost, Notbohm said.

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The federal disaster public assistance funding will pay for public infrastructure needs and is not applicable to private property repairs, including businesses, regional officials said in a Monday news release. Private property owners should contact their insurance agencies to discuss coverage options.

Depending on financial ability or other factors, some resources for individuals might be available; residents should call 211 for more information, officials said.