Schumer Pushes Feds T Cut Red Tape And Approve Fed Funding To Rebuild Broome County's Glen Aubry Fire Department Outside Of Flood Zone Feds Have Previously Denied Funding For Relocation, Depriving Community Of Essential Fire & Public Safety Services

Press Release

U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer today urged the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Administrator Craig Fugate to approve federal funding to rebuild and relocate the Glen Aubrey Fire Department out of the flood zone. The fire department, which was destroyed in 2011 during Tropical Storm Lee, has been denied the funding needed to relocate its facility outside the flood. Schumer said Glen Aubrey's initial application to relocate had been denied by FEMA due to technicalities and must be reconsidered. Schumer said that the Glen Aubrey Fire Department in Broome County initially applied for FEMA funding following the storm to relocate outside the flood zone (the building had been inundated on two previous occasions). Due to continuous flood risk, the facility needs to be relocated to provide efficient and effective emergency services. FEMA denied the request for relocation in 2013, and the facility's application has been mired in red tape and stuck in eternal appeal since Fall 2013.

Recently, Senator Schumer urged Administrator Fugate to consider the 428 Alternative Procedure process for the project, which would expedite funding and provide additional flexibility for this critical public safety facility. In yet another roadblock, FEMA has since said that the project may not be eligible for the Alternative Procedures process because they have begun construction on the facility. Senator Schumer strongly disagrees with this. Glen Aubrey has repeatedly stated that they've only made bare bones repairs to keep facility operational and continue to carry out their duty to protect Broome County residents, as well as to ensure that the building is compliant with Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) standards. The Fire Department has also not yet begun any construction on the new facility. As a result, Schumer urged FEMA to reconsider this request and expeditiously approve federal funds for a new Glen Aubrey fire department facility.

"Enough already. For three years now, FEMA has put up bureaucratic hurdles and mounds of red tape that have prevented the Glen Aubrey Fire Department from getting the funding it needs and deserves to relocate its facility outside the flood plain so it can effectively protect life and property for the people of this community," said Senator Schumer. "After its facilities were destroyed during Tropical Storm Lee, the Fire Department made some changes to ensure the it would at least be able to operate for the safety of residents, but no good deed goes unpunished and this wise decision is now coming back to haunt Glen Aubrey. The fact that FEMA is dragging its feet on the quicker 428 alternative procedure because of minimal repairs made to an old facility is flat-out wrong. So I am urging FEMA Administrator Fugate to reconsider his agency's position and give Glen Aubrey the funding it needs to move its fire department to a safe location outside the flood zone. I will not let federal bureaucrats sit on their hands while this fire department remains in harm's way."

Schumer said that the Glen Aubrey Fire Department was destroyed in Tropical Storm Lee, prompting the need to ask for federal funding to begin reconstruction. Although the fire department completed some minor repairs to ensure the facility could remain functional, it still lies in the heart of the region's flood plain. Schumer says as long as the Glen Aubrey Fire Department remains in the flood zone it risks the threat of further flood damage. Schumer said this increases the need to allocate federal funding to Glen Aubrey to move its fire department to a safe location outside the flood zone. Schumer said because of the facility's rural location and due to the history of flooding in the region, the Glen Aubrey Fire Department risks having an inoperable public safety facility. Due to significant delays with FEMA Appeal Process, Glen Aubrey and Senator Schumer requested that FEMA consider the 428 Alternative Procedure in 2014 to expedite funding for this integral Broome County facility. In his December 2014 letter, Schumer recommended the alternative procedures process as a means to expeditiously resolve the project, so the village can rebuild the facility they need to protect Broome County residents. FEMA responded that the facility may be ineligible for the 428 process because the village had completed a significant amount of construction, and said that a final decision on the village's eligibility could not be made until the appeal, which was submitted in fall 2013, was adjudicated.

Schumer disputed FEMA's reasoning of its funding denial on two fronts. First, these bare bones repairs were necessary because without them the facility would not meet OSHA standards and would pose a major public safety risk to Glen Aubrey and surrounding areas. Schumer said that despite these repairs the facility was still in the flood zone and as such was at risk for further flood damage, and so the village still needed a new, relocated facility. Second, Schumer said Glen Aubrey's request under the 428 process was made in order to expedite the decision on relocation which has been under the first appeal since September 2013. FEMA stated that Glen Aubrey's ability to participate in the 428 process would be made after a final decision on the first appeal is reached, which has only prolonged the village's recovery process even further.

Schumer urged Administrator Fugate to make a decision as soon as possible on funding for the Glen Aubrey Fire Department relocation project. Schumer said the longer FEMA waits, the longer the Glen Aubrey Fire Department is at risk for flood damage. Schumer says this is especially dangerous given that New York is currently in the midst of flood season. Schumer said that if another flood damages Glen Aubrey Fire Department beyond repair, this area of Broome County will be without essential public safety service.

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