Bow Valley residents still waiting 15 months since the flood last year to access disaster recovery funds, or have their application appealed, may see some relief soon.
Newly-minted Premier Jim Prentice announced last week he would triple staffing to the Disaster Recovery Program (DRP) to complete the more than 600 current appeals filed against decisions to deny compensation.
“The waters receded more than a year ago, but for many Albertans, last summer’s floods are far from over,” Prentice said. “Those directly affected by this disaster have told me they expect their government to act faster to help them feel safe in their communities and get on with their lives. We are responding with a comprehensive mitigation plan and more resources to meet Albertans’ needs.”
The added staffing to the DRP was announced in addition to two mitigation projects to protect High River and Calgary: a south diversion of the Highwood River and a Room for the River dry reservoir in the Springbank area. Both are set to undergo environmental assessment and public consultation.
The goal of the added DRP staff, said the premier, is to settle all outstanding appeals by December 2014.
“Flood-affected Albertans want to move on and put this disaster behind them. Increasing the number of appeals officers will significantly enhance our ability to respond to outstanding DRP applications to benefit those in need,” Prentice said.
The province’s DRP program is run by a third party consultant – LandLink Consulting. However, earlier this year the province indicated it would terminate the contract once the June 2013 flood applications to the program are completed.
More than 10,500 individual DRP applications have been made since the flood. More than 8,000 have been closed so far and 677 files are currently in appeal.
There have been 279 DRP applications in Canmore and 230 are considered complete. In Exshaw, 86 applications were received and 74 considered complete.
As to how many Bow Valley residents have appealed their decisions, the province would not provide the Outlook with that number.
“We do not track appeals specific to each community,” wrote public affairs officer Andrea McDonald in an email. “Overall, we have received 669 appeal applications and 240 have moved through to completion, with an additional $7,436,316.87 being paid out to those applicants.”
According to a press release, 120 appeals were filed from Calgary residents and 338 from High River. That leaves 221 appeals filed by Albertans in other parts of the province.
Prentice also announced the establishment of a cabinet Public Safety Committee to be chaired by the Minister of Municipal Affairs, to ensure the government can respond quickly and effectively in the event of a future disaster. The committee will take over the long-term recovery responsibilities of the Southern Alberta Ministerial Taskforce until recovery is complete.
