Additional $1M in funding to help Arkansas
with winter storm recovery efforts awarded by US Labor Department

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Labor today announced a $1,013,495 National Emergency Grant incremental award to continue cleanup and recovery efforts in the wake of a severe storm that affected 14 counties in Arkansas on Dec. 5 and 6, 2013. These funds, awarded to the Arkansas Department of Workforce Services, will provide for the continuation of temporary employment for eligible individuals to assist with the cleanup of the affected areas.

"Today's summer temperatures make the severe storms of the winter season hard to remember," said U.S. Secretary of Labor Thomas E. Perez. "But the work to recover from those severe storms continues and the federal funds we're awarding today will assist the state with completing this work."

On Jan. 6, 2014, the Federal Emergency Management Agency declared the counties of: Crawford, Franklin, Fulton, Johnson, Logan, Madison, Marion, Newton, Polk, Scott, Searcy, Sebastian, Sharp and Van Buren as eligible for FEMA's Public Assistance Program, following the December 2013 severe storm. The state has focused the work funded by this grant to 12 of the eligible counties: Crawford, Franklin, Logan Madison, Marion, Newton, Polk, Scott, Searcy, Sebastian, Sharp and Van Buren.

This grant was approved on Jan. 31, 2014, for up to $1,520,243, with $506,748 released initially. This incremental funding of $1,013,495 will bring the total NEG funds awarded for this project to $1,520,243.

National Emergency Grants are part of the secretary of labor's discretionary fund and are awarded based on a state's ability to meet specific guidelines.