Enchantment State News

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.) and Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) and U.S. Representative Teresa Leger Fernández (D-N.M.) on the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to publish final regulations for the Hermit’s Peak/Calf Canyon Fire Assistance Act.

Last year, the New Mexico Congressional Democrats successfully passed the Hermit’s Peak/Calf Canyon Fire Assistance Act to establish the Hermit’s Peak Claim Office within FEMA and provide $3.95 billion for New Mexico families and businesses impacted by wildfire. The legislation also required USDA to cover 100 percent cost share for its programs. The Hermit’s Peak/Calf Canyon Fire Assistance Act was led by Senator Luján and Representative Leger Fernández, and co-sponsored by Senator Heinrich and Representative Stansbury. 

The Hermit’s Peak/Calf Canyon Claims Office cited provisions related to landscape tree losses risk reduction compensation as reason for the delay. Members of the New Mexico Congressional Delegation relayed that this is a holdover from the Cerro Grande fire and has no basis in the Hermit’s Peak/Calf Canyon Fire Assistance Act.

“We are writing to express our deep concern over the prolonged delay in finalizing the regulations for the Hermit’s Peak Calf Canyon Fire Assistance Act. As you know, we introduced and Congress passed this legislation to quickly and fully compensate victims of the largest wildfire in New Mexico history,” said the lawmakers. “However, the failure to finalize the regulations is causing confusion and uncertainty among fire victims, leading to delays in providing justice to our communities.”

“While FEMA established an aggressive timeline for setting up the Claim’s Office, it has missed a number of self-imposed deadlines that has deepened mistrust with the community. We, therefore, request that your offices provide us with an update on the status of these regulations and when New Mexicans can expect them to be finalized,” the lawmakers continued. “Every day that passes without compensation to the victims delays their ability to begin rebuilding after losing so much. We ask that you put yourself into the shoes of those who’ve waited more than a year after the fire started.”

Full text of the letter is available HERE and below:

Dear Secretary Mayorkas and Administrator Criswell,

We are writing to express our deep concern over the prolonged delay in finalizing the regulations for the Hermit’s Peak Calf Canyon Fire Assistance Act. As you know, we introduced and Congress passed this legislation to quickly and fully compensate victims of the largest wildfire in New Mexico history. In the absence of the final regulations, we support the Hermit’s Peak/Calf Canyon Claims Office (Claims Office) decision to actively work with claimants and to adjudicate their claims in the interim. However, the failure to finalize the regulations is causing confusion and uncertainty among fire victims, leading to delays in providing justice to our communities.

The Claims Office has told our offices that the delay in finalizing regulations is due to reconsidering the interim final rule’s (IFR) provisions to cap tree loss and flood and wildfire risk reduction compensation. We have previously relayed that the cap on landscape trees and risk reduction efforts is arbitrary and has no basis in the law we wrote. It is a holdover from a different catastrophe impacting suburban homes, not an economy based on forest. We reiterate the importance of removing these caps. It is vitally important that our communities are able to begin restoring their lands and begin mitigation efforts to protect their homes and properties from future flooding or fire. Further delay in finalizing the regulations surrounding these provisions will result in a significant setback in efforts to rebuild and recover.

While FEMA established an aggressive timeline for setting up the Claim’s Office, it has missed a number of self-imposed deadlines that has deepened mistrust with the community. In order for the Claim’s Office to be successful, FEMA must partner with the community and understand that failing to publish the final regulations in a timely manner only exacerbates concerns with FEMA and allows rumors and misinformation to spread. We, therefore, request that your offices provide us with an update on the status of these regulations and when New Mexicans can expect them to be finalized. This must be a priority for a disaster of this magnitude. Our communities cannot wait any longer. Every day that passes without compensation to the victims delays their ability to begin rebuilding after losing so much. We ask that you put yourself into the shoes of those who’ve waited more than a year after the fire started. The victims don’t have permanent homes, their economic livelihood is destroyed and the floods will begin making matters worse.

Thank you for your attention to this matter and your ongoing efforts to assist communities in need.

Original source can be found here.