President Joe Biden has approved federal disaster assistance through the Federal Emergency Management Agency for five Utah counties impacted by spring flooding last May.

The federal assistance was announced Tuesday, with funding being available to Utah, Sanpete, Wasatch, Iron and Morgan counties. Within areas impacted by the flooding, the money can be used to replace or repair facilities damaged at that time.

Funding also will be available on a cost-sharing basis statewide for hazard mitigation efforts statewide, according to a press release.

According to Peter Quittner, Utah County emergency manager, the FEMA Public Assistance Grant is based on reported damages. Quittner said the county reported damages of approximately $13 million, with those reported damages being limited to assessments that were made during the spring.

“We have repaired some of the damaged areas, but there are still extensive efforts needed to get Utah County back to where we were before the damages,” Quittner said in an email on Tuesday.

Utah County issued an emergency declaration at the end of May due to the flood, allowing the county to access funding through the state and local governments.

At that time, $10.2 million in damages had occurred in the county and its cities due to the flooding.

Damages in Utah County included a portion of Nebo Loop Road in Payson Canyon being washed out, leading to part of the route being closed for weeks before being repaired. Flooding also caused temporary road closures in Spanish Fork Canyon on Highway 89 in May.

Spanish Fork also had issued an emergency declaration from May 1 to June 17 after the city saw flooding throughout the community and along the Spanish Fork River.

As of now, Quittner said the funds can only be used to to repair infrastructure to pre-flooding levels. He added it does “open the door” to additional grants for mitigation needs that they might identify during recovery efforts.

Flooding also impacted other counties not included in the federal declaration, such as Salt Lake and Weber counties.

The spring flooding was caused by a record snowpack over the past winter. According to the National Resources Conservation Service, Utah’s snowpack during the 2022-23 season was the highest since 1952.

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