Federal Aid Denial Leaves Flood-Ravaged Communities,Taxpayers Facing Massive Burden

By Dean Muller, President of Wisconsin for Environmental Justice

In a crushing setback for recovery efforts, a request for vital federal funding to repair public infrastructure severely damaged by this summer’s historic flooding in the greater Milwaukee area has been denied by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). This refusal leaves local governments and, ultimately, taxpayers to grapple with the fallout from an estimated $26.5 million in damages.

This is a precise moment of extreme need. The August floods, designated a 1,000-year event,devastated parts of the region, causing horrendous losses, power outages for tens of thousands, and leaving two people dead. The denial specifically targets the Public Assistance component of the request, which is essential for repairing public infrastructure in Door, Grant, Milwaukee, Ozaukee, Washington, and Waukesha counties. While federal aid was previously granted to provide direct assistance to individuals and families in Milwaukee, Washington, and Waukesha counties, the denial of infrastructure funds means local communities are left to foot the massive repair bill, with one county alone facing assessed damage of $22 million.

The agency stated the denial was "based on the results of the joint federal, state, and local government Preliminary Damage Assessments," yet those very assessments concluded the $26.5 million was warranted. Officials are now directing state emergency departments to gather further details of the damage and plan to file an appeal for reconsideration. However, regardless of the outcome, the burden of cleanup and repair for this disaster—a public resource intended for times of crisis—will fall heavily on all of us as taxpayers.

The Climate Connection: Holding the True Culprits Accountable

The increasing frequency and intensity of these extreme weather events, including the

devastating floods experienced in Wisconsin, are undeniably linked to climate change. Human activity, primarily the burning of coal, oil, and gas for energy, has produced greenhouse gases that have been the central driver of climate change for more than a century. Gases like carbon dioxide and methane have accumulated in the atmosphere, trapping the sun's heat and warming the planet. This fundamental disruption of the climate system contributes to more intense floods, wildfires, heat waves, rising seas, and other extreme weather events.

At the end of the day, while obtaining federal disaster funds is uncertain, one thing remains

certain: the fossil fuel industry will not pay a dime toward the mess they've created. Executive compensation received annually will far exceed the amount we're requesting to clean up the mess from the flood.

This fundamental injustice must change. The corporations responsible for pumping heat-trapping gases into our atmosphere need to be held accountable, just as any individual is. They must act as good neighbors and contribute to cleaning up the disaster their business model has caused. In times of need, we must help one another, and that includes requiring the true agents of this global mess to bear financial responsibility, rather than passing it on to local communities and overburdened taxpayers.

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