The damage to Little Pine Creek Road from Tropical Storm Debby, near English Center. The bridge that connects the road to Carsontown was also washed out during the storm. KAREN VIBERT-KENNEDY/Sun-Gazette

Residents who were affected by Tropical Storm Debby last month will now be able to access federal disaster assistance, announced the Lycoming County commissioners this week.

President Joe Biden approved the federal disaster declaration for Lycoming, Potter, Tioga and Union counties, which makes federal funding available for individuals in those areas affected by the flooding from the storm, according to information from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

Assistance can include grants for temporary housing and home repairs, low-cost loans to cover uninsured property losses and other programs to help individuals and business owners recover from the effects of the disaster, according to information from FEMA.

“We had the federal officials here up in the Trout Run area and in other areas, surveying the flood damage. (They) took a lot of pictures and went back to senators and the congressmen and they talked to the White House,” Commissioner Scott Metzger said.

“Yesterday we were informed that the notification for individual assistance was signed by President Biden,” Metzger said.

Metzger went on to thank the government officials who fought for Lycoming County and the surrounding counties to receive the needed aid.

“We want to thank the federal government and officials, first of all for showing up and taking pictures and seeing it firsthand and then going back and fighting for Lycoming County, so that President Biden and his team could see first hand what was going on. The devastation was incredible,” Metzger said.

Individuals and business owners who sustained losses in the designated areas can begin applying for assistance by registering online at www.DisasterAssistance.gov, by calling 800-621-3362 or by using the FEMA App.

In a follow-up to an action that was tabled at last week’s meeting, the commissioner approved a real estate tax refund to Muncy Greene LP of $34,700. Metzger had asked that the action be delayed due to questions he had about the refund. Brooke Wright noted that the appeal was originally filed in 2019 but was not settled until this year and the amount of the refund reflects that.

In other business, the commissioners approved the following action items: an amendment to an agreement with Smith Excavating & Construction in the amount of $8,377 due to damage to the Spring Garden Countywide Action Plan project from Tropical Storm Debby; the submission of the grant to obtain reimbursement for recycled materials at the county from the state’s Department of Environmental Protection (DEP); the purchase of gas piping from ISCO Industries in the amount of $22,030 for Resource Management Services (RMS); the submission of a Minor Solid Waste Permit modification to DEP in the amount of $300 for RMS; an agreement with ScanTek in the amount of $73,309 for a scanning project at the Prothonotary’s Office; ratify an agreement with Truveris; and an agreement with Julian G. Allatt, Esq. for legal representation in the Public Defender’s Office.

Timothy Perry was approved as a full-time resident supervisor I, a union position, at the Pre-Release Center at $18.64 an hour.

The next commissioners’ public meeting will be at 10 a.m. Sept. 19 in the Commissioners’ Board Room, 3rd floor, Third Street Plaza, 33 W. Third St.