Feds schedule forum to discuss NM storm assistance with residents and businesses

Northern New Mexico residents and businesses affected by last week’s storm and gas outages will get a chance tomorrow to meet with federal agencies in Española tomorrow.

A variety of federal agencies and New Mexico nonprofits, including the Agriculture Departments Rural Development and Farm Services agencies, Housing and Urban Development, the Small Business Administration, and Housing Assistance Council, will offer assistance and discuss assistance available to eligible New Mexicans whose homes and businesses were affected by last week’s storm.

The New Mexico congressional delegation and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Development Agency is sponsoring the forum on Thursday at 10am at the Mission Museum (1 Calle de los Españoles, Española).

Governor Susana Martinez has said her Homeland Security Department is requesting assistance from FEMA, but details of what the agency can provide is still uncertain, because this week's state of emergency was not cause by an act of god--instead by rolling electrical blackouts in Texas, which caused gas outages across much of the state.