FEMA says it may bill fire victims if it can’t get $4 billion from PG&E
Federal officials say Pacific Gas and Electric Co. owes the government nearly $4 billion, and if they can’t get the payment request resolved as part of the utility’s bankruptcy case, they may later have to ask wildfire victims for a portion of the money instead.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency wants reimbursement from PG&E to cover costs from the government’s response to fires in 2015, 2017 and 2018. Under PG&E’s current plan to resolve its bankruptcy, any payment to FEMA would have to come from the $13.5 billion the company intends to reserve primarily to settle claims from fire victims.
Victims’ lawyers are battling FEMA’s claim, which would consume nearly 30% of the settlement. But FEMA told The Chronicle that it is compelled to seek compensation from PG&E. Otherwise, individual victims would be on the hook if they get settlement money that duplicates funds already paid by the federal government, according to Bob Fenton, the agency’s regional administrator. FEMA has asserted about $3.9 billion in bankruptcy claims against PG&E because of the 2015 Butte Fire, the 2017 wildfires in Wine Country and the 2018 Camp Fire. Court papers show that only about $282 million of the total relates to individual assistance FEMA gave to victims of the disasters — the rest is for aid provided to other government agencies and administrative costs.
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The maximum amount of funding FEMA could possibly seek to recoup from individual victims would be even less than $282 million, according to FEMA spokesman David Passey. He said the individual assistance figure includes nonfinancial help, such as temporary housing, that the agency provided to disaster victims and would not try to recoup.
https://www.sfchronicle.com/california-wildfires/article/FEMA-says-it-may-bill-fire-victims-if-it-can-t-14968147.php
wurd, last night too
ain't trippin. he right
>>7797624 Argentina's Fernandez sets March 31 deadline to renegotiate debt, says has IMF backing
>Argentina is in talks with bondholders and other creditors to restructure about $100 billion in debt, among them the IMF to whom it owes about $44 billion.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-argentina-debt-idUSKBN1ZB0OS
notable
chek't and nice grab
China Air CAL0761 Airbus350 approaching Borneo and Brunei
These are regularly scheduled flights but are not always classified as Mil. This is a new one