Cal OES and FEMA seeking to get out of PG&E’s $13.5 billion settlement with victims
The Federal Emergency Management Agency and the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services say they are taking steps to separate their claims against Pacific Gas and Electric, Corp. from the $13.5 billion pot of money set aside for wildfire victims.
Under the current plan proposed by PG&E and lawyers, victims would have to compete with the governmental agencies during the allocation of the $13.5 billion, expected later this summer. But the governmental agencies say they did not agree to that deal and are trying to get a separate settlement. It’s unclear if the strategy will be successful.
Several government agencies are asking PG&E to cover some of the costs associated with wildfires it sparked with faulty equipment. Most notably, FEMA is asking for $3.9 billion under a federal law that requires it to seek recovery from entities that cause a disaster. If it does not get money from PG&E, it may have to ask victims themselves to pay it back for some of the expenses, like emergency rentals, that were covered several times over.
Cal OES is asking for $2.6 billion, but that will likely be amended because some of the expenses are also being counted in FEMA’s claim. Cal OES’s total is closer to $250 million. Cal Fire also has a claim.
The claims have caused an outcry among victims and elected officials. They are concerned the governmental claims will reduce the amount distributed directly to victims. They have argued that the governmental claims should be dropped or be doled out only after all victims have been paid completely. Lawmakers from California wrote to FEMA and Cal OES asking for the changes last month.
“We believe all governmental claims from a settlement fund specifically created for disaster victims is inappropriate,” they said in one of their letters. “Both federal and state governments routinely appropriate funding for disaster response, and account for the projected costs of disasters in their respective budgets.”
In a Feb. 10 letter back, Cal OES responded that it would not ask for compensation from the victims’ pot of money.
“Cal OES has never taken any actions to have its claims against PG&E paid out of the $13.5 billion funds established for wildfire survivors and is currently taking steps in the bankruptcy case to remove itself from that fund,” wrote Mark Ghilarducci to lawmakers in the letter.
The agency is not dropping its claim, however. That’s because it is also required by the federal law, called the Stafford Act, to seek recovery, Ghilarducci said in the letter. FEMA may sue or withhold funds if California does not follow through, he wrote.
FEMA is also seeking to get paid separately from victims, said David Passey, a FEMA spokesperson. He said PG&E and the main committee representing victims reached the arrangement that bundled all the claims together “with no input from the federal or state government”.
“The federal government’s position is that its claims should be treated separately from the wildfire victim claims and not channeled to the $13.5 billion wildfire victim trust established under PG&E’s plan,” he said in a statement.
https://www.chicoer.com/2020/02/24/cal-oes-and-fema-seeking-to-get-out-of-pges-13-5-billion-settlement-with-victims/