MEDIA RELEASE

March 16, 2021

The Town of Drumheller recently received a letter from Minister Ric McIver’s office, Ministry of Municipal Affairs, to inform the Town of changes to the Government of Alberta’s Disaster Recovery Program (DRP), which are in effect for DRPs that occur in 2021 and onward.

In response to the rising cost and frequency of disasters in Alberta, the Ministry has made changes that are intended to share the responsibility of disasters with all those who are impacted and make the program more sustainable for future events.

Conditions for eligibility remain the same for qualifying applicants, however, the following cost-sharing arrangements and funding limits have been added to the program:

Local authority and private sector applicants (including homeowners):

• Implementing a 90:10 cost-sharing arrangement
  • DRP assistance is limited to 90 percent of eligible disaster expenses, instead of 100 percent.
  • The remaining 10 percent of eligible assistance will be subtracted from the amount payable to the applicant.

Homeowners only:

• Implementing a funding limit of up to $500,000 per homeowner application and a limit on assistance to one time per property
  • For disaster events that occur in 2021 onward, qualifying homeowner applicants will only be able to access DRP assistance once per property address. Financial assistance from the program will not be provided to future applicants who own property at the same physical location.
  • One-time funding limit is not cumulative. For example, if an applicant has received $100,000 worth of assistance under the new policy, they would not qualify for any funding in the future.
  • Change will not be applied retroactively, assistance received before 2021 does not count as meeting the one-time assistance limit.
  • Homeowner addresses that receive DRP assistance will be posted online to the Government of Alberta website to provide transparency about DRP funding limits and up-to-date information for prospective homeowners, developers and real estate professionals.

Now more than ever, it is imperative to protect the Drumheller Valley from future flooding events. Mayor Heather Colberg wrote Minister McIver stating “the government’s announcement brings concern to our 8,000 residents distributed along 100 km of riverbank. I’ve asked the Minister for a meeting to further discuss the implications and to work together on solutions.”

Our overall goal is to protect the residents of Drumheller and property from loss or injury related to the perils of flood and changes in climate.

To read Minister McIver’s full letter click here.

To review the Disaster Recovery Program changes fact sheet provided from the Government of Alberta click here.

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