The costs of cleaning up Vermont after hurricane Irene are still being tallied, but we know they will be HUGE! The road repairs alone are estimated at $700M. And we won't know how much disaster relief we will get from the federal government because of the political environment in Washington -- this despite the fact that besides the dozen states affected by Irene, several more, including Texas, have had major damage due to wildfires.
The Vermont legislature will have a lot of work to do in January to make Vermont whole again. However, that work has already started. The House Appropriations Committee, as well as several other committees, is already working with the administration to map out a strategy. Vermonters all over the state have already pitched in financially and with countless volunteer hours to help neighbors and strangers alike. VtDigger.com has a fantastic, lengthy review of the work accomplished in the month since Irene hit Vermont. http://vtdigger.org/2011/09/29/irene-3/. We WILL get the job done!
Cleaning up after Irene
