Jean-Pierre Oriol, commissioner of the Department of Planning and Natural Resources, told members of the Disaster Recovery and Infrastructure Committee that the payment of federal stimulus funds to commercial, recreational, rent-to-let businesses and related to fishing had become eligible. problems.

To be eligible for National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration funds, applicants must demonstrate a minimum revenue loss of 35% between March 2020 and December 2020. Oriol said the primary way the federal government wanted this loss documented was with tax documents filed, and many fishers were not filing tax returns.

The senators questioned whether the program had been marketed enough for anyone who was potentially eligible to apply. Oriol said yes. He said the DPNR has partnered with the Economic Development Authority to administer the scheme. The program information media campaign began in early May and webinars as well as in-person information sessions have been held over the past two weeks. Acceptance of applications began May 29 and is expected to remain open until June 18. He added that if the federal government could be persuaded to accept different documents, the application period could be extended.

When asked if part of the $4 million grant went to the federal government, he said yes.

A second program that Oriol described in Friday’s hearing — the Fisheries Aid Disaster Recovery Program — fared better. The program, according to Oriol, was launched in June 2020, and the Department has processed 438 applications and disbursed more than $6 million. This program covers losses incurred by the fishing industry due to hurricanes.

The Department also used disaster recovery funds of $145,683 to purchase emergency kits for all commercial fishers affected by the hurricanes and disbursed those kits during the month of May. He added that the unclaimed kits will be made available during Angler Registration Week next week.

Oriol reported that stimulus funds for the VI Council of The Arts Cares Act Recovery Program – have also been successfully disbursed.

VICA requested and received $411,900 from the National Endowment of the Arts to provide recovery funds to artists across the territory. The program was delivered in two phases and provided a maximum of $50,400 to individuals and $361,900 to arts organizations. All of the $411,900 was paid to artists in the territory.

Oriol also updated the committee on the historical recovery program. The program was launched in November 2020 and the eligibility phase of the program ended at the end of March last year. The DPNR received 223 applications and 105 were deemed ineligible. According to Oriol, the DPNR currently has $1.5 million in projects pending review by the National Park Service and will have an additional $1 million worth of projects to review by the end of June. The NPS plans to conduct site visits by the end of this month, enabling the DPNR to execute sub-grants and provide funding in July this year.

One of the projects being considered by the NPS is the renovation of the former naval barracks at Subbase, which will serve as the future headquarters of the DPNR.

The committee was chaired by Senator Janelle Sarauw. The senses were present. Kurt Vialet, Marvin Blyden, Samuel Carrión, Franklin Johnson, Carla Joseph and Genevieve Whitaker.