South Dakota Ag News Headlines Presidential Disaster Declaration Approved South Dakota Ag Connection - 03/12/2010 Gov. Mike Rounds announced that 29 South Dakota counties and three Indian reservations will get federal financial assistance to help recover from the crippling ice storm that struck the state in late January. The public assistance is made available through a Presidential Disaster Declarationsigned Tuesday by President Obama. However, a state request for individual assistance programs was denied. The storm caused an estimated $22.5 million in damages. Thousands of power-line poles were broken or knocked down, and several thousand people were without electricity during the storm. "It's good news to receive the presidential declaration this quickly," Gov. Rounds said. "It means resources will be made available to repair the significant damage that occurred during this severe weather event." Counties eligible for assistance are Aurora, Brule, Buffalo, Campbell, Corson, Day, Deuel, Dewey, Douglas, Edmunds, Faulk, Grant, Gregory, Hand, Harding, Hughes, Hutchinson, Hyde, Jerauld, McCook, McPherson, Meade, Perkins, Potter, Roberts, Sully, Turner, Walworth and Ziebach. The Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe, the Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate and the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe also qualified for federal assistance. A disaster declaration authorizes the federal government to provide relief and recovery assistance for up to 75 percent of the eligible damage to public infrastructure in the affected areas. Copyright © 2010 - USAgNet.com. All Rights Reserved.