Somerset County, state at odds over U.S. disaster aid: Application would leave many ineligible for assistance after Hurricane Sandy

Somerset County officials are calling on Gov. Martin O'Malley's administration to revise an application for $8.6 million in federal aid, saying it will render many families hurt by the remnants of Hurricane Sandy ineligible for money to rebuild.

The county, hit hard by flooding from the superstorm in October, would be forced to spend the federal disaster relief only on lower-income families — defined at less than $48,000 for a household of two. That would exclude nearly half the county's homeowners, local officials said.

At issue is whether the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development should have sought permission to spend part of the aid on families regardless of income, as New York and New Jersey have done. Congress loosened the standards for making that request in the $60 billion measure it enacted in January to fund restoration efforts.

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