# Should the government pay to rebuild West, TX and how much?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-government-pay-to-rebuild-west-tx-and-how-much/660840>\
**Category:** Great Debates\
**Created:** [June 12, 2013, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-government-pay-to-rebuild-west-tx-and-how-much/660840 "2013-06-12T19:39:30Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\
**Post date:** [June 12, 2013, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-government-pay-to-rebuild-west-tx-and-how-much/660840/1 "2013-06-12T19:39:30Z")

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[AP story about how FEMA has denied West, TX’s fertilizer plant explosion a “major disaster declaration”](http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_PLANT_EXPLOSION_FEMA?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2013-06-12-14-57-15), thus denying additional funds for the town to rebuild.

The story notes that such a decision is not abnormal and offers at least one example of a similar denial.

The article also describes that FEMA has already provided millions of dollars to the town:

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> As of Wednesday, FEMA said the agency and the U.S. Small Business Administration had approved more than $7 million in aid and low-interest loans to West residents impacted by the blast. FEMA also is paying 75 percent of the costs of debris removal and will reimburse the state and the municipality for the initial emergency response.

]([http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US\_PLANT\_EXPLOSION\_FEMA?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2013-06-12-14-57-15](http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_PLANT_EXPLOSION_FEMA?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2013-06-12-14-57-15))  
The mayor says that the town can’t do it alone and that the state help won’t be enough:

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> But West Mayor Tommy Muska said the rural community of 2,800 people cannot cover the costs of the repairs, and doesn’t believe that the state will provide enough money on its own. He estimated the cost of those repairs at about $57 million, including $40 million to rebuild schools that were destroyed or damaged when the West Fertilizer Co. blew up in April.
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> “We don’t have the money to go out and borrow the money. We don’t have the means to pay that note back,” Muska said. “There’s got to be some public assistance.”

The school Superintendent does acknowledge that there will be some insurance money forthcoming, but that it won’t be enough.

Why isn’t the fertilizer company and it’s insurance paying for all this? How much of the total bill is being footed by taxpayers? And last, how much of the total bill should be paid for by taxpayers?

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**Author:** ![Finagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@Finagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Finagle)\
**Post date:** [June 12, 2013, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-government-pay-to-rebuild-west-tx-and-how-much/660840/2 "2013-06-12T20:03:38Z")

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> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#):
>
> Why isn’t the fertilizer company and it’s insurance paying for all this? How much of the total bill is being footed by taxpayers? And last, how much of the total bill should be paid for by taxpayers?

The fertilizer company had woefully inadequate insurance – $1,000,000, I think. And I imagine that they’ll just declare bankruptcy once the law suits start.

I will note that there’s a certain WTF’ness about Rick Perry trying to get the Feds to pick up the bill that has not escaped the attention of various bloggers and editorial writers.