Well, after state officials rang the alarm bells about FEMA possibly reneging on $120 million in Irene recovery funds, one of those officials later sought to unring most of the bells.

We also got more clarity on why FEMA funding might be lower than expected for replacing the state complex in Waterbury — and yes, it mainly has to do with the Shumlin Administration’s quick decision to abandon the Vermont State Hospital.

First, the updated money count, courtesy of the Vermont Press Bureau and published in the Saturday Times Argus, but not (as of this writing) posted on the Times Argus website:  The worst-case scenario is not a $120 million shortfall, but $45 million. And state officials don’t expect the final figure to be even that low.

Which doesn’t explain how Administration staffers got their signals so badly wrong yesterday, but let’s move on.

The replacements that FEMA is now questioning are the Vermont State Hospital ($28 million), a state heating plant ($16-18 mil) and about $2-3 mil for demolition of abandoned buildings. Times Argus:

The apparent change comes as FEMA reinterprets whether the Vermont State Hospital was “damaged” or “destroyed,” state officials said.

…The cost for relocating a heating plant at the Waterbury Office Complex also is likely ineligible because the state made certain repairs to the structure, state staffers said.

Administration officials and lawmakers are angry over FEMA’s apparent change in position. And who knows what assurances were given when and by whom, and what the federal rules (which are apparently so Byzantine that the Byzantine Empire looks like a blank canvas by comparison) actually state. But there’s at least the possibility that the Shumlin Administration shot itself in the foot here.  

First, immediately after Irene, Shumlin vowed to shutter VSH even though many believed that the bulk of the building could be restored. Was this a sound policy decision, or was it a case of Shumlin seizing on the Irene opportunity to rid the state of a troubled facility and start over again — with federal funds picking up the tab? That won’t look too smart if, indeed, federal funds don’t pick up the tab, and Shumlin’s grand plans to revamp mental health care have to be scaled back.

As for the heating plant, I have no knowledge of the situation aside from the Times Argus story. But why would the state conduct repairs on a structure it planned to abandon? There could have been good reasons; maybe there were dangerous conditions that had to be addressed immediately. But if the repairs cause the state to lose a nice chunk of FEMA money, then that’ll be a significant administrative error.

And the Governor doesn’t need any of those in an election year.