Plymouth County is in line to receive federal funding to help pay for snow removal and other emergency measures during the early-March blizzard. The amount and uses of that money is yet to be determined.

On Tuesday, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) added Plymouth County to those under the Presidential Emergency Declaration for Iowa counties affected by the snowfall -- now a total of 30 counties.

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This presidential declaration enables public entities in these counties to receive federal money to reimburse them for 48 hours of continuous snow removal expenses and other protective emergency measures between Feb. 28 and March 2, according to a FEMA release.

FEMA representative Steve Castaner said how much money Plymouth County entities will see -- and when they'll see it -- depends on what things the state says will be covered.

"Thursday the state will talk about what types of activities are eligible and what limitations there will be," Castaner said.

Search and rescue expenses, overtime snowplowing, salt and sand for road treatment, and sheltering exercises are some of the possible items.

After Thursday, he said, FEMA will talk directly with the counties to explain what's eligible. Then the county will have to show documentation of the expenses that apply.

"The process could take anywhere from a couple of weeks to a couple of months," Castaner said. "It's a pretty detailed accounting exercise."

To eligible for aid, Plymouth County had to show snowfall within 10 percent of the existing record. Previously, the snowfall record was set at 16 inches, and during the March blizzard, the county recorded snowfalls ranging from 15.4 to 16.6 inches.

Nationwide, Castaner said, a snow declaration is somewhat common. Not so in Iowa.

"It's based on record snowfall, and typically Iowa has pretty big records," he explained, adding that states like Iowa are more prepared to handle snow.

"Six inches in Louisiana has a lot more impact than six inches in Iowa," he said.

Other counties under the declaration include Adair, Audobon, Buena Vista, Carroll, Cass, Cherokee, Clay, Crawford, Dickinson, Emmet, Greene, Guthrie, Hancock, Harrison, Humboldt, Ida, Kossuth, Monona, O'Brien, Osceola, Palo Alto, Pocahontas, Pottawattamie, Sac, Shelby, Webster, Winnebago, Woodbury and Wright.