AUBURN – City officials are confident they will be reimbursed $75,000 for the costs of clearing snow and ice from roads during two severe winter storms last month.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency declared seven Maine counties a disaster due to the storms Dec. 11 through the Dec. 29. That means that cities and towns in Androscoggin, Cumberland, Knox, Lincoln, Sagadahoc, Waldo and York counties are eligible for federal aid to cover their costs for the storms.

“In the southern counties, much of the cost was actual damage from the storm,” said Tim Bubier, deputy director of the Androscoggin United Emergency Management Agency. “Up here, most of the costs were associated with clearing the roads and treating the streets.”

Auburn Public Works Director Bob Belz said he estimates the city spent $100,000 for staff overtime, vehicle fuel and depreciation and road sand and salt to treat Auburn’s roads for both storms. FEMA typically will cover 75 percent of that.

“We stick very closely to FEMA’s requirements, so we are pretty sure that’s what we’ll get,” Belz said.

Lewiston’s FEMA request covers $240,000 in costs, according to Public Works Director Paul Boudreau.

“We’re right next to Auburn, but we are very different in terms of our roads and what we need to do,” Boudreau said. Lewiston has fewer rural roads but more urban residential areas that require different plowing and more sand and salt treatment.

“And we have more roads with sidewalks, so that’s another consideration,” Boudreau said. Boudreau expects to get about $180,000 in FEMA aid for the storms.

A wet, messy storm blanketed central Maine on Dec. 11. Temperatures hovered around freezing, meaning the slush mess soon froze. In southern Maine, the storm forced some people into shelters and downed trees and power lines across the region.

Winter storms continued until the end of the month. It was capped with a blizzard that blanketed the area.

“Individually, both were declared natural disasters by FEMA,” Belz said. “Once that happens, there is money involved.”

Bubier said every community in Androscoggin County is eligible for the federal aid for the costs they rang up during the storm. They need to submit their final cost estimates to the state’s Emergency Management Agency by Feb. 9. He expects the communities will begin receiving the money this spring.