New York City and FEMA finalize health insurance agreement

The current legal battle over the $1 billion Sept. 11 cleanup program ended Monday when federal officials agreed to a deal that could save New York City some $350 million.

Representatives for New York City met with Federal Emergency Management Agency officials and brokered a deal which should see a program to address this issue.

The program, part of the more than $20 billion in aid promised to help the city recover from the attacks, has been in limbo for months because the two sides could not agree on which claims it would cover.

The sticking point being what New York City itself would actually cover.

Federal Emergency Management Agency has until now held out the possibility that the $1 billion and would only cover claims from Sept. 29 and beyond, leaving the city responsible for claims from Sept. 11 to the 29th.

Under the proposal presented Monday, the federal government would pay for injuries from debris removal beginning Sept. 11. ''The city and contractors will have full insurance coverage for debris removal claims arising from Sept. 11 forward,'' said Homeland Security Under Secretary Mike Brown, who heads the agency.

The insurance program was approved by Congress more than a year ago, but negotiations between the city, the federal government and the construction companies at ground zero had dragged on.

The issue came to a head last month when Rep. John Sweeney, R-Clifton Park, pressed for a decision at a hearing about the agency's annual budget.