Reimbursement funds for Hurricane Katrina related recovery services ranging from tree removal to water system restoration are included in $18 million in federal funds approved for Mississippi.

Sens. Thad Cochran and Trent Lott, both R-Miss., said Wednesday the grants administered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency are going to the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency and the cities of Gulfport and Bay St. Louis for costs associated with hurricane recovery.

“I am glad the Federal Emergency Management Agency has released these funds to the entities in Mississippi that still need help recovering from the storm,” Cochran said in a statement. “The regular release of funding to our state is essential as we continue to rebuild from the damage that still exists from Hurricane Katrina.”

Lott said the funding was in support of several initiatives to restore basic services in Mississippi’s hardest hit areas.

“With each federal commitment, Mississippi’s people are encouraged and our state is a step closer to recovery,” Lott said in the statement.

Cochran said the awards included $1,135,371 to MEMA for one of the requests it made and received for emergency management assistance personnel and equipment from another state.

He said MEMA was also receiving $10,723,026 as the federal share to reimburse the state agency for an accounting firm to provide services from July 9, 2006, through Jan. 8, 2007.

Bay St. Louis was to receive $1,086,057 to help cover the costs of work on the city’s water system, while $4,963,511 was going to Gulfport to fund the additional cost of debris removal.