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Prince George's County is not receiving federal assistance for the costs associated with cleaning up from the season's first major winter snowstorm, in December, after accumulations did not reach state standards, FEMA and county officials confirmed Monday morning.

In an announcement issued Friday, Federal Emergency Management Agency officials declared the state of Maryland and eight counties affected by the Dec. 18 storm would receive disaster aid.

The local governments — Baltimore, Caroline, Cecil, Harford, Howard, Kent, Montgomery and Queen Anne's counties — are now eligible for federal funding for "emergency protective measures" taken during the storm that dumped up to 30 inches on the region.

A FEMA official said the county was not included on the list Gov. Martin O'Malley (D) submitted Jan. 14 to the agency and said there have not been additional requests regarding the December storm for the county.

"If it wasn't asked [for], that would not be something that would be considered," said regional FEMA spokesman Frank Ferreira.

Because the county's snowfall accumulation did not meet state standards, Prince George's did not qualify for assistance, said Vernon Herron, director of homeland safety for the county. Herron said a minimum of 29 inches of snow was needed for the county to qualify. FEMA standards require a county to have received within 10 percent of records for a one-day snowfall to be considered.

National Weather Service reports from the time placed snowfall in Prince George's County between 16 and 21 inches. In Montgomery County, the maximum recorded snowfall for the Central Maryland region was 26 inches north of Germantown, while other counties that received emergency relief recorded 18 to 22 inches of snow, according to the National Weather Service. The reports did not include snowfall totals in the Eastern Shore counties that also received disaster recognition.

"It is what it is," Herron said.

County and state officials were unable to provide the snow accumulation statistics that were used to determine eligibility.

FEMA spokesman Simon Chabel said the county and state could apply for additional help later.

Prince George's County's snow-removal budget was wiped out by the December storm. During the two days where schools were shut down and plows worked overtime to keep streets clear, the county burned through its $2.6 million removal budget for the fiscal year.

The State Highway Administration, counties and municipalities across the state also reported being in the red after the December snowstorm. When record-breaking snowfall came earlier this month in two consecutive blizzards that shut down the region for a week, governments continued to go into debt.

Herron said the county is more optimistic about getting federal aid from the latest storms.

"We are hopeful," he said. "We dwindled a lot of our resources."

Maryland Emergency Management Agency spokesman Ed McDonough was unable to say whether Prince George's will be included in the new request for relief from the February storms, which will be put together in the next few weeks.

Ferreira was unable to say when the federal agency expects to consider federal aid from the latest round of storms this month.

E-mail Daniel Valentine at dvalentine@gazette.net.