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TALLAHASSEE — Collier County officials are eligible for federal disaster funds to help them fix nearly $21 million in damage wrought by Tropical Storm Fay, including funds to renourish area beaches.

On Wednesday, Gov. Charlie Crist announced that Collier was added to a list of counties eligible for FEMA public assistance after initial assessments made over the past week indicated federal support was necessary to restore the area’s public infrastructure to pre-storm levels.

Topping the list of damage is an estimated $15 million hit to Naples and Collier County beaches, which bore the brunt of the storm.

Lee County is still dealing with flooding and has yet to receive any specific FEMA relief. Lee officials said Wednesday they hope to have initial assessments completed by early next week.

So far, nearly a dozen counties have been declared eligible for public assistance under a major disaster declaration issued by President George Bush.

“As Floridians across our state are picking up after Tropical Storm Fay, our unified efforts continue to bring additional resources and programs on-line,” Crist said in a statement. “Again we thank our federal partners for the rapid response to our additional requests.”

Under the arrangement, FEMA picks up 75 percent of the tab for storm-related repairs and mitigation. Eligible repairs include debris removal, local infrastructure and amenities like parks and beaches. Non-profit agencies are also eligible, as is damage to local utilities.

In Collier, the largest portion of damage occurred on local beaches, where high winds and storm surge combined to cause an estimated $15 million in erosion. The remaining $6 million is largely due to leaky roofs on public and non-profit agencies throughout the county.

State and local governments must pay the remainder of the clean-up costs.

Rick Zyvoloski, Collier emergency management coordinator, said a state and federal assessment team was in Collier on Friday and Saturday to tally up damage and make a recommendation to Crist, who must request federal help.

“The whole purpose is to help local governments deal with the severity of damage,” Zyvoloski said. “We need some money to do that and we’re getting help.”

Collier has a FEMA approved recovery plan, a fact Zyvoloski said may reduce the portion of recovery costs borne by the county.

Meanwhile, Lee County officials won’t know the extent of storm damage until sometime next week, said Gerald Campbell, chief of planning for Lee’s division of emergency management.

County officials have flown over flooded areas, but a detailed damage assessment will have to wait until inspectors can get in to survey properties from the ground. If the rain holds off, Campbell said he’s confident that can begin in the next few days.

“We have to wait for the flooding to recede,” Campbell said. “We’ve got some thumbnails sketches (of damage) but no figures yet.”

Because of extensive flooding, Campbell said local residents might qualify for individual assistance but that determination won’t be made until after assessment teams complete their review.

So far, only residents of Brevard, Hendry, St. Lucie, Okeechobee and Volusia counties are eligible for individual assistance.

Along with FEMA assistance, the state Agency for Workforce Innovation was granted $20 million in emergency grants from the U.S. Department of Labor to provide temporary jobs and grants of up to $5,000 for businesses to recover.