Municipalities shouldn't have to bear the full cost of last month's cleanup of a near-record snowfall just because the effort lasted longer than two days, Gov. Ed Rendell said Wednesday.

Mr. Rendell sent a letter to President Barack Obama asking for a waiver of federal rules governing reimbursement.

Under federal rules, communities are eligible for emergency reimbursement for costs that occur within 48 hours of an event. In the case of many municipalities, it took several days to clear streets of nearly two feet of snow in the worst storm since 1993.

That was before federal rules were changed in 1998 to set up the 48-hour time limit on reimbursements.

In Allegheny County, 125 municipalities have submitted costs of more than $9 million for reimbursement. Westmoreland County communities are seeking $2.1 million, Washington $1.5 million and Butler more than $1 million.

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