Oroville >> The Department of Water Resources has received a first payment from the federal government for costs related to the Oroville Dam spillway emergency.

DWR received $22.8 million from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to pay part of the initial costs of responding to the emergency in February, DWR Public Relations Director Erin Mellon told a media call Wednesday.

Mellon said DWR had submitted a $30 million claim to cover costs of the first few days of the crisis, and that FEMA typically pays about 75 percent.

She said it was the “first of many submissions” to FEMA.