KOAM TV 7 Joplin and PittsburgCampground lets tornado survivors stay at no charge - FEMA says it won't help with costs

The owner of a campground near Joplin says he is struggling to pay utilities and maintenance costs because of what he believed to be a good deed after the tornado.

Shortly after the tornado many displaced residents camped at the "Shoal Creek Resort."  The owner chose not to charge the survivors and says he was told by FEMA that he would eventually be taken care of.

He says government help never came.

The campground's owner says he's almost $200,000 in debt because of utilities and maintenance costs.

FEMA says rules don't allow the agency to help.

"There would need to be an agreement between two entities prior to the event that lays out all the terms to which they are agreeing on how an emergency shelter would be handled," says Krystal Payton of FEMA.

Part of the campground's electricity was shut off on Thursday.

The campground's owner has put his property up for sale.