* Federal assistance should help cover cost of damage
* No damage estimate yet, says county commission
* Jefferson County faces ${esc.dollar}3.2 billion bond debt (Adds quote, details)
ATLANTA, April 29 (Reuters) - Storms that killed 310 people across the U.S. South this week will have little direct impact on the finances of debt-ridden Jefferson County in Alabama, the county commission president said on Friday.
The county is engaged in a long-running struggle to avoid what would be the largest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history.
The storms killed 19 people in the county and did substantial damage but federal disaster assistance should cover the cost, commission president David Carrington told Reuters, adding there was no cost estimate yet.
"It won't directly impact us in that the president (U.S. President Barack Obama) has declared a national disaster which require grants," Carrington said when asked about the impact of the disaster on county finances.
Storm clean-up "has become the new priority. That's where we are," Carrington told Reuters.
Jefferson County aims to refinance a ${esc.dollar}3.2 billion bond debt acquired as it purchased auction and swap rate instruments to refinance an upgrade to its sewer system. (Writing by Matthew Bigg; Editing by James Dalgleish)
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