The Vermont Department of Mental Health has received approval from another state department that will allow it to move forward with key components of a plan to replace mental health beds destroyed when Tropical Storm Irene flooded the state hospital in Waterbury.

The Department of Financial Regulation on Thursday issued an emergency Certificate of Need for 14 new beds at the Brattleboro Retreat, six at the Rutland Regional Medical Center and eight at a newly renovated facility in Morrisville. The plan had been approved by the Legislature.

Mental Health Commissioner Patrick Flood called the approval an important step forward in restoring mental health services in the state.