Homepage

Public Information

Disaster Preparedness

Disaster Recovery

Grants Management Program

Training & Exercises

Contact

Public Assistance

A Public Assistance Applicants Briefing for victims of the October 15, 2006 Earthquake on the Big Island was conducted. PowerPoint slides for the Applicants Briefing portion are included here. A Request for Assistance Form is also included.

To save a copy of these files, right click and select Save Target As to a local drive on your computer.

---

Public Assistance

Public assistance programs are designed to help state and local government agencies and some non-profit organizations recover from the effects of disasters. There is the realization that, in many cases, a community may not have sufficient funds on-hand to rebuild an entire infrastructure following a major disaster. Public assistance programs typically involve a cost-sharing arrangement between the local government (25%) and the federal government (75%).

Although the public assistance program is funded largely by FEMA, the state has the burden of managing the program. The state is the grant administrator for all funds provided under the Public Assistance Program. Part 13 of the Code of Federal Regulations gives the states more discretion to administer federal programs in accordance with their own procedures and thereby simplify the program and reduce delays. As grantee, the state is responsible for administering the programmatic and grants management requirements of the Public Assistance Program. Key among the programmatic requirements is informing the applicants of the assistance available to them -- what is eligible and how to apply for it. Grant management includes applying for federal assistance, monitoring and closing out the grant. The state and FEMA work in partnership to provide prompt and consistent service to all applicants.

The state is responsible for performing the following tasks:

• Pre-Declaration
• Pre-identifying applicants for Public Assistance
• Educating potential applicants on the Public Assistance Program
• Preparing local governments to conduct preliminary damage assessments
• Performing preliminary damage assessments with FEMA
• Updating the State Administrative Plan for each disaster \
• Making FEMA aware of any specific state requirements that would impact the program, i.e. a requirement to validate all small projects
• Coordinating with other state agencies on all issues involving Public Assistance
• Identifying Work
• Notifying FEMA whether Immediate Needs Funding (INF) is desired for a specific disaster
• Prioritizing work with applicants
• Coordinating with other state agencies on all issues involving Public Assistance
• Conducting Applicants’ Briefings
• Receiving Request for Public Assistance forms from applicants and forwarding them to FEMA
• Making recommendations to FEMA on Private Non-Profit (PNP) eligibility
• Submitting to FEMA requests for time extensions for applicants to submit Request for Public Assistance forms
• Designating a State Special Considerations Liaison to coordinate special considerations issue resolution with the FEMA Special Considerations Liaison
• Designating personnel to serve as an Applicant’s Liaison who will interface with the applicants and FEMA Public Assistance Coordinator (PAC)
• Getting Funds
• Participating with FEMA in the Kickoff Meetings with applicants (optional)
• Submitting to FEMA the state’s request for federal assistance
• Preparing with FEMA and applicant scopes of work and cost estimates for small projects when requested by the applicant
• Validating 20% of each applicant’s small projects (optional—in conjunction with FEMA)
  
• Preparing with FEMA and the applicant scopes of work and cost estimates for large projects
• Submitting to FEMA design and construction schedules for large projects
• Immediately bringing to the attention of FEMA any misunderstandings or problems an applicant may have involving any aspect of eligibility, funding, or the program in general, and working with FEMA and the applicant to resolve that misunderstanding
• Disbursing obligated funds to applicants in a timely manner
• Approving up to 6-month time extensions from completion of emergency work and up to 30-month time extensions for the completion of permanent work
• Submitting to FEMA applicants’ requests for time extensions beyond those stated above
• Approving applicants’ requests for improved projects that do not require environmental assessments
• Submitting to FEMA applicants’ requests for alternate projects and improved projects that require environmental assessments
• Reviewing and making recommendations to FEMA on applicants’ appeals in a timely manner
• Reviewing and making recommendations to FEMA on applicants’ requests for cost overruns
• Advising applicants of hazard mitigation opportunities
• Reporting and Closeout
• Submitting quarterly progress and financial reports to FEMA
• Certifying completion of all small projects
• Performing final inspections of all large projects, certifying completion, and submitting final cost accounting to FEMA for determination of eligible costs
• Submitting to FEMA the closeout request and appropriate documentation to close out applicants’ grants
• Working with FEMA to close out the public assistance grant after all applicants have been closed

More information about the Public Assistance programs of FEMA can be obtained by visiting FEMA's Public Assistance web site.

---

THE 50% RULE: THE ELIGIBILITY OF FACILITIES FOR REPLACEMENT UNDER 44 CFR 206.226(d)(1)

"Disaster damage"* in the §206.226(d)(l) determination of eligibility for a replacement facility shall include only costs for the repair of damage, and not the costs of any triggered or mandatory upgrading of the facility beyond the repair of the damaged elements (even though these upgrade costs may be eligible for FEMA funding.) Thus, the determination of eligibility of a facility for replacement will be calculated by the following fraction: The cost of repair of the disaster damage* (repair of the damaged components only, using present day materials and methods) divided by the cost of replacement of the facility** with a facility of equivalent capacity, using current codes for new construction. If this calculation is greater than 50%, then replacement is considered to give a better return on the taxpayers' investment, and is thus eligible for FEMA funding under §206.226(d)(l). More...

Public Assistance Links
Applicant's Briefing Request for Assistance Form

FEMA Project Officer

The Project Officer (PO) is a resource for the applicant. A PO is knowledgeable about eligibility and Special Considerations, and will take the lead in working with the applicant to develop scopes of work and cost estimates for large projects. The PO is responsible for identifying the need for Specialists and working with the Public Assistance Coordinator (PAC) to ensure appropriate personnel are assigned to assist in large project development.

Grantee

The Grantee is the State government, to which the Public Assistance grant is awarded. The grantee is accountable for the use of the funds provided by FEMA and is responsible for providing the grantee portion of the non-federal share of the grant amount. The grantee is also responsible for notifying the subgrantee (applicant) that funds are available and for disbursing those funds to the subgrantees. The State must use methods and procedures for payment that minimize the time between the transfer of funds and disbursement by the State in accordance with Federal cash management requirements.

Sub-Grantee

The subgrantee (applicant) is accountable to the grantee for the use of the funds provided by FEMA. It is the subgrantee's responsibility to attend the Applicants' Briefing to learn about the necessary paperwork to apply for Federal assistance and documentation required for the Project Worksheet process. Subgrantees should submit a Request for Public Assistance at the Applicants' Briefing or not later than 30 days after designation of the County. Subgrantees should provide documentation and personnel to work with FEMA and the State in the damage assessment and project application processes. In order to be reimbursed for all eligible disaster recovery costs, subgrantees must identify all damages to the State and FEMA.

Code of Federal Regulations
The Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) is the codification of the general and permanent rules published in the Federal Register by the executive departments and agencies of the Federal Government. It is divided into 50 titles that represent broad areas subject to Federal regulation. Each volume of the CFR is updated once each calendar year and is issued on a quarterly basis.