Title: FEMA Disaster Relief
1FEMA Disaster Relief
- Diane Donley
- Office of Chief Counsel
- 202-646-3120
- Diane.Donley_at_dhs.gov
- September 15, 2008
2History
- 1950 P.L. 81-875 creates Federal disaster
relief program - 1970 Disaster Relief Act (P.L. 91-606)
- 1974 Disaster Relief Act Amendments (P.L.
93-288) - 1979 E.O. 12127 creates FEMA
- 1988 Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and
Emergency Assistance Act (P.L. 100-707) - 2000 Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000 (P.L.
106-390) - 2002 Homeland Security Act (P.L. 107-296)
- 2006 Post-Katrina Emergency Management Reform
Act
3Primary Disaster Relief Legal Authorities
- Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency
Assistance Act, 42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq., as
amended - Homeland Security Act of 2002, as amended by Post
Katrina Emergency Reform Act of 2006 - E.O. 12148, as amended
- Title 44 of the Code of Federal Regulations
4Stafford Act Topics to Be Covered
- Public Assistance
- Individual Assistance
- Hazard Mitigation
- Accelerated Assistance
- Evacuation Authority
- Mission Assignments, Direct Federal Assistance
PSMAs - Transportation Assistance
- Case Management Assistance
- Pets
- Essential Service Providers
- Authority to Assist the Private Sector
5Public Assistance
- Emergency Work
- Assistance essential to meeting immediate
threats to life and property - Includes debris removal, search and rescue,
evacuation, emergency medical care, mass care,
shelter, food, water, temporary facilities for
essential community services, warnings, technical
advice - Under an emergency declaration eligible work also
includes work necessary to lessen or avert a
catastrophe - Provided by grants to state and local governments
and eligible private non-profits, i.e. Project
Worksheets or PWs or directly by the Federal
government - Federal share generally 75 though may be
increased by the President - See 42 U.S.C. 5170b 5192
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6Public Assistance
- Permanent Work 42 U.S.C. 5172
- Repair, restoration and replacement of damaged
facilities owned by states and local governments,
and eligible private non-profits - Provided through grants, i.e. Project
Worksheets - Federal share generally 75 though it may be
raised by the President, 42 USC 5172(b)(1)
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7Individual Assistance
- Individuals and Households Program (IHP), 42 USC
5174 - Temporary Housing
- FEMA may provide rental assistance, direct
housing assistance (e.g. manufactured housing),
repair assistance and replacement assistance
directly to disaster victims. 42 USC 5174 - Other Needs Assistance
- FEMA or the State may provide individuals with
Other Needs Assistance for disaster-related
necessary expenses or serious needs (e.g.
medical, dental, funeral, personal property,
transportation). 42 USC 5174, 5189c
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8Individual Assistance, contd
- Other
- Voluntary Agency Coordination, 42 USC 5152.
- Disaster unemployment, 42 USC 5177
- Disaster food stamps, 42 USC 5179
- Disaster legal services, 42 USC 5182
- Crisis counseling, 42 USC 5183
- Case management, 42 USC 5189d
- Cora Brown Fund, 42 U.S.C. 5201(b)
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9Hazard Mitigation, 42 USC 5170c
- Amount of assistance is based on a percentage of
the total estimated Federal assistance for
disaster relief for the State - The State is the grantee for these funds and
works with its local governments to determine
priorities for the funding - Mitigation is any action of a long-term,
permanent nature that reduces the actual or
potential risk of loss of life or property from a
hazardous event - State must have approved mitigation plan to
receive assistance to restore damaged facilities
44 C.F.R. 226(b)
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10Accelerated Federal Assistance
- After a major disaster or emergency declaration,
this change allows accelerated Federal
assistance in the absence of a specific request
from a State where necessary to save lives,
prevent human suffering or mitigate severe damage
- Section 402 of Stafford Act, 42 U.S.C. 5170a(5)
- Section 502 of Stafford Act, 42 U.S.C. 5192(8)
- PKEMRA amendment
11Evacuation Authority
- Primary authority for evacuations belongs to the
State. - FEMA was given original authority for evacuations
in the Homeland Security Act. - Firearms.
- PKEMRA included evacuation authority for FEMA in
sections 402(1) and 402(2).
12Mission Assignments, Direct Federal Assistance
PSMAs
- MAs are authorized under section 402 and 403 of
Stafford Act and the differences between them. - Direct Federal Assistance merely means a MA with
a cost share. - PSMAs There are about 223 now. They are drafts
and not final documents.
13Transportation Assistance
- Provides for trips home for renters and
homeowners when they have been displaced more
than 50 miles from their originally pre-disaster
address. - Proposed regulations have just been written.
- Section 425 of Stafford Act
14Case Management Assistance
- Basic concept - provide referral service to
disaster applicants about housing opportunities
job information child care information and
similar information to achieve self-sufficiency. - Two pilot programs one with HHS and one with
certain disaster victims who remain in temporary
housing units from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita - Section 426 of Stafford Act
15Pets
- Federal agencies may be mission-assigned to
provide assistance to meet immediate threats to
life and property to provide rescue, care,
shelter, and essential needs - - To individuals with household pets and
service animals - - To such pets and animals
- Public Assistance Policy 9523.19 (Oct 24, 2007)
- Section 403(a)(3)(J) of Stafford Act
16Essential Service Providers
- An essential service provider is a municipal
entity, nonprofit entity or private for-profit
entity that provides telecommunications service,
electrical power, natural gas, water and sewer
services or any other essential service as
determined by the President - The head of a Federal agency may not deny or
impede access to the disaster site to an
essential service provider whose access is
necessary to restore and repair an essential
service. 42 U.S.C. 5189e
17Authority to Assist the Private Sector
- Facilitate the Federal mission
- Request by State or local government
- Work through Infrastructure Liaison
- Example -- Security
18Other Authorities Topics to be Covered
- Victims of Crime Act
- Economy Act
- Defense Production Act
19Victims of Crime Act(VOCA)
- Mandated Expenses. The state must pay for
medical expenses, mental health counseling, and
lost wages if those are attributable to physical
injury, and must cover funeral expenses as well.
- Beyond these, the state can cover anything else
except - Property Damage VOCA prohibits the use of
federal funds for property damage. - Last Payer. VOCA is a last payer in relationship
to all federal benefit programs. - 42 U.S.C. 10601 - 10608
20Economy Act
- The head of an agency may place an order with a
major organizational unit within the same agency
or another agency for goods or services - - The order is in the best interest of the
United States - The agency to fill the order
is able to obtain by contract the ordered goods
or services and - - The head of the agency decides the goods or
services cant be provided by contract as
conveniently or cheaply by a commercial
enterprise - 31 U.S.C. 1535
21 Defense Production Act (DPA)
- Among other things, the DPA allows for the
expansion of domestic productive capacity beyond
the levels needed to meet the civilian demand
and some diversion of certain materials and
facilities from civilian use to military and
related purposes.(!1) - (5) to meet the requirements referred to in this
subsection, this Act sections 2061 to 2171 of
this Appendix affords to the President an array
of authorities to shape defense preparedness
programs and to take appropriate steps to
maintain and enhance the defense industrial and
technological base (6) the activities referred
to in this subsection are needed in order to -
(A) improve domestic defense industrial base
efficiency and responsiveness (B) reduce the
time required for industrial mobilization in the
event of an attack on the United States or
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