FEMA Disaster Relief

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FEMA Disaster Relief

• Diane Donley
• Office of Chief Counsel
• 202-646-3120
• Diane.Donley_at_dhs.gov
• September 15, 2008

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History

• 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

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Primary 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

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Stafford 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

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Public 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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Public 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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Individual 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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Individual 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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Hazard 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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Accelerated 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

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Evacuation 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).

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Mission 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.

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Transportation 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

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Case 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

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Pets

• 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

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Essential 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

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Authority to Assist the Private Sector

• Facilitate the Federal mission
• Request by State or local government
• Work through Infrastructure Liaison
• Example -- Security

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Other Authorities Topics to be Covered

• Victims of Crime Act
• Economy Act
• Defense Production Act

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Victims 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

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Economy 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

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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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