This lesson identifies activities in Phase I of the Public Assistance Delivery Model and the roles and responsibilities of the Recipient and Applicant.

Upon completion of this lesson, participants should be able to:

• Identify the activities in Phase I of the Public Assistance process
• Define Recipient and Applicant roles and responsibilities during Phase I

For Applicants impacted by an incident to be considered for Public Assistance grant funding, the Recipient must provide FEMA with a Public Assistance Administrative Plan.

• Public Assistance Administrative Plan: Recipient produced document describing how it intends to administer the Public Assistance Program (this must be submitted on an annual basis)

The President can declare an emergency for any incident or instance if s/he determines the State/Tribe/Territory requires federal assistance.

Emergency declarations supplement State, Local, Tribal, or Territorial government efforts in providing emergency services (e.g., life, property, public health).

• Emergency declarations do not typically exceed $5 million in assistance
• Only Categories A and/or B of Public Assistance may be authorized under an emergency declaration

Emergency declarations occur in one of three ways:

• The President declares an Emergency declaration or Major Disaster Declaration after a joint preliminary damage assessment
• Expedited Declaration: Occurs when a disaster is clearly catastrophic
• This request and declaration follow the same process. However, the request may be submitted before the formal Joint Preliminary Damage Assessments
• Pre-disaster Emergency declaration: Occurs in advance or anticipation of the imminent impact of an incident that threatens such destruction as could result in a major disaster
• This request and declaration follow the same process as previously described; however, the request occurs prior to the disaster impacting the United States or its territories
• The request must meet all statutory and regulatory requirements for an Emergency declaration request
• The request must demonstrate the existence of critical emergency protective measures

The President can declare a Major Disaster for any natural event (e.g., hurricane, tornado, storm) that s/he determines has caused damage of such severity that it is beyond the combined capabilities of State, Tribal, Territorial, and local governments.

• The Major Disaster Declaration specifies which Categories of Work under Public Assistance are available
• Emergency Work
• Category A
• Debris Removal
• Category B
• Emergency Protective Measures
• Permanent Work
• Category C
• Roads And Bridges
• Category D
• Water Control Facilities
• Category E
• Buildings And Equipment
• Category F
• Utilities
• Category G
• Parks, Recreational Areas, and Other Facilities

Add-ons:

• The Governor or Tribal Chief Executive can request the addition of counties to the declaration within 30 days of the declaration or the end of the incident period
• A request for extension may also be submitted within 30 days

Appeals:

• Post-declaration determinations are generally subject to a one-time appeal. Such appeals must be submitted within 30 days of the denial letter.

Post-declaration activities include:

• Disaster Operating Profile
• Disaster Overview Briefing
• Applicant Briefing
• Request for Public Assistance Submittal
• Assignment of the Program Delivery Manager
• Exploratory Call
• Damage Inventory
• Recovery Scoping Meeting
• Engaging Special Considerations

After the President declares an emergency or major disaster for a jurisdiction, the first activity in the Public Assistance Delivery Model is the development of a Disaster Operating Profile and facilitation of a Disaster Operating Briefing.

The Recipient works with the FEMA Regional leadership, the Infrastructure Branch Director, and the Public Assistance Group Supervisor to develop the Disaster Operating Profile. In order to develop the profile, the Recipient, along with their FEMA counterparts, review the event's Preliminary Damage Assessment data as well as any historical known data. Based on this information, the Disaster Operating Profile includes:

• Information of the type of peril
• State, Local, Tribe, or Territory capacity
• Primary impacts from the event
• Estimated disaster-related damage by Category of Work
• Significant damage
• Geographic considerations
• Projected number of Applicants (including the number of private nonprofits)
• Special considerations challenges
• Mitigation opportunities
• Potential other Federal Agency involvement

Once the Recipient, the FEMA Regional leadership, the Infrastructure Branch Director, and the Public Assistance Group Supervisor develop the Disaster Operating Profile, they conduct a Disaster Overview Briefing for field and Consolidated Resource Center staff. During the briefing, the Infrastructure Branch Director, Public Assistance Group Supervisor, and the Recipient do the following:

• Review the Disaster Operating Profile
• Establish the operational tempo of the event
• Set overall expectations
• Describe the level of participation by the Recipient
• Present foreseen environmental and historic preservation concerns and hazard mitigation opportunities

As soon as possible following the President's declaration and the creation of the Disaster Operating Profile, the Recipient conducts briefings for all potential Applicants.

• The Applicant can ask FEMA to support the Applicant Briefing

The Applicant Briefing should contain:

• Introduction to Grants Portal and the creation of an account for all Applicants who have yet to receive an account
• Once an organization receives an account, only individual users have to be created (if they do not already have one)
• How to submit a Request for Public Assistance
• General eligibility requirements
• The four main criteria for eligibility are Applicant, Facility, Work, and Cost
• For more information, please refer to the course: IS-1000 Public Assistance Program and Eligibility
• Administrative requirements
• Procurement requirements
• Environmental and Historic Preservation compliance requirements
• Requirements should align with Federal, State, Tribal, and/or Territorial environmental and historic preservation laws, Executive Orders, statutes, and regulations
• Applicants are responsible for compliance
• For more information, please refer to the courses: IS-1019 Codes and Standards, or IS-1016 Environmental and Historic Preservation Considerations/Compliance
• Hazard Mitigation
• For more information, please refer to the course: IS-1014 Integrating 406 Mitigation into Your Public Assistance Grant
• Recordkeeping
• Recipients should inform Applicants to keep a record of all costs and work done, and gather all documentation needed to obtain their potential grant obligation
• For more information, please refer to the course: IS-1006 Documenting Disaster Damage and Developing Project Files

The Applicant should do the following to maximize the benefits of the information presented at the Applicant Briefing:

• Send representatives from its management, emergency response, public works, and accounting/finance/procurement operations departments

• Designate a primary point of contact to interact with Recipient and FEMA

• The primary point of contact from the Applicant's office should be a trusted staff member who can undertake the workload of the Public Assistance process

• Submit a Request for Public Assistance after the meeting, if ready to do so

• The Applicant Briefing is a great time to receive help from the Recipient in submitting the Request for Public Assistance

In addition to submitting the Request for Public Assistance via Grants Portal, certain circumstances arise that deviate from this process.

• Some Recipients have invested in developing their own internal online systems to collect Requests for Public Assistance from their Applicants
• If the Recipient chooses to use their own internal system to collect Requests for Public Assistance, they need to communicate this information to the Infrastructure Branch Director or Public Assistance Groups Supervisor at the very beginning of recovery operation
• FEMA works with the Recipient in these circumstances to get the required information uploaded into Grants Portal for Request for Public Assistance submission
• The Request for Public Assistance must but put into Grants Portal for the grant development process to continue
• In Level I events, to expedite funding, the Recipient and Applicant may submit their Request for Public Assistance using paper forms
• FEMA personnel will discuss this method with the Recipient in the case that this method is chosen or allowed

The Recipient completes the following tasks for the Request for Public Assistance:

• Provide Applicants access to Grants Portal

• Review Applicants' Request for Public Assistance

• Grants Portal notifies Recipients when a request needs to be reviewed

 

• The Recipient makes sure all necessary information is completed

• After the Recipient reviews the Request for Public Assistance, Grants Portal sends a workflow task to FEMA to review the Request for Public Assistance for eligibility determination

Applicants will submit the Request for Public Assistance in Grants Portal or through the system designated by their Recipient.

Applicants who are private nonprofit organizations, will need to submit additional documentation with the Request for Public Assistance including:

• Valid Charter and/or By-Laws
• Accreditation
• Tax Exemption Certificate
• For more information, please refer to the course: IS-1026 Eligibility of Private Nonprofit Organizations

A private nonprofit's Requests for Public Assistance goes through an additional review by FEMA's Office of Chief Council to determine the scope of eligibility.

After Recipient and FEMA determine the Applicant is eligible, FEMA will assign a Program Delivery Manager to the Applicant.

• The Program Delivery Manager acts as a primary point of contact for the Applicant
• Typically, each Applicant receives one Program Delivery Manager
• However, if the Applicant experiences significant damages and the Applicant has several sub-agencies going under the same Request for Public Assistance, FEMA may decide to assign several Program Delivery Managers to the Applicant
• Applicants and Recipients should communicate their need to FEMA prior to Program Delivery Manager assignment
• S/he coordinates between FEMA and the Applicant to deliver the Public Assistance program on behalf of FEMA, ensure required documentation is collected, and resolve unmet needs
• Program Delivery Managers are typically assigned between five to seven Applicants depending on several factors:
• Severity and number of damages Applicants are initially estimating
• Geographical location of Applicants
• Level of experience and expertise of the Program Delivery Manager

When an Applicant is assigned a Program Delivery Manager, the Recipient interacts and coordinates with both to:

• Partner with the Program Delivery Manager and Applicant
• Attend all meetings between the Applicants and Program Delivery Manager
• Serve as the Applicant's advocate
• Assist with the collection of documentation

Once FEMA assigns a Program Delivery Manager to an Applicant, the two conduct an Exploratory Call within seven days. The purpose of the Exploratory Call is to gather information critical to assisting the Applicant through the delivery process. The Program Delivery Manager stresses disaster-related damages during the call and explains the significance of the Damage Inventory.

What is the Exploratory Call?

• The Exploratory Call introduces the Applicant to their Program Delivery Manager
• The Program Delivery Manager will introduce their role and the Public Assistance grant program
• The Applicant, Recipient, and Program Delivery Manager discuss the following on the call:
• Disaster-related damage
• Damage Inventory development
• Documentation needed to support the Applicant's claim
• Capabilities of the Applicant (e.g., resources at their disposal, including people, engineering capabilities, equipment)
• Possible environmental and historic preservation or hazard mitigation involvement
• The date, time, and meeting location of the Recovery Scoping Meeting
• Essential paperwork to bring or upload into Grants Portal prior to the Recovery Scoping Meeting
• Potential FEMA participants at the Recovery Scoping Meeting (e.g. environmental and historic preservation or hazard mitigation)
• Potential Applicant participants at the Recovery Scoping Meeting

Note: For more information on the Exploratory Call, please refer the course: IS-1003 The Exploratory Call, Damage Inventory, and Recovery Scoping Meeting.

The Recipient attends the Exploratory Call to provide assistance, if needed. The Recipient will also do the following:

• Ensure all matters of the disaster-related damage are discussed

• Take note of when the Program Delivery Manager and the Applicant will hold the Recovery Scoping Meeting

In order to have a productive Exploratory Call, the Applicant should prepare for and discuss the following:

• Identify disaster-related damage

• Special consideration concerns (i.e., hazard mitigation, environmental and historic preservation, and insurance)

• Potential participants at the Recovery Scoping Meeting

• Questions about disaster-related damage or the Damage Inventory

The Recipient continues to coordinate with the Applicant during the development of the Damage Inventory by:

• Communicating with the Applicant to determine the progress of the Damage Inventory

• Acting as an asset to the Applicant by answering any questions

• Ensuring the Applicant uploads their initial Damage Inventory prior to the Recovery Scoping Meeting to the best of their ability

The Recovery Scoping Meeting is designed to address the specific needs of each eligible Applicant identified in the Exploratory Call. The meeting usually occurs within 21 days of the Program Delivery Manager assignment to the Applicant and starts the 60-day regulatory timeframe for the Applicant to identify and report all damages on the Damage Inventory.

While at the meeting, the Program Delivery Manager, Applicant, and Recipient discuss:

• Damage Inventory
• Discuss Public Assistance general eligibility
• Discuss project formulation
• Discuss logical groupings for sites that require site inspections
• Discuss Applicant's recovery priorities
• Discuss Applicant's capabilities, capacities, and availability
• Discuss special considerations
• Documentation required to support the Applicant's claims
• Review the documentation the Applicant has submitted
• Utilize the Essential Elements of Information questionnaires to determine additional documentation or information needed
• Schedule site inspections
• Confirm the Applicant's capability and capacity to participate in site inspections
• Develop a Program Delivery Plan
• Include target timelines
• Review regulatory timelines
• Schedule regularly scheduled meetings

The Recipient attends the Recovery Scoping Meeting to assist in any way possible.

To help the Public Assistance grants process, the Recipient does the following:

• Coordinate with the Program Delivery Manager to meet at least three days prior to the Recovery Scoping Meeting

• Act as an asset to the Applicant by answering any questions

• Remind the Applicant to document any special considerations and to obtain and upload project-applicable documentation to Grants Portal

The Applicant needs to do the following to conduct a successful Recovery Scoping Meeting:

• Bring staff with knowledge of the disaster-related damage, emergency activities performed, and related costs (e.g., public works official, finance staff, risk manager)
• Upload the Damage Inventory to Grants Portal
• After or during the Recovery Scoping Meeting, the Applicant should update the Damage Inventory with any changes discussed during the Recovery Scoping Meeting
• The Applicant has 60 days from the Recovery Scoping Meeting to finalize the identification of damages in the Damage Inventory
• Bring or upload appropriate documentation
• After the Recovery Scoping Meeting, the Applicant should review the Essential Elements of Information request made by the Program Delivery Manager to see what documentation is required for all projects

Note: For more information on the Recovery Scoping Meeting, please refer to the course: IS-1003 Exploratory Call, Damage Inventory, and Recovery Scoping Meeting.

Special considerations personnel (e.g. environmental and historic preservation and hazard mitigation) interact with the Program Delivery Manager, the Applicant, and the Recipient throughout Phase I of the Public Assistance Delivery Model, if needed.

If an Applicant has any questions about special considerations or believes their project will involve special considerations, they should contact their Program Delivery Manager as soon as possible.

• If parties involved perform work without consent from special considerations, it may jeopardize grant funding

During the transition to Phase II:

• The Program Delivery Manager logically groups the Applicant's damages into projects

• The Applicant's projects are placed in processing lanes based on the complexity and completion of the work

In this lesson, participants learned of the major actions taken during Phase I of the Public Assistance Delivery Model and the Recipient and Applicant's responsibilities.

The next lesson provides participants with the actions taken during Phase II.

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