...programs authorized by the Stafford Act, namely the Public Assistance (PA), Individual Assistance (IA), and Hazard Mitigation Grant Programs (HMGP). The law reforms the Stafford Act in part by reauthorizing several “pilot” programs established previously in Title VI of P.L. 109-295, the Post-Katrina Emergency Management ReformAct of 2006 (PKEMRA). SRIA also authorizes tribes to request a declaration of an emergency or major disaster, as was previously only allowed for states. It also directs FEMA to establish procedures for arbitrating disputes relating to disaster assistance, and directs FEMA to create a national strategy for mitigating the cost of future disasters. 1
As it relates to the Public Assistance Program, this new law amended the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, specifically adding Section 428, Public Assistance Alternative Procedures (PAAP), which authorizes alternative procedures for the Program.
The major goals of the Section 428 provisions are to reduce the costs to the Federal Government of providing Public Assistance, increase flexibility in the administration of such assistance, expedite the provision of assistance to a State, tribal or local government, or nonprofit owner or operator of a private nonprofit facility, and provide financial incentives as well as disincentives for timely and cost- effective completion of projects with such assistance. 2
The PAAP are still in place today as voluntary programs and apply to debris removal (emergency work) and repair, restoration and replacement of eligible disaster-damaged facilities (permanent work) projects. FEMA is gathering meaningful information on the effectiveness of these new procedures in order to revise and improve processes and controls as the pilot proceeds.
According to the PAAP Debris Removal Pilot Guide (Version 5) dated June 28, 2017, the provisions of Section 428 that relate to debris removal allow for: