PURPOSE: This fact sheet explains in general the assistance that can be provided from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers(USACE) under Public Law 84-99(PL 84-99) and the correct process that must be followed to request Federal Assistance.

This fact sheet explains in general the assistance that can be provided from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers(USACE) under Public Law 84-99(PL 84-99) and the correct process that must be followed to request Federal Assistance.

BACKGROUND: USACE emergency assistance under PL 84-99 during flood events will be of a temporary nature to meet the immediate threat and will be undertaken only to supplement State and Local efforts. State, tribal, and local interests must commit all available resources, i.e. work

USACE emergency assistance under PL 84-99 during flood events will be of a temporary nature to meet the immediate threat and will be undertaken only to supplement State and Local efforts. State, tribal, and local interests must commit all available resources, i.e. work force, supplies, equipment, funds, National Guard assets, etc., as a general condition of USACE assistance. USACE emergency efforts are not intended to provide permanent solutions to flood problems. In order to best serve our stakeholders, and by law of PL 84-99, requests for assistance to USACE may only be received from the State Emergency Management Agency. In the past, several communities have come directly to USACE for assistance; This will change this year and USACE will be directing those communities to follow the process, outlined below, to request resources. The proper procedure is to request assistance through the local, county, and then State emergency management offices. The request must include a detailed assessment of the resources committed, what type of assistance, and specific assistance.

PL 84-99 ADVANCED MEASURES – TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE:

Overview: USACE is authorized to provide supplemental technical assistance prior to the event for Communities threatened with imminent flooding potential. Assistance is provided to protect life and protection of public facilities/infrastructure. Assistance requires HQUSACE approval.

Overview: USACE is authorized to provide supplemental technical assistance prior to the event for Communities threatened with imminent flooding potential. Assistance is provided to protect life and protection of public facilities/infrastructure. Assistance requires HQUSACE approval.

-Governor’s letter requesting assistance required

-Evaluate flood threat to area

-Supplement data collection efforts

-Inspect existing Flood Control Works and identify problems

-Provide engineering technical services

-Provide information for local contingency/flood fight plans

PL 84-99 ADVANCED MEASURES – DIRECT ASSISTANCE:

Overview: USACE is authorized to provide supplemental direct assistance prior to the event for Communities threatened with imminent flooding potential. Assistance is provided to protect life and protection of public facilities/infrastructure. Assistance requires HQUSACE approval.

-Governor’s letter requesting assistance required

-State, County, and Local Emergency Declarations have been made.

-Supplemental to State and Local efforts

-Conduct field investigations/data collection

-Provide emergency construction of protective measures i.e. temporary levees

-Project Information Report approved by HQUSACE

-Project economically feasible and constructible before flood

-Imminent threat of unusual flooding – forecasted by National Weather Service

-Benefit-cost ratio greater than 1.0

-Project Cooperation Agreement (PCA) required

-Temporary features and must be removed by locals

-Applicants must furnish borrow, lands, rights, easements, and right-of-ways

-Applicants must make necessary relocations

-Hold harmless the U.S. Federal Government free from damages.

-Applicants must provide traffic control during construction

-Applicants must provide monitoring for levees and pumping operations.

PL 84-99 EMERGENCY OPERATIONS FLOOD FIGHTING – TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE:

Overview: Technical assistance consists of providing review and recommendations in support of State and Local efforts, and helping determine feasible solutions to uncommon situations.

-Guidance on flood fight techniques and emergency construction methods from experienced personnel

-Provide experienced personnel to inspect existing flood protection projects to identify problem areas and recommend corrective measures

-Provide hydraulic or hydrologic analysis, geotechnical evaluations, and stream data, maps, and historic flood or storm information.

PL 84-99 EMERGENCY OPERATIONS FLOOD FIGHTING – DIRECT ASSISTANCE:

Overview: This authority is initiated during a flood event as predicted by the National Weather Service.

-Assist or direct flood fight efforts

-Conduct field investigations/data collection

-Provide emergency flood fight supplies

-Initiate emergency contracting

Requirements:

-Supplemental to state/tribal/local government flood fight efforts

-Impacts to urban areas or public facilities only

-Temporary in nature and directed to the immediate threat

-Reasonable and prudent

-Request from local/counties must be made to the State Emergency Management Office for their review and processing

-USACE must receive request from the State to provide assistance

-Loaned supplies and equipment should be returned in the same condition as it was when lent, replaced in kind, or reimbursement made to USACE.

The Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (Public Law 100-707), signed into law on November 23, 1988; amended the Disaster Relief Act of 1974 (Public Law 93-288). The Stafford Act constitutes the statutory authority for most Federal disaster response activities especially as they pertain to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and FEMA programs.

Disaster Declaration Process Fact Sheet

The Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, 42 U.S.C. §§ 5121-5207 (the Stafford Act) §401 states in part that: "All requests for a declaration by the President that a major disaster exists shall be made by the governor of the affected state." A state also includes the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. The Marshall Islands and the Federated States of Micronesia are also eligible to request a declaration and receive assistance.
Preliminary Disaster Assessment

The governor's request is made through the applicable FEMA Regional Office. State and federal officials conduct a joint federal, state, and local Preliminary Damage Assessment (PDA) to determine the extent of the disaster and its impact on individuals and public facilities. This information is included in the governor's request to show that the disaster is of such severity and magnitude that effective response is beyond the capabilities of the state and the local governments and that supplemental federal assistance is necessary. Normally, the PDA is completed prior to the submission of the governor's request. However, when an obviously severe or catastrophic event occurs, the governor's request may be submitted prior to the PDA.

State Resources Overwhelmed

As part of the request, the Governor must take appropriate action under State law and direct execution of the State's emergency plan. The Governor shall furnish information on the nature and amount of State and local resources that have been or will be committed to alleviating the results of the disaster, provide an estimate of the amount and severity of damage and the impact on the private and public sectors, and provide an estimate of the type and amount of assistance needed under the Stafford Act.
In addition, the Governor must certify that, for the current disaster, State and local government obligations and expenditures (of which State commitments must be a significant proportion) will comply with all applicable cost-sharing requirements.

Declaration Types

There are two types of disaster declarations provided for in the Stafford Act: Emergency Declarations and Major Disaster Declarations. Both declaration types authorize the President to provide supplemental federal disaster assistance. However, the event related to the disaster declaration and type and amount of assistance differ.

Emergency Declarations: An Emergency Declaration can be declared for any occasion or instance when the President determines federal assistance is needed. Emergency Declarations supplement State and local efforts in providing emergency services, such as the protection of lives, property, public health, and safety, or to lessen or avert the threat of a catastrophe in any part of the United States. The total amount of assistance provided for a single emergency may not exceed $5 million. If this amount is exceeded, the President shall report to Congress.
Major Declaration: The President can declare a Major Disaster Declaration for any natural event, including any hurricane, tornado, storm, high water, wind-driven water, tidal wave, tsunami, earthquake, volcanic eruption, landslide, mudslide, snowstorm, or drought, or, regardless of cause, fire, flood, or explosion, that the President believes has caused damage of such severity that it is beyond the combined capabilities of state and local governments to respond. A major disaster declaration provides a wide range of federal assistance programs for individuals and public infrastructure, including funds for both emergency and permanent work.

Assistance Available for Major Declarations

Not all programs, however, are activated for every disaster. The determination of which programs are authorized is based the types of assistance specified in the governor’s request and on the needs identified during joint PDA and any subsequent PDAs. FEMA disaster assistance programs are as follows:

• Individual Assistance - Assistance to individuals and households;
• Public Assistance - Assistance to state and local governments and certain private nonprofit organizations for emergency work and the repair or replacement of disaster-damaged facilities; and
• Hazard Mitigation Assistance – Assistance to state and local governments and certain private nonprofit organizations for actions taken to prevent or reduce long term risk to life and property from natural hazards.

FEMA's mission is to support our citizens and first responders to ensure that as a nation we work together to build, sustain, and improve our capability to prepare for, protect against, respond to, recover from, and mitigate all hazards.