Determining Eligibility

Depending on the damage and response activities, some counties may be declared for emergency work only (Categories A and B), while others may receive assistance for emergency and permanent work (Categories A through G). There are a few exceptions to the requirements related to being located within the designated disaster area.

If the work is related to sheltering or evacuation activities, these functions can be performed outside of the designated disaster area, as outlined in 44 CFR § 206.223(a)(2). Also, Tribal Governments do not always have geographical boundaries and some have boundaries that cross state lines. Therefore, Tribal Government declarations do not usually define specific designated geographical areas. If a specific designated area is not defined in the declaration, FEMA determines eligibility based on legal responsibility and whether the work is directly related to the declared incident.⁵ TEST #4 The Legal Responsibility of an Eligible Subrecipient As with eligible facilities, the work performed must be the legal responsibility of the Subrecipient at the time of the disaster to be eligible. Ownership of a facility is generally sufficient to establish responsibility for work undertaken to repair the facility. If a Subrecipient leases a facility as a tenant, however, repairs to that facility are not eligible unless the lease states that the lessee is responsible for such repairs. In this case, a copy of the lease agreement should be provided to FEMA to determine responsibility.

“When a request is made for Public Assistance for a facility whose repair FEMA considers to be under the authority of another federal agency, the specific federal agency with responsibility will be asked to review the request and advise FEMA whether the work is eligible.”

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