Application Procedures

Appeal Brief

Summary Paragraph

During the incident period of July 25, 2022, through July 28, 2022, Missouri experienced severe storms. The President declared a major disaster on August 8, 2022. The 30-day deadline to submit its RPA was September 7, 2022. On September 2, 2022, the Missouri State Emergency Management Agency’s (Recipient) sent a reminder email to the City of Maplewood (Applicant) of the upcoming September 7, 2022, deadline to submit its Request for Public Assistance (RPA). On October 18, 2022, the Applicant submitted a letter to the Recipient, requesting acceptance of the late RPA. The Recipient forwarded the request to FEMA on October 24, 2022, recommending denial. FEMA denied the request for an RPA time extension. FEMA found the Applicant’s lack of knowledge of the RPA submittal deadline did not constitute extenuating circumstances beyond the Recipient or Applicant’s control. The Applicant appealed FEMA’s denial of its time extension request to submit its RPA. The Applicant described various disaster cleanup events and implied these events pulled its staff and resources, preventing it from submitting its RPA. It stated it was unaware of the RPA deadline submission. In its transmittal of the Applicant’s appeal, the Recipient recommended denying the Applicant’s appeal. FEMA Region 7 denied the Applicant’s first appeal finding the Regional Administrator (RA) did not possess the authority to grant an extension in this case because the Recipient did not request one. Further, the Applicant had not demonstrated that extenuating circumstances prevented the Applicant from submitting a timely RPA submission within the 30-day deadline. In its second appeal, the Applicant reiterates its first appeal arguments and again requests FEMA approve the RPA due to extenuating circumstances. The Applicant emphasizes that it was the victim of misinformation and miscommunication. In its second appeal transmittal letter, the Recipient states the Applicant acted reasonable given the instructions received and recommends FEMA grant the appeal. The Applicant asserts lack of Recipient and FEMA communication led to confusion and, ultimately, the untimely RPA submission.

Authorities and Second Appeals

• 44 C.F.R. § 206.202(b), (c), and (f)(2).
• PAPPG, at 36.
• Oconee Joint Reg’l Sewer Auth., FEMA-4542-DR-SC, at 2; V.I. Hous. Auth., FEMA-4340-DR-VI at 3; N. Miami Beach Med. Ctr., FEMA-4337-DR-FL.

Headnotes

• If an applicant wishes to seek Public Assistance funding, it must first submit an RPA to FEMA through the recipient. Recipients must submit an applicant’s completed RPA to the FEMA RA within 30 days after designation of the area where the damage occurred. FEMA may extend this deadline if the recipient submits a request in writing with justification based on extenuating circumstances beyond the recipient’s or the applicant’s control.
  • Confusion on the Applicant’s part, and limited staffing and resources due to the disaster events does not constitute extenuating circumstances beyond its or the Recipient’s control. 

Conclusion

The Applicant has not demonstrated extenuating circumstances beyond either its or the Recipient’s control to justify the late submission of the RPA. Therefore, this appeal is denied.

Appeal Letter

Appeal Analysis

Background

During the incident period of July 25-28, 2022, Missouri experienced severe storms and flooding. The President declared a major disaster on August 8, 2022. The regulatory 30-day deadline to submit a Request for Public Assistance (RPA) to FEMA expired September 7, 2022.[1] On September 2, 2022, the Missouri State Emergency Management Agency (Recipient) sent a reminder email to the City of Maplewood (Applicant) of the upcoming September 7, 2022, deadline to submit its RPA.[2] On October 18, 2022, the Applicant submitted a letter to the Recipient, requesting acceptance of the late RPA.[3] The Applicant stated that it was not aware of the RPA deadline until October 5, 2022, after the September 7, 2022, deadline had passed. The Recipient forwarded the request to FEMA on October 24, 2022, recommending denial of the request.

On October 26, 2022, FEMA denied the request for a time extension for the Applicant to submit its RPA. FEMA found the Applicant’s confusion of the RPA submittal deadline did not constitute extenuating circumstances beyond the Recipient’s or Applicant’s control.

First Appeal

In a letter dated November 21, 2022, the Applicant appealed FEMA’s denial of its time extension request to submit its RPA. The Applicant described various disaster cleanup events and implied that those events pulled its staff and resources preventing it from submitting its RPA. It stated it did not understand it needed to submit an RPA to receive disaster assistance and noted that FEMA told the Applicant it should wait for further contact rather than submitting its RPA to the Recipient.

In a transmittal letter dated November 28, 2022, the Recipient recommended denying the Applicant’s appeal. Specifically, the Recipient noted the administrative record showed the Applicant knew of the RPA deadline. Additionally, the Recipient reiterated FEMA’s finding in its determination that the Applicant’s confusion did not constitute extenuating circumstances beyond the Recipient’s or Applicant’s control.

On February 23, 2023, the FEMA Region 7 Regional Administrator (RA) denied the Applicant’s first appeal finding the RA did not possess the authority to grant an extension in this case because the Recipient did not request one. Further, FEMA determined the Applicant had not demonstrated that extenuating circumstances prevented the Applicant from submitting a timely RPA submission within the 30-day deadline.

Second Appeal

The Applicant submitted a second appeal on April 24, 2023. The Applicant reiterates its first appeal arguments and again requests FEMA accept its late RPA due to extenuating circumstances. In its second appeal, the Applicant expands its argument concerning the communication it received from FEMA, stating that the Applicant was never informed to contact the Recipient to submit its RPA. The Applicant explained it was awaiting contact from FEMA and the deadline for submitting its RPA passed. In a May 1, 2023, appeal transmittal letter, the Recipient states the Applicant acted reasonably given the instructions received and recommends FEMA grant the appeal.

Discussion

If an applicant wishes to seek Public Assistance funding, it must first submit an RPA to FEMA through the recipient.[4] Recipients must submit an applicant’s completed RPA to the FEMA RA within 30 days after designation of the area where the damage occurred.[5] FEMA may extend this deadline if the recipient submits a written justification based on extenuating circumstances beyond the applicant’s or the recipient’s control.[6] The recipient is responsible for providing technical advice and assistance to all eligible applicants, ensuring all potential applicants are aware of available PA, and submitting documents necessary for the award of grants.[7] 

The deadline for applicants to submit RPAs for this disaster was September 7, 2022. Here, the Applicant submitted its RPA on October 18, 2022, and the Recipient forwarded it on October 24, 2022. The administrative record includes documentation to show the Applicant received an email on September 2, 2022 from the Recipient reminding the Applicant of the September 7, 2022 RPA deadline. The Applicant asserts both lack of Recipient and FEMA communication led to confusion and, miscommunication from FEMA about the Applicant’s responsibility to submit the RPA contributed to the Applicant’s untimely RPA submission. However, confusion on the Applicant’s part does not constitute extenuating circumstances beyond its or the Recipient’s control.[8] Additionally, in its first and second appeals, the Applicant described various disaster cleanup events and indicated the disaster cleanup efforts and events pulled its resources and staffing in many directions and impacted its submittal of its RPA. However, limited staffing and resources due to the disaster events also does not constitute extenuating circumstances beyond the Applicant’s or the Recipient’s control.[9] Therefore, the Applicant has not demonstrated extenuating circumstances beyond either its or the Recipient’s control to justify the late submission of the RPA.

Conclusion

The Applicant has not demonstrated extenuating circumstances beyond either its or the Recipient’s control to justify the late submission of the RPA. Therefore, this appeal is denied.