Disaster Recovery Reform Act, Section 1206: Hurricane Ida in Louisiana

Section 1206 of the Disaster Recovery Reform Act of 2018 (DRRA) (2018) authorizes FEMA to provide communities with the resources to administer and enforce building code and floodplain management ordinances following a major disaster declaration through FEMA’s Public Assistance (PA) Program.

Communities rebuilding after Hurricane Ida with FEMA Public Assistance (PA) major disaster declarations for Categories C-G, permanent work, should be gathering documentation for PA Grants Portal submission if they would like to seek reimbursement for building code and floodplain management administration and enforcement.

The reimbursement period for this policy ends on March 6, 2022 for Hurricane Ida DR-4611-LA.

What Does the Policy Allow For?

• Eligible work and costs such as reviewing and processing building and floodplain management permits and plans.
  • Generally, activities that a community would normally undertake to administer and enforce its codes would be eligible for reimbursement. As established within Section B.3 of the Building Code and Floodplain Management Administration and Enforcement (www.fema.gov/fema_building-dode-floodplain-management-ddministration-enforcement-policy), any activities not included on the list of examples of eligible activities will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis.
• Hiring, training and supervising staff—including overtime for budgeted employees and straight and overtime for unbudgeted employees and extra hires.
• Costs associated with reimbursement for mutual aid or Emergency Management Assistance Compact (EMAC) will be reimbursed according to provisions established in the Public Assistance Program and Policy Guide (PAPPG) and the mutual aid or EMAC executed agreement.
• Inspecting structures.
• Providing training.
• Preparing cost information for substantial damage determinations.

Work and costs are funded at the permanent work cost-share applicable to the disaster. Note permanent work, including eligible work and costs under this policy for Hurricane Ida is being funded at a 90% federal cost share (visit fema.gov/fema-cost-share-adjustment-grants-more-emergency-aid-louisiana for more information).

Ineligible Work

Ineligible work under Section 1206 includes activities associated with non-disaster damaged facilities or activities to update a community's laws, rules, procedures, or requirements. For example, updating building codes, adopting new zoning requirements, or developing new land use plans are not eligible for DRRA Section 1206 resources because outdated or insufficient building codes are not a result of the disaster.

Note: Revenue collected by the applicant (including fees and fines) is considered program income. The project worksheet will be reduced accordingly during closeout. If the applicant waives fees or fines following the disaster, FEMA will still reduce the eligible costs by the amount that the fees or fines would have been.

The 180 Day Period: Reimbursement is funded through FEMA’s PA program. The policy is limited to work and costs in disaster declared areas up to 180-days following the date the major disaster declaration is amended to authorize PA permanent work. PA can reimburse costs for eligible work done starting on the first day of the incident period.

PA C-G, Permanent Work, Designated Parishes: Ascension, Assumption, East Baton Rouge, East Feliciana, Iberville, Jefferson, Lafourche, Livingston, Orleans, Plaquemines, Pointe Coupee, St. Bernard, St. Charles, St. Helena, St. James, St. John the Baptist, St. Martin, St. Mary, St. Tammany, Tangipahoa, Terrebonne, Washington and West Feliciana. Note permanent work is being funded at 90%/10%

Eligibility for Support Under Section 1206

• State, local, Territorial, or Tribal (SLTT) governments authorized for assistance under a major disaster declaration are eligible for this type of assistance, consistent with other grants under FEMA’s PA Program.
• SLTT governments must be in good standing with the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), as FEMA will not fund activities covered in this policy under the PA Program in a community that is suspended from or has been sanctioned for not participating in the NFIP. (See supplemental document for NFIP communities by Parish)
• Eligible applicants must be legally responsible to administer and enforce building codes or floodplain management regulation (e.g., if a parish is legally responsible, then the parish would be the applicant; if a parish has a mutual aid agreement, the parish is still the applicant).  

What to Do Now:

• Floodplain and building code officials—NFIP participating communities must permit for floodplain development (including repairs) and thereby assess damage of any source to see if it would constitute substantial damage (SD) or substantial improvement (SI) and need to meet building/rebuilding standards. If your community needs help doing these floodplain damage assessments, start by relaying this need to your emergency manager. For a list of resources, view the Substantial Damage Toolkit on the LADOTD website. Talk to your community point of contact who works with the FEMA PA Program Delivery Manager (PDMG) about work and costs that might be reimbursable under the policy and any needed documentation for submittal. Track all staffing hours, work and costs so if reimbursement opens up, you are ready to give that to your community PA point of contact. Download forms at Public Assistance Overview (la.gov) and Resources - LouisianaPA.com, Forms and Materials tab.
• FEMA and state PA staff—remind community PA POCs to reach out to their emergency managers and floodplain/building code staff about eligible work and costs that the community may want to submit.  
• Project Worksheet (PW) Based on Work to Be Completed: Potentially, PA grants can be based on an estimate. Communities would have to develop a budget and substantiate that budget to bring it forward.
  • Example 1: A community already has a stand-by or pre-positioned contract for substantial damage assessments. Based on the scope of the services, the community can estimate what the cost of the services will be. This would be similar to a debris removal contract. The PW is based on an estimate with a substantiated budget.
  • Example 2: A community anticipates overtime for budgeted staff to do floodplain permitting and substantial damage assessment work. The community can project forced account labor for the number of staff that will be working (i.e., 7 staff members) and how many overtime hours per week they will be working (i.e., 20 hours/week), including their hourly rates and fringe benefits. The community can provide historical payroll records to help substantiate the claim.

FEMA can obligate money for eligible work, and the funding will be released to GOHSEP. GOHSEP has a process to expedite requests, but will still need invoices, timesheets and other documentation. Communities can turn in documentation as frequently as they want, potentially every week, pay period or monthly.

Mutual Aid and Compacts:

Interstate Mutual Aid Compact (IMAC) is an intrastate agreement that enables Parish-to-Parish assistance when a mutual aid agreement (MAA) between parishes is not already in place. IMAC may be the best route for asking for help from another jurisdictional employee, like another community’s floodplain administrator, if your community needs help with floodplain damage assessments, determinations and floodplain permitting. Talk to your parish emergency operations manager about your need for assistance. That office will sign and process the request in WebEOC. The employee from the other parish will need to be paid back.

Emergency Management Assistance Compact (EMAC) requires Mission Ready Packages (MRPs). For more information and to view templates visit Mission Ready Packages (emacweb.org). For more information on floodplain disaster response teams, view Disaster Response Team (lfma.org) and DART – Disaster Assistance Response Team (floods.org).

If a community needs help doing floodplain damage assessments, it’s important to talk to your emergency manager about the need. They may seek an IMAC request, reassign other salaried staff to help if possible, use volunteers, request mutual aid, use a contractor, and reach out to your state and FEMA floodplain contacts for assistance. Agreements and contracts may take time to secure following federal procurement guidelines.

For the latest information on Hurricane Ida visit fema.gov/disaster/4611. Follow us on Twitter at twitter.com/FEMARegion6 and like us on Facebook at facebook.com/FEMARegion6/.

Hurricane Ida DRRA 1206 Eligible Louisiana Communities  

Section 1206 of the Disaster Recovery Reform Act of 2018 (DRRA) (2018) authorizes FEMA to provide communities with the resources to administer and enforce building code and floodplain management ordinances following a major disaster declaration through FEMA’s Public Assistance (PA) Program. To be eligible for assistance from the DRRA, the governments must be in good standing with the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), as FEMA will not fund activities covered in this policy under the PA program in a community that is suspended from or has been sanctioned for not participating in the NFIP.

Eligible Hurricane Ida Affected Louisiana Parishes

Ascension Parish Communities:

• Ascension Parish
• Donaldsonville
• Gonzales
• Sorrento

Assumption Parish Communities:

• Assumption Parish
• Napoleonville

East Baton Rouge Parish Communities:

• Baker
• Central
• East Baton Rouge Parish
• Zachary

East Feliciana Parish Communities:

• Clinton
• East Feliciana Parish
• Jackson
• Norwood
• Slaughter
• Wilson

Iberville Parish Communities:

• Grosse Tete
• Iberville Parish
• Maringouin
• Plaquemine, City of
• Rosedale
• St. Gabriel
• White Castle

Jefferson Parish Communities:

• City of Gretna
• City of Harahan
• City of Kenner
• City of Westwego
• Jefferson Parish
• Town of Grand Isle
• Town of Jean Lafitte

Lafourche Parish Communities:

• City of Thibodaux
• Lafourche Parish
• Town of Golden Meadow
• Town of Lockport

Livingston Parish Communities:

• Albany
• Denham Springs
• French Settlement
• Killian
• Livingston Parish
• Port Vincent
• Springfield
• Town of Livingston
• Walker

Orleans Parish Communities:

• Orleans Parish

Plaquemines Parish Communities:

• Plaquemines Parish

Pointe Coupee Parish Communities:

• Fordoche
• Livonia
• Morganza
• New Roads
• Pointe Coupee Parish

St. Bernard Parish Communities:

• St. Bernard Parish

St. Charles Parish Communities:

• St. Charles Parish

St. Helena Parish Communities:

• Greensburg
• Montpelier
• St. Helena Parish

St. James Parish Communities:

• St. James Parish
• Town of Gramercy
• Town of Lutcher

St. John the Baptist Parish Communities:

• St. John the Baptist Parish

St. Martin Parish Communities:

• Arnaudville
• Breaux Bridge
• Broussard
• Henderson
• Parks
• St. Martin Parish
• St. Martinville

St. Mary Parish Communities:

• Baldwin
• Berwick
• Chitimacha Tribe of Louisiana
• Franklin, City of
• Morgan City
• Patterson
• St. Mary Parish

St. Tammany Parish Communities:

• City of Covington
• City of Mandeville
• City of Slidell
• St. Tammany Parish
• Town of Abita Springs
• Town of Madisonville
• Town of Pearl River
• Village of Folsom
• Village of Sun

Tangipahoa Parish Communities:

• City of Hammond
• City of Ponchatoula
• City of Tickfaw
• Tangipahoa Parish
• Town of Amite City
• Town of Independence
• Town of Kentwood
• Town of Roseland
• Village of Tangipahoa

Terrebonne Parish Communities:

• City of Houma
• Terrebonne Parish

Washington Parish Communities:

• City of Bogalusa
• Town of Franklin
• Village of Angie
• Village of Varnado
• Washington Parish

West Feliciana Parish Communities:

• St. Francisville
• West Feliciana Parish