The applicant must submit all HMGP subapplications (including recipient and subrecipient management costs requests) to FEMA within 12 months of the date of the major disaster declaration. Upon written request and justification from the recipient, FEMA may extend the application submission timeline in 30- to 90-day increments not to exceed a total extension of 180 calendar days, for a total possible application period of 18 months, in the event of extraordinary conditions.[295]
FEMA may extend the application period beyond 180 calendar days based on meeting the criteria of Section 301 of the Stafford Act,[296] which provides relief for the rare and extraordinary circumstance when the magnitude of the event for which the extension is requested prevents the recipient from meeting program administrative requirements. These requests will be considered on a case-by-case basis.
Extension requests must be submitted while the application period is still open. All extension requests submitted by the recipient must:
- Demonstrate that the recipient has made substantial progress in implementing the mitigation strategy and has submitted complete, eligible applications for a significant portion of HMGP assistance. FEMA will not accept incomplete or placeholder applications.
- Include a detailed narrative justification for the extension request that must:
- Describe how the disaster created the conditions that prevented the recipient from meeting the application period deadline.
- Document how HMGP was implemented consistent with the Administrative Plan including successes, challenges and failures.
- Provide an implementation strategy and goals to use the remaining assistance including a reasonable assessment of the additional time requested and an updated Administrative Plan.
- Identify any technical assistance that can assist in addressing resource gaps and/or is needed by the recipient to successfully implement the program.
- Provide a schedule of 30-day milestones and the associated goals for successful application submission up to the HMGP ceiling. FEMA will require the recipient to provide monthly updates to measure progress in implementing HMGP.
- Explain why any program support resources, including project scoping/advance assistance, technical assistance or training that FEMA provided during the application period were insufficient to successfully meet the application deadline.
If the HMGP ceiling amount is recalculated after the application period has closed, FEMA cannot reopen the application period. If the application period is open, the recipient can submit a request to extend the application period in accordance with Part 6. The recipient must submit the request to the FEMA associate administrator through the regional administrator or, if there is a joint field office, through the federal coordinating officer. The regional administrator or federal coordinating officer will provide their comments or concurrence and forward the request. To be considered, the applicant’s inability to meet the HMGP application period deadline must have resulted from the event leading to the major disaster declaration.
FEMA will not accept lack of capacity as a valid justification for an extension if the recipient has not requested program support. For example, recipients must report problems, delays or adverse conditions that weaken their ability to meet the timeline for the request for extension to be justified. In addition, recipients must make efforts to address problems, delays or adverse conditions to have adequate justification for FEMA to approve a request.