FEMA offers several streamlined methodologies as alternatives to completing the full BCA using the BCA Toolkit.
B.1.1. Substantially Damaged Structures in a Riverine SFHA
The acquisition of structures that are declared substantially damaged (from any hazard) and located in a riverine Special Flood Hazard Area (SFHA) on an advisory, preliminary, or effective Flood Insurance Rate Map is considered cost-effective. Substantial damage is defined as damage sustained by a building whereby the cost of restoring the building to its before-damaged condition would equal or exceed 50% of the market value of the building before the damage occurred.[184] If this methodology is used, the project subapplication must include a certification from the local floodplain administrator or a certified state/tribal floodplain specialist that identifies and declares each structure substantially damaged.
B.1.2. Pre-Calculated Benefits for Mitigation Projects
FEMA calculated several benefit-cost efficiencies to provide pre-calculated cost-effectiveness values. Using these pre-calculated benefits eliminates the requirement for applicants to conduct a separate BCA for eligible projects.
FEMA developed pre-calculated benefits for the following project types:
- Acquisitions, elevations, and mitigation reconstruction in the SFHA.
- Acquisitions of repetitive loss and severe repetitive loss structures outside of the SFHA.
- Residential hurricane wind retrofits.
- Non-residential hurricane wind retrofits.
- Residential tornado safe rooms.
- Post-wildfire mitigation (soil stabilization, flood diversion and reforestation).
- Generators for hospitals.
The precalculated benefits are not intended to drive actual project costs or to serve as a detailed project budget. Individual project budgets must be based on industry standards, vendor estimates or other acceptable sources. Projects must still meet all other applicable award and subaward requirements.
Pre-calculated benefits cannot be combined with benefits from a traditional BCR calculated using the FEMA BCA Toolkit for purposes of aggregation of benefits. The application of excess benefits from the pre-calculated structures cannot be applied to the structure(s) analyzed using the BCA Toolkit or other FEMA-approved methodology. If pre-calculated benefits for a project are not greater than the project costs, the BCA Toolkit can be used to perform BCA.
Detailed information on using pre-calculated benefits can be found by project type in Part 12. Additionally, new pre-calculated benefits and updated values for existing benefits can be found on the FEMA “Benefit-Cost Analysis” webpage.