General, The Secretary, and the Comptroller General of the United States, or their duly authorized representatives, shall have access to any books, documents, papers, and records that pertain to Federal funds, equipment, and supplies received under this section for the purpose of audit and examination.

[54 FR 11615, Mar. 21, 1989, as amended at 68 FR 9900, Mar. 3, 2003]

§§ 206.172-206.180 [Reserved]

§ 206.181 Use of gifts and bequests for disaster assistance purposes.

(a) General. FEMA sets forth procedures for the use of funds made possible by a bequest of funds from the late Cora C. Brown of Kansas City, Missouri, who left a portion of her estate to the United States for helping victims of natural disasters and other disasters not caused by or attributable to war. FEMA intends to use the funds, and any others that may be bequeathed under this authority, in the manner and under the conditions described below.

(b) Purposes for awarding funds. Money from the Cora Brown Fund may only be used to provided for disasterrelated needs that have not been or will not be met by governmental agencies or any other organizations which have programs to address such needs; however, the fund is not intended to replace or supersede these programs. For example, if assistance is available from another source, including the Individual and Family Grant program and government-sponsored disaster loan assistance, then money from the Cora Brown Fund will not be available to the applicant for the same purpose. Listed below are the general categories of assistance which can be provided by the Cora Brown Fund:

(1) Disaster-related home repair and rebuilding assistance to families for permanent housing purposes, including site acquisition and development, relocation of residences out of hazardous areas, assistance with costs associated with temporary housing or permanent rehousing (e.g., utility deposits, access, transportation, connection of utilities,

etc.);

(2) Disaster-related unmet needs of families who are unable to obtain ade

quate assistance under the Act or from other sources. Such assistance may inIclude but is not limited to: health and safety measures; evacuation costs; assistance delineated in the Act or other Federal, State, local, or volunteer programs; hazard mitigation or floodplain management purposes; and assistance to self-employed persons (with no employees) to reestablish their businesses; and

(3) Other services which alleviate human suffering and promote the well being of disaster victims. For example, services to the elderly, to children, or to handicapped persons, such as transportation, recreational programs, provision of special ramps, or hospital or home visiting services. The funds may be provided to individual disaster victims, or to benefit a group of disaster victims.

(c) Conditions for use of the Cora Brown Fund. (1) The Cora Brown Fund is available only when the President declares that a major disaster or emergency exists under the Act, only in areas designated as eligible for Federal disaster assistance through notice in the Federal Register, and only at the discretion of the Assistant Associate Director, Office of Disaster Assistance Programs, FEMA. The fund is limited to the initial endowment plus accrued interest, and this assistance program will cease when the fund is used up.

(2) A disaster victim normally will receive no more than $2,000 from this fund in any one declared disaster unless the Assistant Associate Director determines that a larger amount is in the best interest of the disaster victim and the Federal Government. Funds to provide service which benefit a group may be awarded in an amount determined by the Assistant Associate Director, based on the Regional Director's recommendation.

(3) The fund may not be used in a way that is inconsistent with other federally mandated disaster assistance or insurance programs, or to modify other generally applicable requirements.

(4) Funds awarded to a disaster victim may be provided by FEMA jointly to the disaster victim and to a State or local agency, or volunteer organization, to enable such an agent to assist in providing the approved assistance to

an applicant. Example: Repair funds may be provided jointly to an applicant and the Mennonite Disaster Service, who will coordinate the purchase of supplies and provide the labor.

(5) Money from this fund will not duplicate assistance for which a person is eligible from other sources.

(6) In order to comply with the Flood Disaster Protection Act of 1973 (Pub. L. 93-234), as amended, any award for acquisition or construction purposes shall carry a requirement that any adequate flood insurance policy be purchased and maintained. The Assistant Associate Director shall determine what is adequate based on the purpose of the award.

(7) The fund shall be administered in an equitable and impartial manner without discrimination on the grounds of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, age, or economic status.

(8) Funds awarded to a disaster victim from this fund may be combined with funds from other sources.

(d) Administrative procedures. (1) The Assistant Associate Director, Office of Disaster Assistance Programs, shall be responsible for awarding funds and authorizing disbursement.

(2) The Comptroller of FEMA shall be responsible for fund accountability and, in coordination with the Assistant Associate Director, for liaison with the Department of the Treasury concerning the investment of excess money in the fund pursuant to the provisions contained in section 601 of the Act.

(3) Each FEMA Regional Director may submit requests to the Assistant Associate Director on a disaster victim's behalf by providing documentation describing the needs of the disaster victim, a verification of the disaster victim's claim, a record of other assistance which has been or will be available for the same purpose, and his/ her recommendation as to the items and the amount. The Assistant Associate Director shall review the facts and make a determination. If the award amount is below $2,000, the Assistant Associate Director may appoint a designee to have approval authority; approval authority of $2,000 or above shall be retained by the Assistant Associate Director. The Assistant Asso

ciate Director shall notify the Comptroller of a decision for approval, and the Comptroller shall order a check to be sent to the disaster victim (or jointly to the disaster victim and an assistance organization), through the Regional Director. The Assistant Associate Director shall also notify the Regional Director of the decision, whether for approval or disapproval. The Regional Director shall notify the disaster victim in writing, identify any award as assistance from the Cora Brown Fund, and advise the recipient of appeal procedures.

(4) If the award is to be for a service to a group of disaster victims, the Regional Director shall submit his/her recommendation and supporting documentation to the Assistant Associate Director (or his/her designee if the award is below $2,000), who shall review the information and make a determination. In cases of approval, the Assistant Associate Director shall request the Comptroller to send a check to the intended recipient or provider, as appropriate. The Assistant Associate Director shall notify the Regional Director of the decision. The Regional Director shall notify a representative of the group in writing.

(5) The Comptroller shall process requests for checks, shall keep records of disbursements and balances in the account, and shall provide the Assistant Associate Director with quarterly reports.

(e) Audits. The Inspector General of FEMA shall audit the use of money in this account to determine whether the funds are being administered according to these regulations and whether the financial management of the account is adequate. The Inspector General shall provide his/her findings to the Associate Director, State and Local Programs and Support, for information, comments and appropriate action. A copy shall be provided to the Comptroller for the same purpose.

§§ 206.182-206.190 [Reserved]

§ 206.191 Duplication of benefits.

(a) Purpose. This section establishes the policies for implementing section 312 of the Stafford Act, entitled Duplication of Benefits. This section relates

to assistance for individuals and families.

(b) Government policy. (1) Federal agencies providing disaster assistance under the Act or under their own authorities triggered by the Act, shall cooperate to prevent and rectify duplication of benefits, according to the general policy guidance of the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The agencies shall establish appropriate agency policies and procedures to prevent duplication of benefits.

(2) Major disaster and emergency assistance provided to individuals and families under the Act, and comparable disaster assistance provided by States, local governments, and disaster assistance organizations, is not considered as income or a resource when determining eligibility for or benefit levels under federally funded income assistance or resource-tested programs. Examples of federally funded income assistance or resource-tested programs are the food stamp program and welfare assistance programs.

(c) FEM A policy. It is FEMA policy:

(1) To prevent duplication of benefits between its own programs and insurance benefits, and between its own programs and other disaster assistance. Assistance under the Act may be provided in instances where the applicant has not received other benefits to which he/she may be entitled by the time of application and if the applicant agrees to repay all duplicated assistance to the agency providing the Federal assistance;

(2) To examine a debt resulting from duplication to determine that the likelihood of collecting the debt and the best interests of the Federal Government justify taking the necessary recovery actions to remedy duplication which has occurred when other assistance has become available;

(3) To assure uniformity in preventing duplication of benefits, by consulting with other Federal agencies and by performing selected quality control reviews, that the other disaster relief agencies establish and follow policies and procedures to prevent and remedy duplication among their programs, other programs, and insurance benefits; and

(4) To coordinate the effort of agencies providing assistance so that each agency understands the prevention and remedial policies of the others and is able to fulfill its own responsibilities regarding duplication of benefits.

(d) Guidance to prevent duplication of benefits. (1) Delivery sequence. FEMA provides the following policy and procedural guidance to ensure uniformity in preventing duplication of benefits.

(i) Duplication occurs when an agency has provided assistance which was the primary responsibility of another agency, and the agency with primary responsibility later provides assistance. A delivery sequence establishes the order in which disaster relief agencies and organizations provide assistance. The specific sequence, in accordance with the mandates of the assistance programs, is to be generally followed in the delivery of assistance.

(ii) When the delivery sequence has been disrupted, the disrupting agency is responsible for rectifying the duplication. The delivery sequence pertains to that period of time in the recovery phase when most of the traditional disaster assistance programs are available.

(2) The delivery sequence is, in order of delivery:

(i) Volunteer agencies' emergency assistance (except expendable items such as clothes, linens, and basic kitchenware); insurance (including flood insurance);

(ii) Housing assistance pursuant to section 408 of the Stafford Act.

(iii) Small Business Administration and Farmers Home Administration disaster loans;

(iv) Other Needs assistance, pursuant to section 408 of the Stafford Act or its predecessor program, the Individual and Family Grant Program.

(v) Volunteer agencies' "additional assistance" programs; and

(vi) The "Cora Brown Fund." (3) Two significant points about the delivery sequence are that:

(i) Each assistance agency should, in turn, offer and be responsible for delivering assistance without regard to duplication with a program later in the sequence; and

(ii) The sequence itself determines what types of assistance can duplicate

other assistance (i.e., a Federal program can duplicate insurance benefits, however, insurance benefits cannot duplicate the Federal assistance). An agency's position in the sequence determines the order in which it should provide assistance and what other resources it must consider before it does So.

(4) If following the delivery sequence concept would adversely affect the timely receipt of essential assistance by a disaster victim, an agency may offer assistance which is the primary responsibility of another agency. There also may be cases when an agency (Agency B) delivers assistance which is normally the primary responsibility of another agency (Agency A) because Agency A has, for good cause, denied assistance. After the assistance is delivered, Agency A reopens the case. If the primary response Agency A then provides assistance, that Agency A is responsible for coordinating with Agency B to either:

(i) Assist Agency B in preventing the duplication of benefits, or

(ii) In the case where the disaster victim has refused assistance from Agency A, notify Agency B that it must recover assistance previously provided.

(e) Program guidance-(1) Programs under the Act vs. other agency assistance. (i) In making an eligibility determination, the FEMA Regional Director, in the case of federally operated programs, or the State, in the case of State operated programs, shall determine whether assistance is the primary responsibility of another agency to provide, according to the delivery sequence; and determine whether that primary response agency can provide assistance in a timely way.

(ii) If it is determined that timely assistance can be provided by the agency with primary responsibility, refrain from providing assistance under the Act. If it is determined that assistance from the agency with primary responsibility will be delayed, assistance under the Act may be provided, but then must be recovered from the applicant when the other assistance becomes available.

(2) Programs under the Act vs. insurance. In making an eligibility deter

mination, the FEMA Regional Director or State shall:

(i) Remind the applicant about his/ her responsibility to pursue an adequate settlement. The applicant must provide information concerning insurance recoveries.

(ii) Determine whether the applicant's insurance settlement will be sufficient to cover the loss or need without disaster assistance; and

(iii) Determine whether insurance benefits (including flood insurance) will be provided in a timely way. Where flood insurance is involved, the Regional Director shall coordinate with the Federal Insurance Administration. The purpose of this coordination is to obtain information about flood insurance coverage and settlements.

(3) Random sample. Each disaster assistance agency is responsible for preventing and rectifying duplication of benefits under the coordination of the Federal Coordinating Officer (FCO) and the general authority of section 312. To determine whether duplication has occurred and established procedures have been followed, the Regional Director shall, within 90 days after the close of the disaster assistance programs application period, for selected disaster declarations, examine on a random sample basis, FEMA's and other government and voluntary agencies' case files and document the findings in writing.

(4) Duplication when assistance under the Act is involved. If duplication is discovered, the Regional Director shall determine whether the duplicating agency followed its own remedial procedures.

(i) If the duplicating agency followed its procedures and was successful in correcting the duplication, the Regional Director will take no further action. If the agency was not successful in correcting the duplication, and the Regional Director is satisfied that the duplicating agency followed its remedial procedures, no further action will be taken.

(ii) If the duplicating agency did not follow its duplication of benefits procedures, or the Regional Director is not satisfied that the procedures were followed in an acceptable manner, then the Regional Director shall provide an opportunity for the agency to take the

required corrective action. If the agency cannot fulfill its responsibilities for remedial action, the Regional Director shall notify the recipient of the excess assistance, and after examining the debt, if it is determined that the likelihood of collecting the debt and the best interests of the Federal Government justify taking the necessary recovery actions, then take those recovery actions in conjunction with agency representatives for each identified case in the random sample (or larger universe, at the Regional Director's discretion).

(5) Duplication when assistance under other authorities is involved. When the random sample shows evidence that duplication has occurred and corrective action is required, the Regional Director and the FCO shall urge the duplicating agency to follow its own procedures to take corrective action, and shall work with the agency toward that end. Under his/her authority in section 312, the Regional Director shall require the duplicating agency to report to him/her on its attempt to correct the duplications identified in the sample.

(f) Recovering FEMA funds: debt collection. Funds due to FEMA are recovered in accordance with FEMA's Debt Collection Regulations (44 CFR part 11, subpart C).

[54 FR 11615, Mar. 21, 1989, as amended at 67 FR 61460, Sept. 30, 2002]

§§ 206.192-206.199 [Reserved]

Subpart G-Public Assistance Project Administration

SOURCE: 55 FR 2304, Jan. 23, 1990, unless otherwise noted.

$206.200 General.

(a) Purpose. This subpart establishes procedures for the administration of Public Assistance grants approved under the provisions of the Stafford Act.

(b) What policies apply to FEMA public assistance grants? (1) The Stafford Act requires that we deliver eligible assistance as quickly and efficiently as possible consistent with Federal laws and regulations. We expect the Grantee and the subgrantee to adhere to Stafford Act requirements and to these regula

tions when administering our public assistance grants.

(2) The regulations entitled "Uniform Requirements for Grants and Cooperative Agreements to State and Local Governments," published at 44 CFR part 13, place requirements on the State in its role as Grantee and gives the Grantee discretion to administer federal programs under their own procedures. We expect the Grantee to:

(i) Inform subgrantees about the status of their applications, including notifications of our approvals of Project Worksheets and our estimates of when we will make payments;

(ii) Pay the full amounts due to subgrantees as soon as practicable after we approve payment, including the State contribution required in the FEMA-State Agreement; and

(iii) Pay the State contribution consistent with State laws.

[55 FR 2304, Jan. 23, 1990, as amended at 63 FR 64425, Nov. 20, 1998; 64 FR 55160, Oct. 12, 1999]

§ 206.201 Definitions used in this subpart.

(a) Applicant means a State agency, local government, or eligible private nonprofit organization, as identified in Subpart H of this regulation, submitting an application to the Grantee for assistance under the State's grant.

(b) Emergency work means that work which must be done immediately to save lives and to protect improved property and public health and safety, or to avert or lessen the threat of a major disaster.

(c) Facility means any publicly or privately owned building, works, system, or equipment, built or manufactured, or an improved and maintained natural feature. Land used for agricultural purposes is not a facility.

(d) Grant means an award of financial assistance. The grant award shall be based on the total eligible Federal share of all approved projects.

(e) Grantee means the government to which a grant is awarded which is accountable for the use of the funds provided. The grantee is the entire legal entity even if only a particular component of the entity is designated in the grant award document. For purposes of