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Additional Road Damages

Appeal Brief Appeal Letter

Appeal Brief

DisasterFEMA-1675-DR
ApplicantGrant County
Appeal TypeSecond
PA ID#067-99067-00
PW ID#00
Date Signed2008-07-24T04:00:00
strong>Citation: FEMA-1675-DR-KS, Grant County, Additional Road Damages

Cross-reference: Roads, Work Eligibility

Summary: A winter storm in December 2006 caused damage to utility lines, roads, and other infrastructure throughout western Kansas (FEMA-1675-DR-KS), including Grant County (Applicant). In February and March of 2007, the State of Kansas Public Assistance (PA) Office received calls reporting road damage that had not been observed during initial inspections. In April 2007, FEMA and State teams traveled to the area to re-inspect damaged areas. With regard to the April inspections, the Region VII Acting Director of Response and Recovery sent a letter dated April 6, 2007, to the Kansas Division of Emergency Management stating that “for cases where field personnel and the Applicant cannot differentiate between disaster-related and non-disaster-related damages, field personnel may assume that visible, inspected road damages were incurred during or proximal to the incident period.” During the April inspection and a previous inspection, a total of four Project Worksheets were written and obligated for the Applicant. However, the Applicant claims that an additional 12 road sites, numbered 46-to-57, should also be eligible for FEMA funding. The Applicant submitted its first appeal on July 23, 2007. FEMA denied the appeal on October 9, 2007, stating that the damage to these roads sites was incurred as a result of separate storm systems in January and likely February 2007, and was not a direct result of the disaster. The Applicant submitted its second appeal on November 21, 2007, stating that the road damages were in fact a result of the declared event and that weather data cited by FEMA in the first appeal response did not accurately reflect the conditions that caused the road damage.

Issues: 1. Are the road damages and related repairs to road sites 46-to-57 eligible for FEMA Public Assistance funding?

Findings: 1. Partially. Because of storms subsequent to the declared event, it is difficult in this case to distinguish between disaster-related damage and subsequent storm damage. In this case, work that was completed by February 15, 2007, is determined to be disaster-related.
Rationale: 44 CFR §206.223

Appeal Letter

July 24, 2008

Angee Morgan
State Coordinating Officer
Kansas Division of Emergency Management
2800 SW Topeka Boulevard
Topeka, KS 66611-1287

Re: Second Appeal—Grant County, PA ID 067-99067-00, Additional Road Damages, FEMA-1675-DR-KS

Dear Ms. Morgan:

This letter is in response to the referenced second appeal forwarded by your office on November 27, 2007. Grant County (Applicant) is appealing the Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) denial of its first appeal dated July 23, 2007. The Applicant requests a total of $119,140 for road sites numbered 46-to-57.
A winter storm in December 2006 caused damage to utility lines, roads, and other infrastructure throughout western Kansas (FEMA-1675-DR-KS), including Grant County (Applicant). In February and March of 2007, the State of Kansas Public Assistance (PA) Office received calls reporting road damage that had not been observed during initial inspections. In April 2007, FEMA and State teams traveled to the area to re-inspect damaged areas. With regard to the April inspections, the Region VII Acting Director of Response and Recovery sent a letter dated April 6, 2007, to the Kansas Division of Emergency Management stating that “for cases where field personnel and the Applicant cannot differentiate between disaster-related and non-disaster-related damages, field personnel may assume that visible, inspected road damages were incurred during or proximal to the incident period.” During the April inspection and a previous inspection in March, four Project Worksheets (PWs) were written and obligated for the Applicant for a total of $204,440. In addition to these sites, the Applicant also claimed costs associated with 12 other road sites, numbered 46-to-57. These sites were inspected in April 2007, though PWs were not prepared because these 12 sites were not considered eligible for FEMA funding.
On July 23, 2007, the Applicant submitted its first appeal. FEMA denied the appeal on October 9, 2007, stating that the damage to these roads sites was incurred as a result of separate storm systems in January and likely February 2007, and was not a direct result of the disaster. Region VII based its denial on “River and Climatological Observations” provided by the Applicant which indicated that by January 8, 2007, there was no ice or snow cover on the ground. The Applicant submitted its second appeal on November 21, 2007, stating that the River
and Climatological Observation records reflected the conditions at only one site in the County and that there was no way to accurately measure the ice on the ground.
The information provided by the Applicant for road sites 46-to-57 includes labor, equipment, and materials costs for each of the 12 road sites. Records indicate that some of the work began immediately following the incident period and prior to subsequent snowfall. Because of the difficulty in distinguishing between disaster-related damage and subsequent storm damage in this disaster, I have determined that in this case, work completed by the Applicant prior to February 15, 2007, is disaster-related and therefore eligible for Public Assistance funding. This includes costs related to work to repair road sites 52, 54, 55, 56, and 57 for a total of $42,114. Therefore, the appeal is partially granted. By copy of this letter I am asking the Regional Administrator to prepare a PW for a total of $42,114.
Please inform the Applicant of my decision. My determination constitutes the final decision on this matter as set forth in 44 CFR §206.206.

Sincerely,
/s/
Carlos J. Castillo
Assistant Administrator
Disaster Assistance Directorate

cc: Richard Hainje
Regional Administrator
FEMA Region VII