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Net Small Project Overrun

Appeal Brief Appeal Letter

Appeal Brief

DisasterFEMA-1628-DR
ApplicantCity of Orinda
Appeal TypeSecond
PA ID#013-54232-00
PW ID#2874, 2875 & 2882
Date Signed2010-03-25T04:00:00

Citation:         FEMA-1628-DR-CA, City of Orinda, Small Project Overrun (NSPO), Project Worksheets (PW) 2874, 2875 and 2882

Cross-

Reference:      Net Small Project Overrun, Time Limitations

 

Summary:       Severe winter storms occurring December 17, 2005, to January 3, 2006, generated large amounts of storm water runoff.  FEMA approved three small projects for $35,114 for debris removal, repair of roadway damage and integral ground slope erosion.  The Applicant completed the work by August 1, 2006.   The Applicant requested a Net Small Project Overrun of $151,417 more than 20 months after the regulatory deadline.  FEMA asserts that the NSPO should have been submitted on October 1, 2006.

 

Issue:              Were there extenuating circumstances that prevented the Applicant from submitting its Net Small Project Overrun appeal within the regulatory deadline?

                       

Finding:           No. 

Rationale:       44 CFR §206.204(e), Costs Overruns; §206.206(c), Time Limits

 

 

 

 

 

Appeal Letter

March 25, 2010

 

 

Frank McCarton
Governor's Authorized Representative
California Emergency Management Agency
Response and Recovery Division
3650 Schriever Avenue
Mather, CA  95655

Re:  Second Appeal–City of Orinda, PA ID 013-54232-00, Net Small Project Overrun

       FEMA-1628-DR-CA, Project Worksheets (PW) 2874, 2875 and 2882

 

Dear Mr. McCarton:


This is in response to your letter from your office dated October 14, 2008, which transmitted the referenced second appeal on behalf of the City of Orinda (Applicant).  The Applicant is appealing the Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) denial of its request for $151,417 for a Net Small Project Overrun (NSPO).

Severe storms from December 17, 2005, to January 3, 2006, generated large amounts of storm water runoff and damaged several of the Applicant’s facilities.  In June 2006, FEMA prepared three PWs to document damage to three facilities.  Specifically, FEMA prepared PW 2874 for $3,860 to remove approximately 94 cubic yards of debris from a channel; PW 2875 for $13,227 to repair damage to a 125-foot long by 8-foot wide section of Diablo View Drive which slipped down slope approximately 10 feet; and, PW 2882 for $18,027 to repair integral ground below a soldier pile wall along a section of Canon Drive.  FEMA noted that the Applicant had completed 100 percent of the work described in each PW at the time FEMA inspected the projects. The Applicant completed the work by August 1, 2006.

In a letter dated April 9, 2008, the Grantee submitted a Final Inspection Report to FEMA, requesting an additional $151,417 for the three projects as a NSPO.  Specifically, the Grantee requested an additional $57,896 for PW 2874, an additional $51,643 for PW 2875, and an additional $41,879 for PW 2882.  The Applicant and Grantee stated that FEMA used FEMA and California Department of Transportation cost codes to estimate the costs for the PWs instead of the Applicant’s actual costs.  Title 44 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) section 206.204(e), Project performance, cost overruns, states that if an applicant discovers a significant overrun related to the total cost of all of its small projects, it may submit an appeal for additional funding within 60 days of completion of all of its small projects.  The Director, Disaster Assistance Division, FEMA Region IX denied the Applicant’s request for additional funding on June 11, 2008, because the Applicant submitted its request more that 20 months after it completed its last small project.

The Applicant filed its second appeal on October 16, 2008, maintaining that the Grantee did not notify it that FEMA had approved PW 2882 until October 26, 2006.  It stated that the notification did not allow enough time to request an NSPO within the regulatory deadline. 

I have reviewed all information submitted with the appeal and have determined that the Applicant submitted its NSPO appeal to FEMA more than 20 months after the deadline stated in 44 CFR 206.204(e). The Region IX Recovery Division Director’s decision on the first appeal is consistent with program regulations and policy.  Therefore, I deny the second appeal.

Please inform the Applicant of my decision.  This determination is the final decision on this matter pursuant to 44 CFR §206.206, Appeals.
Sincerely,

/s/

Elizabeth A. Zimmerman
Assistant Administrator
Disaster Assistance Directorate
cc:  Nancy Ward

Regional Administrator

FEMA Region IX