Appeal Brief | Appeal Letter | Back

 

Citation:         FEMA-1763-DR-IA, City of Cedar Rapids, Eligible Work, Steam Heat Conversion, Multiple Project Worksheets (PWs)

Cross -

Reference:      Eligible Work

Summary:        Heavy rains and flooding resulted in ten City of Cedar Rapids (Applicant) owned buildings being flooded up to three feet on lower floors causing extensive damage.  Flood waters also severely damaged a central steam generation plant owned by Alliant Energy Corporation (AEC).  FEMA prepared multiple PWs to cover disaster related damages to the Applicant’s eligible buildings; however, FEMA denied the funding to convert the Applicant’s undamaged heating system to replace the previously commercially provided steam to city-owned buildings.  The commercial steam vendor, AEC, permanently stopped service because it did not have enough long-term contracts to justify continuing to provide service.  In its first appeal, the Applicant argued that heat and hot water was required by building codes and standards in all its damaged buildings and that to recover from the disaster the Applicant needed to install steam generation for each of its buildings. 

The Regional Administrator denied the first appeal because the Applicant’s inability to furnish heat and hot water at its buildings was not caused by the declared disaster, but was a result of AEC’s decision to no longer provide steam service as it was no longer profitable for them.  In its second appeal, the Applicant repeated its arguments from its first appeal and provided references to specific PWs:  465, 521, 940, 8148, 10285, 10299, 10326, 10342, and 10377.  Additionally, the Applicant acknowledges that FEMA never agreed that the facilities, work or cost were eligible.

Issue:               Is the work to convert the undamaged heating system in the Applicant’s buildings from commercially supplied steam to locally supplied steam eligible for funding?

Finding:           No.

Rationale:       44 CFR §206.223(a) General work eligibility; The Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, Section 406, Repair, Restoration, and Replacement of damaged Facilities (42 U.S.C. §5172).