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Transfer of FEMA Unused Mobile Homes to Tribal Governments

Questions and Answers

September 11, 2007

  1. What authority provides for the transfer of temporary housing units to Tribal Governments?

    Section 689k of the 2007 DHS Appropriations Act (Public Law 109-295) authorizes "unused" temporary housing units to be transferred to other federal departments and agencies if the Administrator authorizes disposal of unused temporary housing units owned by FEMA. 

    This provision states that if the FEMA Administrator decides to dispose of any unused units that are declared excess under this new authority, FEMA will work in coordination with the Department of Interior or other appropriate federal agencies in order to transfer such units to tribal governments if appropriate.  The FEMA Administrator has determined that there are some unused units that meet the requirements of this provision for transfer to tribal governments.

    Below is the language from the 2007 DHS Appropriations Act (Public Law 109-295), Subtitle E, SEC. 689k. DISPOSAL OF UNUSED TEMPORARY HOUSING UNITS.

    (a) IN GENERAL.-Notwithstanding section 408(d)(2)(B) of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5174(d)(2)(B)), if the Administrator authorizes the disposal of an unused temporary housing unit that is owned by the Agency on the date of enactment of this Act and is not used to house individuals or households under section 408 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5174) after that date, such unit shall be disposed of under subchapter III of chapter 5 of subtitle I of title 40, United States Code. (The reference to the United States Code is to 40 U.S.C. 541-559 and refers largely to the General Services Administration's procedures for disposing of property belonging to the United States.)

    (b) TRIBAL GOVERNMENTS.-Housing units described in subsection (a) shall be disposed of in coordination with the Department of the Interior or other appropriate agencies in order to transfer such units to tribal governments if appropriate.

  2. How many Mobile Homes are being offered for transfer to tribes in this program?

    1,000 unused mobile homes are being made available for transfer to tribal governments.

  3. What is the definition of unused?

    The units are unused and are generally in good condition.  Unused means that the mobile homes have not been lived in by disaster victims or used for any other purpose.  Tribal Governments must agree to accept the units in an "as is" condition. 

  4. Why is FEMA only releasing 1,000 units?

    The recent decision to halt the use of travel trailers and park models for disaster housing because of formaldehyde concerns places greater dependence on the use of mobile homes in disaster operations.  Upon evaluation of our inventory, FEMA has identified 1,000 excess units at this time.

  5. How will tribal governments be notified?

    On or before September 15, 2007, FEMA will mail a letter to all Federally-recognized tribal governments notifying the tribes of the availability of these mobile homes and will include an official request (application) form with the letter.  The deadline for tribal governments to submit this request form to FEMA is October 15, 2007.

  6. How will tribes apply for the Mobile Homes?

    The tribes will complete an application and submit the letter by mail to the address shown on the application letters.  The applications are due no later than October 15, 2007.

  7. How will the units be allocated?

    FEMA will allocate one mobile home to each requesting tribe until all tribes that have requested mobile homes have been allocated one.  Tribes, if any, which have requested only one mobile home and have had their request fulfilled will be removed from the allocation process.  FEMA will then allocate a second mobile home to each tribe that has requested at least two mobile homes until all tribes that have requested two mobile homes have been allocated a second unit.  The allocation process will continue in this manner until all the available mobile homes have been allocated. 

    Units will be matched as much as possible to the corresponding roof load zone and thermal zone for each Tribe.  Due to the very limited number of northern and middle roof load zone units, the northern and middle roof load zone units will be allocated to appropriate climate areas separately, until these units are depleted.  If the number of requested northern and middle roof load zone units exceeds our supply, units will be allocated according to the highest poverty level and lack of complete plumbing and kitchen facilities data from the U.S. Census of the year 2000.  However, units will match corresponding wind zones.

    All units allocated to northern tribes may not match the northern climate zones.  Tribes will have the opportunity to turn down units they have been allocated that do not match their climate zones after receiving their award letter.

    This allocation process was developed in consultation with the General Service Administration, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and the Department of Interior's Bureau of Indian Affairs, as well as tribal governments.

  8. If a tribe has submitted a Mobile Home request for this program previously to the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), must it submit an application to FEMA for consideration?

    Yes, the Bureau of Indian Affairs is not involved in the current process. The FEMA application has been designed and formatted to support the most expeditious processing of the applications. 

  9. Are there any costs associated with the transfers?

    While FEMA will not impose a cost for the mobile homes, tribal governments will be responsible for transportation (including costs to make the units road-ready if necessary), unit set up, and if necessary, retrofitting.  The Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD) has determined that these costs will be considered eligible costs under the Indian Housing Block Grant program (see section titled "Transportation and Set Up" for additional details).

  10. What are the costs involved?

    Tribes considering applying for transfer of these mobile homes should obtain their own bid estimates for these costs.  The following costs are estimates only:

    Transportation:
    Fixed cost per mile, may average $5.50 - $7.50 per mile (including     permits)

    Dead Head:
    Cost per mile for hauling empty trailer on return trip: $1.90 per mile. (May    be negotiable depending on number of units.)

    Fuel Surcharge:
    Charge per mile based on the price of fuel:  $.45 (45 cents) per mile.

    Hook-Up:
    Hitch, lights, etc. $197.00 per unit.  May be negotiable based on the     number of units.

    Escort Car:  
    $1.40 per mile, depending on route, state regulations, etc.

    Permits:  
    Average per state:  $25.00

    Tires:   
    $40.00 per tire.  Necessary in the event units need to be made road ready     or flats/blow outs occur during transportation.

    Setting and Leveling: 
    $500.00 per unit.

    Blocks:  
    $150.00

    Anchors:  
    $140.00 (4 anchors)

    Water and Sewer: 
    $180.00 plus materials for water, $200.00 plus materials for sewer.

    Skirting:  
    $1,500.00 - $1,800.00 for HardiBoard

    Steps:   
    $150.00

    Electrical:  
    Pole installation, meter.  $200.00 - $250.00 depending on distance.

    Tribes may use funds provided by HUD through the Indian Housing Block Grant (IHBG) program to pay for the cost of transporting and setting up the mobile homes, and if necessary, for retrofitting the mobile homes.  For more information related to the use of these funds, tribes should contact their regional HUD Area Office of Native American Programs.

  11. Where are the 1,000 mobile homes located?

    There are two storage sites where the mobile homes are located: Hope, Arkansas and Texarkana, Texas.  Tribes will pick up their allocated units from these sites.

  12. FEMA has three distinct types of manufactured housing: Mobile Homes, Park Models, and Travel Trailers. Are all three types of FEMA temporary housing being offered to tribes?

    No. Only mobile homes are available under this program.

    Please note that the units being made available to tribal governments are manufactured homes (or "mobile homes"), not travel trailers that were the subject of the news reports.  

  13. What about formaldehyde levels?

    The mobile homes being transferred in this program were manufactured in accordance with the Manufactured Home Construction and Safety Standards set forth in Volume 24 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 3280, which covers HUD's regulations.  The HUD regulations require formaldehyde emission levels in manufactured housing not to exceed 0.2 parts per million (ppm) for plywood and 0.3 ppm for particleboard materials.  The HUD standards also require that a Health Notice on formaldehyde emissions be posted in each manufactured home as required by 24 CFR 3280.309 of the Standards.  There has been a recent news report about the presence of formaldehyde in travel trailers used to house FEMA applicants in the Gulf Coast states. 

  14. Are all of these Mobile Homes suitable for all climate zones in the United States?

    No, most of the mobile homes currently available are rated only for the southern climate roof load zone.  Moreover, there are not many mobile homes available that meet the roof load zones for the "middle roof load zone" climates of the northern continental United States or the "northern roof load zone" climate of Alaska.  However, we have 5 units that meet the criteria for the "northern roof load zone," and approximately 69 units that meet the criteria for the "middle roof load zone."  In addition, there are approximately 250 "southern roof load zone" units that fall into the thermal zone 3 category.  Thermal zone 3 is the thermal zone for the northern states in the continental United States.  These 250 "southern roof load zone" units could be retrofitted with another stronger roof (potentially, for example, by constructing a shed-type structure over the top of the existing mobile home) and be capable of being used in, at least, in the "middle roof load zone" climate of the northern continental United States.

  15. Will tribes get units that fit their climate zone (roof load zone, thermal zone, and wind zone)?

    Units will be matched as much as possible to the corresponding roof load zone and thermal zone for each Tribe.  Due to the very limited number of northern and middle roof load zone units, the northern and middle roof load zone units will be allocated to appropriate climate areas separately, until these units are depleted.  If the number of requested northern and middle roof load zone units exceeds our supply, units will be allocated according to the highest poverty level and lack of complete plumbing and kitchen facilities data from the U.S. Census of the year 2000.  However, units will match corresponding wind zones.

    All units allocated to northern tribes may not match the northern climate zones.  Tribes will have the opportunity to turn down units they have been allocated that do not match their climate zones after receiving their award letter.  FEMA strongly encourages tribes to retrofit the units to the appropriate climate zone, if necessary.  As noted in the answer to question #9, tribes may use funds provided by HUD through the Indian Housing Block Grant (IHBG) program to pay for retrofitting the mobile homes. 

    Tribes will need to sign a waiver of liability (included in the application's Request Form), holding the federal government harmless from any liability arising from any harm that may occur to anyone using a mobile home in the wrong zone.

  16. Will this program cause shortfalls in FEMA's temporary housing supply?

    No. Part of FEMA's excess inventory includes approximately 1,000 non-FEMA spec models.  These units were not able to be used in the Gulf Coast states due to local regulations restricting the measures required to place these units in a floodplain.  These non-FEMA spec units will not be used on future disaster operations and have been identified as excess inventory.  Under the provisions of the 2007 DHS Appropriations Act, these units have been made available for transfer to tribal governments.

Last Modified: Thursday, 04-Jun-2009 11:51:15 EDT