Appeal Brief | Appeal Letter | Back

 

Citation:         FEMA-1604-DR-MS, City of Ocean Springs, Debris Removal

Cross-

Reference:     Debris Removal, Legal Responsibility

 

Summary:       As a result of Hurricane Katrina, the City of Ocean Springs (Applicant) entered into a mutual aid agreement with the City of Albemarle, North Carolina to remove debris from Shearwater Pottery, a commercial private property.  FEMA prepared PW 8116 for zero dollars because Shearwater Pottery was a commercial property that was not on FEMA’s list of commercial properties approved for private property debris removal.  The Applicant submitted a first appeal on May 5, 2010, almost four years after the obligation of PW 8116, arguing that it had a legal responsibility to take action to protect lives and property and restore essential services in the greater public interest.  FEMA denied the first appeal on September 2, 2010, because the Applicant had not demonstrated that it had the legal responsibility to remove the debris or that the debris on the Shearwater Pottery property represented a threat to lives, health and safety, or improved property.  In addition, the Applicant’s appeal was submitted nearly four years after receipt of the notice of the obligation of PW 8116 for zero dollars.

The Applicant submitted a second appeal on November 3, 2010, and reiterated its position from the first appeal that it was responsible for removing all public health and safety threats.  The documentation provided by the Applicant did not include sufficient detail to support the Applicant’s claim that hazardous materials were intermingled with the debris and thus caused an immediate threat to health and safety to the general public at Shearwater Pottery.

Issues:             1.  Did the Applicant establish that the work performed was necessary to eliminate an immediate threat to life, public health, safety, or improved property?   

2.  Did the Applicant establish it had legal responsibility for the work?

Findings:        1.  No.

2.  No.

Rationale:      44 CFR §206.224(a), Debris Removal, Public interest; 44 CFR §206.223(a)(3), General work eligibility, General; Recovery Policy 9523.13, Debris Removal from Private Property, dated September 7, 2005;  Recovery Policy 9523.14, Debris Removal from Private Property to Address Immediate Threats, dated September 15, 2005