Legal Responsibility

Appeal Brief

Summary Paragraph

From December 10-11, 2021, severe storms and tornados caused significant damage to communities in Kentucky. Grace Life Ministries (Applicant), a Private Nonprofit (PNP), requested Public Assistance (PA) for generators and a rented building it stated were provided to support emergency services following the disaster. In a letter provided to FEMA, the Applicant’s county government described the services the Applicant provided. FEMA created Grants Manager Project 678766 to document the Applicant’s emergency protective measures but denied PA funding for the project. FEMA found that the Applicant had not provided documentation establishing legal responsibility for providing emergency protective measures in the aftermath of the disaster. The Applicant submitted a first appeal, revising the items in its claim and the amount in dispute. The Applicant removed costs for the rented building and added costs for supplies and additional generators, requesting funding totaling $5,653.65. The Applicant expressed its belief that it had demonstrated legal responsibility for performing emergency protective measures and pointed to the county government’s letter in support. The FEMA Region 4 Regional Administrator denied the appeal. FEMA found that the county government letter did not substantiate the Applicant’s legal responsibility to provide the services at issue. The Applicant submitted a second appeal reiterating its previous statements.

Authorities

• Stafford Act § 403, 42 U.S.C. § 5170b.
• 44 C.F.R. §§ 206.206(a), 206.223(a)(3), 206.225(a).
• PAPPG, at 52, 63-64, 110, 112-113.
• Lake Madrone Water Dist., FEMA-4558-DR-CA, at 3.
• DeSales Media Group Inc., FEMA-4480-DR-NY, at 4.

Headnotes

• To be eligible for PA funding, work must be the legal responsibility of an eligible applicant. When a PNP provides emergency services at the request of, and certified by, the legally responsible government entity, FEMA provides PA funding through that government entity as the eligible applicant.
  • The county government letter does not constitute a request from, or an agreement with, the Applicant’s local government, anddoes not establish the Applicant’s legal responsibility for providing emergency services.
  • The Applicant did not provide any other documentation establishing its legal responsibility to perform emergency protective measures.

Conclusion

The Applicant has not demonstrated it was legally responsible to perform the claimed emergency protective measures. Therefore, this appeal is denied.

Appeal Letter

Appeal Analysis

Background

From December 10-11, 2021, severe storms and tornados caused significant damage to communities in western Kentucky.[1] Grace Life Ministries (Applicant), a Private Nonprofit (PNP) located in Graves County, Kentucky, requested Public Assistance (PA) funding for estimated costs totaling $4,676.96 associated with providing electrical power generators “for first responders and city residents,” and for providing a rented building “for performing emergency services” following the disaster.[2] In a letter dated September 14, 2022, the Graves County Judge Executive (Judge Executive)[3] stated that in the aftermath of the disaster, the Applicant “provided a much-needed service to [its] community,” acting as a “distribution center providing water, food, generators, heaters, clothes” and many other items.[4]

FEMA created Grants Manager Project 678766 to document the Applicant’s claimed emergency protective measures. However, in a Determination Memorandum dated December 28, 2022, FEMA denied funding for the project. FEMA determined that the Applicant had not provided documentation establishing legal responsibility for providing emergency protective measures in the aftermath of the disaster. FEMA also found that the Applicant had not shown which eligible emergency activities had been performed in the rented building.

First Appeal

The Applicant submitted a first appeal dated February 25, 2023, revising the items in its claim and the amount in dispute. The Applicant removed the cost of the rented building from its claim and added costs for supplies and additional generators, requesting $5,653.65 in PA funding.[5] The Applicant expressed its belief that it had demonstrated legal responsibility for performing emergency protective measures. In support, it stated that the Judge Executive had “acknowledged and approved” the provision of emergency support to its community, in response to the disaster.[6] In a transmittal letter dated March 11, 2023, Kentucky Emergency Management (Recipient) expressed support for the appeal.

On June 26, 2023, the FEMA Region 4 Regional Administrator denied the appeal. FEMA found that the Applicant had not demonstrated it was legally responsible for performing emergency protective measures. Specifically, FEMA determined that the September 14, 2022, letter from the Graves County Judge Executive “d[id] not state or demonstrate that the Applicant provided services at the request of, and certified by, Graves County, as the legally-responsible government entity.”[7] 

Second Appeal

The Applicant submitted a second appeal dated August 22, 2023, reiterating its previous statements, and requesting $5,653.65 for emergency protective measures. The Applicant again relies on the Judge Executive’s letter to demonstrate legal responsibility, but questions the letter’s necessity.[8] Additionally, the Applicant asserts that, in an email dated August 31, 2023, the Graves County Emergency Manager confirmed that the county government “relies on local voluntary organizations … to help meet the needs of the impacted communities” as part of its Emergency Operations Plan.[9] In a transmittal letter dated August 23, 2023, the Recipient expresses support for the appeal.[10]

Discussion

FEMA is authorized to provide PA funding for emergency protective measures to save lives and protect public health and safety.[11] To be eligible for PA funding, work must be the legal responsibility of an eligible applicant.[12] For PNPs, eligible emergency protective measures are generally limited to activities associated with preventing damage to an eligible facility and its contents.[13] Emergency services are usually the responsibility of state, local, territorial, and tribal governments.[14] Therefore, PNPs are generally not legally responsible for those services and FEMA does not provide PA funding to PNPs for the costs associated with providing those services.[15] When a PNP provides emergency services at the request of, and certified by, the legally responsible government entity, FEMA provides PA funding through that government entity as the eligible applicant.[16] It is the applicant’s responsibility to provide documentation to substantiate its claim as eligible and to clearly explain how those records support its appeal.[17]

Here, the Judge Executive’s letter details the “much-needed service[s]” the Applicant provided in the aftermath of the disaster, and expresses appreciation for “being willing to assist in a time of need.”[18] However, the letter does not constitute a request from, or an agreement with, the Applicant’s local government, for the provision of emergency services.[19] In addition, FEMA is unable to evaluate the Applicant’s assertions regarding the Graves County Emergency Manager’s reliance on voluntary organizations with the information available in the record; by itself, the assertion does not demonstrate that the local government requested and certified the Applicant perform emergency protective measures for this disaster. Moreover, when a PNP organization provides emergency services at the request of, and certified by, the legally responsible government entity, FEMA provides PA funding through that government entity as the eligible applicant.[20] Based on the above, the Applicant has not established it was legally responsible to perform the claimed emergency protective measures. 

Conclusion

The Applicant has not demonstrated it was legally responsible to perform the claimed emergency protective measures. Therefore, this appeal is denied.