Public Interest

Appeal Brief

Summary Paragraph: 

Hurricane Ian impacted Florida during the incident period of September 23 to November 4, 2022, and the President declared a major disaster. The Bobcat Trail Community Development District (Applicant), a Community Development District (CDD), experienced flooding and debris, and requested $157,323.96 in Public Assistance funding for removal of debris and replacement or repairs of damage infrastructure. FEMA issued a Determination Memorandum denying the project, stating that the Applicant had not properly monitored the work nor properly procured the contracts, and that the Applicant had not provided adequate documentation to support eligibility of the work. The Applicant submitted a first appeal to the Florida Division of Emergency Management (Recipient), amending the amount requested to $129,897.50, arguing that the work was required to keep the roads in the CDD passable for emergency access. The Recipient forwarded the Applicant’s appeal as well as an addendum, with its support. The FEMA Region 4 Regional Administrator found that the Applicant had not demonstrated that the work was required to provide emergency access. The Applicant submitted a second appeal, reiterating first appeal arguments, and also including photographs of roads and damage, as well as a map of debris sites in the CDD, and the Recipient forwarded the appeal to FEMA with a letter stating its support. FEMA issued a Request for Information, and the Applicant responded with further documentation, while also amending its amount requested to $41,480.00. 

Authorities

• Stafford Act § 403(a)(3).
• 2 C.F.R. § 200.403(g).
• 44 C.F.R. §§ 206.201(b), 206.225(a)(3).
• PAPPG, at 65, 97, 110, 111, 115.

Headnotes

• Debris clearance for emergency access (often referred to as “cut and toss” or “push”) may be eligible under Category B emergency protective measures work. This includes the clearance of debris, limited to that necessary for an access route to an essential community service that was blocked by disaster-caused damage or debris to remain passable. Debris clearance does not include hauling or disposing of the debris. To be eligible, all costs must be directly tied to the performance of eligible work and adequately documented
  • The Applicant has demonstrated that the debris clearance for emergency access was eligible work.

Conclusion

FEMA finds that the Applicant has demonstrated that the debris prevented emergency access to the roadways, and therefore, debris clearance work is eligible, in the amount of $40,323.68. However, the Applicant has not tied the remaining costs to eligible emergency work.

Appeal Letter

Appeal Analysis

Background

Hurricane Ian caused damage to Florida during the incident period of September 23 to November 4, 2022, and a major disaster was declared on September 29, 2022. Bobcat Trail Community Development District (Applicant) is a community development district (CDD) and an independent special-purpose local government unit located in Sarasota County, Florida. The Applicant requested $157,323.96 in Public Assistance (PA) funding for debris clearance and repair of damaged infrastructure. The Applicant reported that the event deposited vegetative debris along the rights-of-way, and damaged street signs, light poles, gates and irrigation lines. FEMA prepared Grants Manager Project 702490 to document the claim. 

FEMA issued four Requests for Information (RFIs) requesting information including the GPS locations, detailed description of work activities, information regarding signs and light poles, and more information about labor activities. In an RFI Response, the Applicant explained that it used its existing landscape vendor, Landscape Management Professionals (LMP), to perform emergency debris cleanup work, which it stated was closely supervised by the CDD Board.[1] The Applicant also provided a copy of its contract with LMP.[2] On March 22, 2024, FEMA issued a Determination Memorandum denying the Applicant’s request for PA funding. FEMA found that the Applicant had not shown the work was properly monitored nor were the contracts properly procured. FEMA also found that the Applicant did not provide documentation that would support the eligibility of emergency debris clearance from the roadways.

First Appeal

The Applicant submitted a first appeal for $129,897.50 to the Florida Division of Emergency Management (Recipient) on April 20, 2024. The Applicant requested costs for debris clearance work performed by LMP only, and removed the costs previously claimed for damaged infrastructure. The Applicant argued that the work conducted was eligible, as the work was necessary to allow emergency access to the roadways. The Recipient transmitted the Applicant’s first appeal on July 15, 2024.

On January 17, 2025, the FEMA Region 4 Regional Administrator denied the appeal. FEMA found that the Applicant had not demonstrated that the debris was located on public roads, that emergency access was blocked, and that emergency protective measures were necessary due to an immediate threat. FEMA also noted that the Applicant did not provide specific locations or photographs showing blocked access routes. 

Second Appeal

The Applicant submitted a second appeal in a letter dated March 14, 2025. The Applicant reiterates first appeal arguments and adds photographs of 20 sites with GPS coordinates, as well as a map of the community annotated with the corresponding locations. The Applicant notes that FEMA policy allows for clearance of debris from private roads, including those in gated communities, if it is in the public interest because the debris impairs emergency access by local emergency responders, ambulances, fire and police. The Applicant argues that it has now provided FEMA with the data and photographic evidence that were missing on first appeal, and FEMA can now determine that the work was required to eliminate an immediate threat, providing emergency access to the community. The Recipient forwarded the Applicant’s second appeal, stating its support in a letter dated May 1, 2025.

On June 30, 2025, FEMA issued an RFI to the Applicant. FEMA requested (1) documentation tying the claimed costs to work necessary to ensure emergency access, such as the actual invoices previously summarized and corresponding time sheets, work logs, or other documentation detailing the claimed work and specific locations; (2) the contract which LMP performed the claimed debris clearance work, and documentation demonstrating compliance with federal contracting and procurement requirements; and (3) any and all information regarding the Applicant’s legal responsibility to perform the debris clearance work. The Applicant responded on July 21, 2025.[3] The Applicant submitted a narrative in response to the RFI, as well as additional documentation, including work logs and time sheets from LMP, invoices, its request for proposals (RFP) for landscape services, bid evaluation documents and minutes of board discussions of the RFP responses and community landscaping needs. The Applicant reduced its claim for PA funding to $41,480.00 for costs incurred through October 22, 2022 only (dates work was performed to ensure emergency access). Regarding legal responsibility, the Applicant states that the work was performed by the Applicant, not a homeowners’ association, and that the Applicant has jurisdiction over all roads at issue in this project, as set forth in its Establishment Ordinance.

Discussion

FEMA is authorized to provide assistance for emergency work, including emergency protective measures, which must be done immediately to eliminate or lessen immediate threats to lives, public health or safety, or of significant additional damage to improved public or private property in a cost-effective manner.[4] Debris clearance for emergency access (often referred to as “cut and toss” or “push”) may be eligible under Category B emergency protective measures work.[5] This includes the clearance of debris, limited to that necessary for an access route to an essential community service that was blocked by disaster-caused damage or debris to remain passable.[6] Debris clearance does not include hauling or disposing of the debris.[7] To be eligible, all costs must be directly tied to the performance of eligible work and adequately documented.[8]

On second appeal, the Applicant has provided photographs showing water in the roadways, large trees across the roadway, and trees which have been cut and removed from roadways. The Applicant has also provided a map with locations of the debris. The documentation shows that the debris in the roadways would have prevented access to homes in the event of an emergency, and that the area would have been inaccessible for emergency vehicles, as the roads were flooded and blocked. Therefore, debris clearance was eligible as an emergency protective measure, as FEMA approved Category B work for this disaster.

The Applicant, in response to the RFI, has also provided documentation to tie its costs to the eligible debris clearance. Specifically, the Applicant provided a list of employees who performed work during this time period, locations where the work was performed on each day, a list of invoices and corresponding dates of work, and time sheets corroborating that information. The invoices support the Applicant’s claim it performed cutting, removal and stacking of vegetative debris from CDD roads and rights-of-way. For example, one invoice for work performed on October 5, 2022 describes work as “Hurricane Ian Disaster Recovery- cleanup of property including cutting and stacking trees and palms roadside for later removal, as well as picking up debris in general and stacking it roadside for later removal.”[9]The Applicant has demonstrated that the costs and associated invoices, in the amount of $40,323.68, are tied to emergency debris clearance. Therefore, the debris clearance work and associated costs are eligible. 

Conclusion

FEMA finds that the Applicant has demonstrated that the debris prevented emergency access to the roadways, and therefore, debris clearance work is eligible, in the amount of $40,323.68, and this appeal is partially granted.