When disaster strikes, the Federal Highway Administration's Emergency
Relief, or ER, program can help state and local agencies fund repairs to roads,
bridges, and other infrastructure eligible for federal aid. FHWA wants you
to understand the ER program so that your agency is quickly reimbursed for
work to restore critical transportation for the public. So, what defines a
disaster or emergency event? The ER program covers two types of events:
Natural disasters such as floods, hurricanes tornadoes, and earthquakes; and
catastrophic failures of bridges or other infrastructure due to external
causes, such as a barge collision or an oil tanker explosion. Which facilities
and costs are eligible? Usually, the repair work within the right of way of
federal aid highways is eligible to receive ER funds. Agencies should work
with their state Department of Transportation, or DOT, to identify
eligible facilities as they begin recovery efforts.
Other expenses such as engineering, right of way, and indirect costs may also be
covered. ER funds are intended to address immediate needs and to restore damaged
facilities to pre-disaster conditions. Permanent construction can cover repairs that
bring facilities to current standards and expected traffic requirements.
Additionally improvements referred to as betterments may be eligible if costs are
justified, because betterments generally increase the resilience of a facility to
withstand future disasters. Some costs, however, are not eligible
such as those for evacuations, routine maintenance, or repairs not related to
the disaster.
It's also important to know there are costs thresholds for a qualifying
disaster event. The estimated federal share of all repairs for an event should
be at least $700,000 and each individual site repair should be at least $5,000 to
be eligible. In addition to cost thresholds, all disaster-related
construction contracts must comply with federal requirements. These include the
National Environmental Policy Act, Buy America, the prevailing wage provisions
of the Davis-Bacon Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and Equal
Employment Opportunity. Construction contracts must also contain FHWA Form
1273, a collection of required federal aid contract provisions. Another key
concept to understand is emergency vs permanent repairs. Emergency repairs
should begin immediately to restore traffic and limit damage to remaining
facilities with the ER funding requested as soon as possible. Permanent repairs
restoring the facility to pre-disaster conditions require prior FHWA
authorization. Emergency and permanent repairs must be coordinated to avoid
rework, and to obtain the most cost effective solution. Where the situation
warrants, permanent repairs may be done with emergency work. Eligible emergency
repairs completed within the first 180 days after the disaster event are paid
out of federal share of 100%. Approved permanent repairs, or emergency repairs
completed after 180 days are paid at a lesser federal share, usually 80 or 90%.
Let's talk about some other funding sources that may be available to
complement FHWA’s ER program.
A disaster may trigger relief from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, or
FEMA, if the President makes a federal disaster declaration. Roadways that are
not federal-aid highways and not eligible for FHWA ER funding could be
eligible for FEMA assistance. In addition, FEMA funding may pay for debris removal
on federal-aid highways. In addition,
states and local agencies must pursue any damage claims with private insurance
companies when appropriate. If claims are paid, agencies must reimburse FHWA for
any ER funds previously distributed. Let's look at an example of how the
standard application method works for FHWA ER funds. Hurricane Megan strikes
several coastal counties, causing extensive damage to the state and local
roads. The governor makes a disaster proclamation. Local agencies cooperate
with the DOT to submit a letter notifying the FHWA Division office that
the state will seek ER funding. The state and local agencies have already begun
making emergency repairs.
FHWA’s Division Administrator confirms in writing receipt of the notification
letter. She assigns a disaster coordination engineer from her staff to
manage FHWA ER support guided by the FHWA emergency relief manual to
ensure eligibility and proper oversight. FHWA’s disaster coordination engineer
works with his counterpart organizing federal state and local representatives
to jointly assess the hurricane’s damage to federal-aid highways. The team
expedites the initial disaster assessment to estimate the overall scope of damage, and
whether individual site repairs meet cost thresholds for funding. These first
evaluations are primarily drive-by inspections of a sample of sites, with a
few complex sites requiring more detailed inspections. Although
preliminary, the team use
the Detailed Damage Inspection Report Form, or DDIR, to document the initial damage
assessments including photographs and sketches. Within six weeks after the
event, the DOT submits a Damage Survey Summary Report, called a DSSR, as the
first application for ER funds. The DSSR documentation justifies the events
eligibility, estimated cost, and known repair sites by referencing damage assessments
such as the current set of DDIRs. The Division Administrator evaluates the DSSR,
determines eligibility, and requests estimated ER funding from FHWA
headquarters. The Division Administrator also notifies the state of FHWA’s decision.
Within three months after the disaster eligibility finding, the DOT submits the
detailed program of projects updating the application and defining the work
needed to restore damaged facilities. Documentation includes detailed
inspections of each site recorded on DDIRs to justify all known sites and
costs. The DSSR and the program of projects along with associated DDIRs
are part of the official and evolving application for ER funding. The DOT
coordinates with FHWA to revise the application as needed, and submits the
final version within two years of the disaster event. This example covered the
standard application method, which can also be used with a quick release
application option covered in another module. To learn more about the Emergency
Relief Program, watch the other ER modules in this series. In addition,
ER policies and procedures, such as the quick-release application, can change to
meet the demands of emergency relief support. So, please contact your state
Department of Transportation and FHWA Division office for the latest
information.