Disaster Assistance; Fire Management Assistance Grant (FMAG) Program–Deadline Extensions and Administrative Correction
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Final rule.
CFR Part: "44 CFR Parts 204 and 206"
RIN Number: "RIN 1660-AA78"
Citation: "79 FR 63540"
Document Number: "Docket ID FEMA-2013-0004"
Page Number: "63540"
"Rules and Regulations"
SUMMARY: Under the authority of Section 420 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, as amended, the
DATES: This rule is effective
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
The Fire Management Assistance Grant (FMAG) Program is authorized by section 420 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act /1/ (Stafford Act). Section 420 authorizes the President to provide assistance, including grants, equipment, supplies, and personnel to any State or local government /2/ or Indian Tribal government for the mitigation, management, and control of any fire on public or private forest land or grassland that threatens such destruction as would constitute a major disaster. /3/
FOOTNOTE 1 Disaster Relief Act of 1974, Public Law 93-288, section 417, 88 Stat. 158 (1974), redesignated as section 420 by the Stafford Act, Public Law 100-707, section 106(j), 102 Stat. 4705 (1988); codified as amended at 42 U.S.C. 5187. END FOOTNOTE
FOOTNOTE 2 Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000, Public Law 106-390, section 303, 42 U.S.C. 5121, added "local government" to section 420 of the Stafford Act. END FOOTNOTE
FOOTNOTE 3 A major disaster under the Stafford Act is any natural catastrophe or, regardless of cause, any fire, flood, or explosion which in the determination of the President causes damage of sufficient severity and magnitude to warrant major disaster assistance to supplement the efforts and available resources of States, local governments, and disaster relief organizations in alleviating the damage, loss, hardship, or suffering caused thereby. END FOOTNOTE
In order to receive funding for an FMAG, only a State /4/ may submit a request for an FMAG declaration and the request must be submitted to the Regional Administrator (RA) while the fire is burning uncontrolled. See 44 CFR 204.22. If
FOOTNOTE 4 Pursuant to
FOOTNOTE 5 The grantee is usually a State; however, an Indian Tribal government may also be the grantee, in which case it takes on the same responsibilities as the State. See 44 CFR 204.3. END FOOTNOTE
Under the FMAG program, certain administrative costs are reimbursable. Grantees and subgrantees may claim direct costs (i.e., those costs directly attributable to a particular project) associated with requesting, obtaining, and administering a grant for a declared fire, including regular and overtime pay and travel expenses for permanent, reassigned, temporary, and contract employees who assist in administering the fire management assistance grant. Other direct administrative costs incurred by the grantee or subgrantee, such as equipment and supply purchases, may be eligible, but must be reviewed by the grantee and FEMA RA. Indirect costs incurred by the grantee during the administration of a grant are allowed in accordance with the provisions of 44 CFR part 13 and OMB Circular A-87; subgrantees may not claim indirect administrative costs.
Because FEMA will not approve project worksheets under
Subgrantees must submit all of their project worksheets to the grantee for review. The grantee determines the deadline for subgrantees to submit completed project worksheets, but the deadline must be no later than 6 months from the close of the incident period. /6/ At the request of the grantee, the FEMA RA may grant an extension of up to 3 months for the submission of the project worksheet. The grantee must include a justification in its request for an extension. See 44 CFR 204.52(c).
FOOTNOTE 6 The incident period is the time interval during which the declared fire occurs. END FOOTNOTE
The grantee submits the subgrantee project worksheets to the FEMA RA as part of its grant application. See 44 CFR 204.51(b)(4) and 204.52(c). The grantee should submit its grant application within 9 months of the FMAG declaration. See 44 CFR 204.51(a)(2). Upon receipt of a written request from the grantee, the Regional Administrator may grant an extension for up to 3 months. The grantee's request must include a justification for the extension. See 44 CFR 204.51(a).
II. The Proposed Rule
On
FEMA also proposed to make additional minor administrative changes to its FMAG regulations to reflect current statutory and regulatory requirements and clarify grant application procedures. These administrative changes included:
a. Changing the regulatory text to clarify the current regulatory language that suggests that FMAG grants are approved before local governments submit their project worksheets. Local governments submit their project worksheets to the State and the State submits all the project worksheets to
b. Changing the regulatory text from stating that grantees "should" submit their grant application within 9 months of the fire incident to stating they "must" submit the grant application within 9 months of the fire incident. See 44 CFR 204.51(a)(2).
c. Adding to the regulatory text to state explicitly that the request for extensions and justifications for project worksheets must be in writing. This is a non-substantive change that mirrors the requirement in 44 CFR 204.51 that the grantee must provide justifications in writing for its request for a time extension to submit grant applications. Further, the current regulations already require subgrantees to request an extension and provide a justification in its request for an extension but
d. Clarifying that project worksheets will not be accepted after the regulatory deadline, or after the extension if the grantee or subgrantee asked for an extension
e. Clarifying that FMAG administrative costs are not part of management costs. See 44 CFR 204.63.
f. Removing references to OMB forms, the definition of "we, our, us" and making format changes
g. Removing the word "including," this was a typographical error, from the list of reimbursable equipment costs.
h. Removing Part 206, subpart L, Fire Suppression Assistance, because the FMAG program replaced the
III. Discussion of Public Comments
FEMA received six comments on the proposed rule; five were favorable and one was unrelated to the proposed rule.
A. General
The comments were generally supportive of the proposed rule, finding the proposed changes were "timely" and "welcome," and that the addition of 3 months to the extension process and the elimination of the
1.
One commenter requested that
FEMA takes note of this comment and will include Other Federal Agencies (OFA) in future communications. In addition,
In another comment, the commenter stated that the cost thresholds for the FMAG program are rarely updated in an efficient manner and are difficult to locate, which leads to additional work in submitting a request for assistance for potential applicants.
2. Request To Modify Forms and Required Data
One commenter suggested that
FEMA's forms, and the associated data necessary to complete
3. Definition of "
Another comment suggested that
FOOTNOTE 7 Sandy Recovery Improvement Act of 2013, Public Law 113-2, section 103, 42 U.S.C. 5123, states that any reference in this Act to `State and local,' `State or local,' `State, and local,' `State, or local,' or `State, local' (including plurals) with respect to governments or officials is deemed to refer also to Indian tribal governments and officials, as appropriate. END FOOTNOTE
One commenter requested that the FMAG process provide better allowance for the use of a "fire complex" structure of management in which multiple fires on a local level are managed collectively by a central incident management organization based out of a regionally located office. Again, this comment is outside the scope of this rulemaking, but
4. Better Recognition of State Forest Fire Suppression
One comment suggested that the FMAG Program better recognize the organization structure of State forestry fire suppression throughout the eastern
B. Deadline Extensions
In the proposed rule,
1. General Support
Commenters supported this change, citing various reasons. One commenter supported the change because of limited staffing in States that experience the majority of fires, and the additional time would allow the reporting of all costs, especially after large, lengthy or multiple fires. Another commenter noted that the additional 3-month extensions for grantees and subgrantees were especially needed during a "significant" fire season. Another commenter noted that the change would ease the burden on local governments to submit all the necessary information on time to maintain eligibility for FMAG funds.
2. Consistency of FMAG and Public Assistance
One commenter stated that while the extended time period was positive, the general framework of the FMAG and Public Assistance programs should be consistent and cost effective. While outside the scope of this rulemaking,
3. Common Practice
One commenter stated that the proposed time extensions have already been a common
4. Additional Time Extensions
One commenter suggested that
C. Elimination of the
FEMA currently does not allow reimbursement for a project worksheet that totals less than
Three commenters supported this proposed change. One commenter stated that due to current rule limitations and without this revision, many small entities are unable to recover these costs. This revision would allow small entities to be reimbursed for their administrative efforts regardless of the amount. Another commenter acknowledged that this proposed change would allow for full reimbursement of all eligible administrative costs. Finally, a commenter welcomed this change for FMAG as many of the smaller jurisdictions have not been able to obtain reimbursement for their direct administrative costs since the costs tend to fall well below
IV. Regulatory Analysis
A. Executive Order 12866 (Regulatory Planning and Review) and Executive Order 13563 (Improving Regulation and Regulatory Review)
Executive Orders 13563 and 12866 direct agencies to assess the costs and benefits of available regulatory alternatives and, if regulation is necessary, to select regulatory approaches that maximize net benefits (including potential economic, environmental, public health and safety effects, distributive impacts, and equity). Executive Order 13563 emphasizes the importance of quantifying both costs and benefits, of reducing costs, of harmonizing rules, and of promoting flexibility. This rule has not been designated a "significant regulatory action," under section 3(f) of Executive Order 12866. Accordingly, the
Summary
This rule does not impose mandatory costs on grantees and subgrantees. This rule does provide the RA with increased flexibility to assist grantees and subgrantees who submit FMAG applications and whose circumstances warrant an extension. In addition, the exemption from the
Total Costs and Benefits of This Rule
There are no direct monetary costs associated with the increased extensions identified in the rule. The cost of existing requirements (i.e., grant application submission) has the potential to be shifted, but not changed, by this rule. However, an extension may indirectly impact a grantee's or subgrantee's cash flow. For instance, if funds needed to reimburse fire suppression services (per a mutual aid fiscal agreement) are delayed due to an extension, then a grantee will have to use alternative means to avoid a budgetary shortfall. Regardless, it is the grantee's choice whether or not to apply for an extension and the grantee will need to consider if it is more beneficial to expend extra efforts to submit its FMAG application without an extension or to find alternative means to cover any associated shortfalls. Based on previous FMAG application submittals,
The exemption from the
Benefits of the rule include increased flexibility to grantees and subgrantees for submitting their respective applications. A longer application period may also allow applicants to use lengthier but more cost efficient grant application preparation methods. The rule will also more accurately reflect the operational and administrative demands of the FMAG grant process. In addition, the rule's nonsubstantive modifications will improve regulatory clarity.
Retrospective Review
To facilitate the periodic review of existing regulations, Executive Order 13563 requires agencies to consider how best to promote retrospective analysis of rules that may be outmoded, ineffective, insufficient, or excessively burdensome, and to modify, streamline, expand, or repeal them in accordance with what has been learned. The Executive Order requires agencies to issue a retrospective review plan, consistent with law and the agency's resources and regulatory priorities, under which the agency will periodically review its existing significant regulations to determine whether any such regulations should be modified, streamlined, expanded, or repealed so as to make the agency's regulatory program more effective or less burdensome in achieving the regulatory objectives. Review of
B. Regulatory Flexibility Act
The Regulatory Flexibility Act of 1980 (RFA), 5 U.S.C. 601-612, as amended by the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996 (Pub. L. 104-121), requires Federal agencies to consider the potential impact of regulations on small businesses, small governmental jurisdictions, and small organizations during the development of their rules. As this rule imposes no direct monetary cost,
C. Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995
As required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), Public Law 104-13 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), as amended, an agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, a collection of information unless the collection of information displays a valid OMB control number.
This rule contains collections of information that are subject to review by OMB under the PRA. The information collections included in this rule are approved by OMB under control numbers 1660-0058, Fire Management Assistance Grant Program, which expires on
D. Executive Order 13132, Federalism
Executive Order 13132, Federalism, 64 FR 43255 (
E. Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995
The Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995, Public Law 104-4, 109 Stat. 48 (
F. Executive Order 12898, Environmental Justice
Under Executive Order 12898, Federal Actions to Address Environmental Justice in Minority Populations and Low-Income Populations, 59 FR 7629 (
No action that
H. Executive Order 12988, Civil Justice Reform
FEMA has reviewed this rule under Executive Order 12988, Civil Justice Reform, 61 FR 4729 (
I. Executive Order 13175, Consultation and Coordination With Indian Tribal Governments
Executive Order 13175, Consultation and Coordination with Indian Tribal Governments, 65 FR 67249 (
J. National Environmental Policy Act
FEMA did not prepare an environmental assessment as defined by the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, Public Law 91-190, 83 Stat. 852 (
L. Congressional Review of Agency Rulemaking.
FEMA has sent this final rule to the
List of Subjects
44 CFR Part 204
Administrative practice and procedure, Fire prevention, Grant programs, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.
44 CFR Part 206
Administrative practice and procedure, Coastal zone, Community facilities, Disaster assistance, Fire prevention, Grant programs-housing and community development, Housing, Insurance, Intergovernmental relations, Loan programs-housing and community development, Natural resources, Penalties, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.
For the reasons stated in the preamble, the
PART 204--FIRE MANAGEMENT ASSISTANCE GRANT PROGRAM
1. Revise the authority citation for part 204 to read as follows:
Authority: 42 U.S.C. 5121 through 5207; 6 U.S.C.
2. Remove the words "We (FEMA)" and add, in their place, the word "
3. In
a. In the definition of "Applicant", remove the word "us" and add, in its place, the word "
b. In the definition of "Hazard mitigation plan", remove the words "We address", and add, in their place, the words "
c. In the definition of "Performance period", remove "(Standard Form 424)" and "in block 13";
d. In the definition of "Project worksheet", remove the words "FEMA Form 90-91, which identifies", and add, in their place, the words "The form which identifies";
e. Remove the definitions of "FEMA Form 90-91", "Request for Federal Assistance", "Standard Form (SF) 424", and "We, our, us"; and
f. Add a definition of "Application for Federal Assistance" in alphabetical order to read as follows:
* * * * *
Application for Federal Assistance. The form the State submits to apply for a grant under a fire management assistance declaration.
* * * * *
4. In
a. In paragraphs (a) and (b) introductory text, remove the word "We" and add, in its place, the word "
b. In paragraph (a), after the word "complex", add the words "on public or private forest land or grassland".
5. In
6. In
7. In
a. In paragraph (b)(1), after the word "safety", remove the comma and add, in its place, a period, and remove "including:";
b. In paragraphs (b)(5) and (f), remove the word "We" and add, in its place, the word "
c. In paragraph (b)(5), remove the words "we determine" and add, in their place, the words "
8. In
a. In paragraph (a), remove the space after the word "Administrator"; and remove the phrase "SF 424 (Request for Federal Assistance) and FEMA Form 20-16a (Summary of Assurances--Non-construction Programs)" and add, in its place, the phrase "Application for Federal Assistance and Summary of Assurances--Non-construction Programs";
b. In paragraph (a)(2), remove the word "should" and add, in its place, the word "must"; and remove the number "3" and add, in its place, the number "6";
c. In paragraphs (b)(1) and (b)(5), remove the word "We" and add, in its place, the word "
d. In paragraphs (b)(1) and (d), remove the word "we" and add, in its place, the word "
e. In paragraph (b)(1), remove the word "determine", and add, in its place, the word "determines", and
f. In paragraph (d), after the words "Regional Administrator", remove the space wherever they appear; and remove the word "approve", and add, in its place, the word "approves".
9. In
a. In paragraph (b)(1), remove "(FEMA Form 90-91)";
b. In paragraph (c)(1), remove the words "amendments to" and add, in their place, the words "part of"; and
c. Revise paragraphs (a)(1) and (c)(3), (4), and (5) to read as follows:
(a) Request for Fire Management Assistance. (1) State, local, and tribal governments interested in applying for fire management assistance subgrants must submit a Request for Fire Management Assistance subgrant to the Grantee in accordance with State procedures and within timelines set by the Grantee, but no longer than 30 days after the close of the incident period.
* * * * *
(c) * * *
(3) At the request of the Grantee, the Regional Administrator may extend the time limitations in this section for up to 6 months when the Grantee justifies and makes a request in writing.
(4) Project Worksheets will not be accepted after the deadline in paragraph (c)(2) of this section has expired, or, if applicable, after an extension specified by the Regional Administrator in paragraph (c)(3) of this section has expired.
(5)
10. In
11. In
a. In the introductory paragraph, remove the words "we make" and add, in their place, the words "
b. In paragraph (a), after the words "Regional Administrator", remove the space wherever it appears.
12. In
a. In paragraphs (a), (b), (c), and (d), remove the word "We" wherever it appears and add, in its place, the word "
b. In paragraph (a), remove the word "provide" and add, in its place, the word "provides";
c. In paragraph (c), remove the word "consider" and add, in its place, the word "considers";
d. In paragraph (d), remove the word "incur" and add, in its place, the word "incurs";
e. In paragraphs (c) and (d), remove the word "we" and add, in its place, the word "
f. In paragraphs (a), (b), and (d), remove the word "us" wherever it appears and add, in its place, the word "
13. In
a. In paragraphs (a) and (b), remove the word "We" and add, in its place, the word "
b. Add a new paragraph (c) to read as follows:
* * * * *
(c) Management costs as defined in 44 CFR part 207 do not apply to this section.
14. In
PART 206--FEDERAL DISASTER ASSISTANCE
15. The authority citation for part 206 continues to read as follows:
Authority: Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, 42 U.S.C. 5121 through 5207; Homeland Security Act of 2002, 6 U.S.C.
Subpart L--[Removed and Reserved]
16. Remove and reserve subpart L, consisting of SUBSEC 206.390 through 206.399.
Dated:
Administrator,
[FR Doc. 2014-24802 Filed 10-23-14;
BILLING CODE 9111-23-P
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