44 Cfr 206.34

Federal Emergency Management Agency, DHS
which no Federal reimbursement will
be requested.
(c) Disaster Application Center: A center established in a centralized location within the disaster area for individuals, families, or businesses to apply
for disaster aid.
(d) FEMA-State Agreement: A formal
legal document stating the understandings, commitments, and binding
conditions for assistance applicable as
the result of the major disaster or
emergency declared by the President.
(e) Incident: Any condition which
meets the definition of major disaster
or emergency as set forth in § 206.2
which causes damage or hardship that
may result in a Presidential declaration of a major disaster or an emergency.
(f) Incident period: The time interval
during which the disaster-causing incident occurs. No Federal assistance
under the Act shall be approved unless
the damage or hardship to be alleviated
resulted from the disaster-causing incident which took place during the incident period or was in anticipation of
that incident. The incident period will
be established by FEMA in the FEMAState Agreement and published in the
FEDERAL REGISTER.
§ 206.33 Preliminary damage assessment.
The preliminary damage assessment
(PDA) process is a mechanism used to
determine the impact and magnitude
of damage and the resulting unmet
needs of individuals, businesses, the
public sector, and the community as a
whole. Information collected is used by
the State as a basis for the Governor’s
request, and by FEMA to document the
recommendation made to the President
in response to the Governor’s request.
It is in the best interest of all parties
to combine State and Federal personnel resources by performing a joint
PDA prior to the initiation of a Governor’s request, as follows.
(a) Preassessment by the State. When
an incident occurs, or is imminent,
which the State official responsible for
disaster operations determines may be
beyond the State and local government
capabilities to respond, the State will
request the Regional Administrator to
perform a joint FEMA-State prelimi-

§ 206.34

nary damage assessment. It is not anticipated that all occurrences will result in the requirement for assistance;
therefore, the State will be expected to
verify their initial information, in
some manner, before requesting this
support.
(b) Damage assessment teams. Damage
assessment teams will be composed of
at least one representative of the Federal Government and one representative of the State. A local government
representative, familiar with the extent and location of damage in his/her
community, should also be included, if
possible. Other State and Federal agencies, and voluntary relief organizations
may also be asked to participate, as
needed. It is the State’s responsibility
to coordinate State and local participation in the PDA and to ensure that
the participants receive timely notification concerning the schedule. A
FEMA official will brief team members
on damage criteria, the kind of information to be collected for the particular incident, and reporting requirements.
(c) Review of findings. At the close of
the PDA, FEMA will consult with
State officials to discuss findings and
reconcile any differences.
(d) Exceptions. The requirement for a
joint PDA may be waived for those incidents of unusual severity and magnitude that do not require field damage
assessments to determine the need for
supplemental Federal assistance under
the Act, or in such other instances determined by the Regional Administrator upon consultation with the
State. It may be necessary, however, to
conduct an assessment to determine
unmet needs for managerial response
purposes.
§ 206.34 Request for utilization of Department of Defense (DOD) resources.
(a) General. During the immediate
aftermath of an incident which may ultimately qualify for a Presidential declaration of a major disaster or emergency, when threats to life and property are present which cannot be effectively dealt with by the State or local
governments, the Assistant Administrator for the Disaster Assistance Directorate may direct DOD to utilize

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§ 206.35

44 CFR Ch. I (10–1–13 Edition)

DOD personnel and equipment for removal of debris and wreckage and temporary restoration of essential public
facilities and services.
(b) Request process. The Governor of a
State, or the Acting Governor in his/
her absence, may request such DOD assistance. The Governor should submit
the request to the Assistant Administrator for the Disaster Assistance Directorate through the appropriate Regional Administrator to ensure prompt
acknowledgment and processing. The
request must be submitted within 48
hours of the occurrence of the incident.
Requests made after that time may
still be considered if information is
submitted indicating why the request
for assistance could not be made during
the initial 48 hours. The request shall
include:
(1) Information describing the types
and amount of DOD emergency assistance being requested;
(2) Confirmation that the Governor
has taken appropriate action under
State law and directed the execution of
the State emergency plan;
(3) A finding that the situation is of
such severity and magnitude that effective response is beyond the capabilities of the State and affected local governments and that Federal assistance
is necessary for the preservation of life
and property;
(4) A certification by the Governor
that the State and local government
will reimburse FEMA for the non-Federal share of the cost of such work; and
(5) An agreement:
(i) To provide all lands, easements
and rights-of-way necessary to accomplish the approved work without cost
to the United States;
(ii) To hold and save the United
States free from damages due to the requested work, and to indemnify the
Federal
government
against
any
claims arising from such work; and
(iii) To assist DOD in all support and
local jurisdictional matters.
(c) Processing the request. Upon receipt of the request, the Regional Administrator shall gather adequate information to support a recommendation and forward it to the Assistant
Administrator for the Disaster Assistance Directorate. If the Assistant Administrator for the Disaster Assistance

Directorate determines that such work
is essential to save lives and protect
property, he/she will issue a mission assignment to DOD authorizing direct
Federal assistance to the extent
deemed appropriate.
(d) Implementation of assistance. The
performance of emergency work may
not exceed a period of 10 days from the
date of the mission assignment.
(e) Limits. Generally, no work shall be
approved under this section which falls
within the statutory authority of DOD
or another Federal agency. However,
where there are significant unmet
needs of sufficient severity and magnitude, not addressed by other assistance, which could appropriately be addressed under this section of the Stafford Act, the involvement of other Federal agencies would not preclude the
authorization of DOD assistance by the
Assistant Administrator for the Disaster Assistance Directorate.
(f) Federal share. The Federal share of
assistance under this section shall be
not less than 75 percent of the cost of
eligible work.
(g) Project management. DOD shall ensure that the work is completed in accordance with the approved scope of
work, costs, and time limitations in
the mission assignment. DOD shall also
keep the Regional Administrator and
the State advised of work progress and
other project developments. It is the
responsibility of DOD to ensure compliance with applicable Federal, State
and local legal requirements. A final
report will be submitted to the Regional Administrator upon termination
of all direct Federal assistance work.
Final reports shall be signed by a representative of DOD and the State. Once
the final eligible cost is determined,
DOD will request reimbursement from
FEMA and FEMA will submit a bill to
the State for the non-Federal share of
the mission assignment.
(h) Reimbursement of DOD. Reimbursement will be made in accordance
with § 206.8 of these regulations.
§ 206.35 Requests for emergency declarations.
(a) When an incident occurs or
threatens to occur in a State, which
would not qualify under the definition
of a major disaster, the Governor of a

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