FEMA PA APPEAL SHORT SUMMARY & LINKS TO FEMA WEBSITE

Appeal Timeliness - Toms River Township Board of Fire Commissioners #1
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This is in response to a letter from your office dated November 7, 2018, which transmitted the referenced second appeal on behalf of Toms River Township Board of Fire Commissioners #1 (Applicant). The Applicant is appealing the Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) denial of $31,714.65 in costs pertaining to a net small project overrun for Project Worksheets 3426, 3185, and 3878. Section 423(a) of the Stafford Act provides that any decision regarding eligibility for assistance may be appealed within 60 days after the date on which the applicant is notified of the award or denial of assistance. Implementing this provision, Title 44 of the Code of Federal Regulations (44 C.F.R.), section 206.206(c) requires that applicants must file appeals within 60 days after receipt of a notice of the action that is being appealed. Recipients must then review and forward appeals within 60 days after receipt of the appeal from the applicant. Per 44 C.F.R. § 206.204(e)(2), when an applicant discovers a significant overrun related to the total final cost for all its small projects, the applicant may submit an appeal for additional funding in accordance with 44 C.F.R. § 206.206 within 60 days following completion of all its small projects. According to the Administrative Record, the Applicant completed its last small project on September 12, 2014. The Applicant had until November 11, 2014 to submit a request for an overrun. However, it did not appeal for additional funding until September 29, 2017, more than two years past the regulatory deadline for requesting an overrun. Additionally, the New Jersey Office of Emergency Management (Recipient) did not transmit the appeal until April 24, 2018. Accordingly, both the Applicant and the Recipient did not meet the 60-day timeframe required by FEMA’s regulations, making the first appeal untimely. For this reason, I am denying this appeal. Please inform the Applicant of my decision. This determination is the final decision on this matter pursuant to 44 C.F.R. § 206.206, Appeals.

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