Article 26: Category A: Waterways

(Category: debris-removal)

Article Summary

Debris removal from waterways is eligible for FEMA funding only if it is completely necessary to eliminate an immediate threat to life, public health and safety, or improved property. To secure eligibility, the applicant must provide ironclad documentation that establishes their legal maintenance responsibility for the waterway, the explicit basis for the immediate threat determination, the exact coordinates and types of debris, and definitive proof that the debris was deposited by the declared incident rather than pre-existing accumulation. Random exploratory sonar surveys are completely ineligible; however, if a specific debris impact area is verified first, FEMA may fund a localized side-scan sonar survey.

Eligibility limits vary strictly based on waterway type:

• Navigable Waterways: If the applicant has legal maintenance authority, debris clearance is eligible down to a maximum depth of 2 feet below the low-tide draft of the largest vessel that routinely utilized the waterway prior to the incident. Debris removal from federally maintained navigable channels is completely ineligible, as the U.S. Coast Guard and USACE hold primary statutory authority over those areas.
• Non-Navigable Waterways: Removal from natural streams or constructed channels is eligible if the debris poses an immediate threat, such as obstructing infrastructure intakes, threatening structural damage to bridges/culverts, or causing public/private property flooding during a 5-year flood event. Debris removal from flood control works under the specific statutory authority of the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) or the USACE Rehabilitation and Inspection Program is completely ineligible for Public Assistance funding.

Five Key Takeaways for CTA FEMA Compliance

1. Observe the 2-Foot Navigable Depth Cap: Limit all clearing operations in non-federal navigable waters to a maximum depth of 2 feet below the pre-disaster low-tide draft of the area's largest local vessel.
2. Prohibit Duplication of Federal Waterway Authorities: Never claim debris removal costs for channels or flood control works that fall under the direct jurisdiction of the U.S. Coast Guard, USACE, or the NRCS Emergency Watershed Protection Program.
3. Validate Threat with the 5-Year Flood Standard: For non-navigable channels, document explicitly that the accumulated debris creates an immediate threat of flooding to improved public or private property during a standard 5-year flood event.
4. Pre-Verify Impact Areas Before Ordering Sonar: Do not conduct random or exploratory side-scan sonar sweeps; instead, establish a verified impact zone through initial visual indicators before requesting targeted sonar survey funding.
5. Establish a Clear Pre-Disaster Debris Baseline: Provide historical maintenance logs or bathymetric profiles to prove that the claimed waterway obstructions were entirely deposited by the incident and do not constitute deferred channel dredging.

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