Public Assistance (PA) provides assistance for two types of emergency work following a presidential declaration: Category A (Debris removal) and Category B (Emergency protective measures). Proper implementation of these components is essential for communities to regain stability, ensure public safety, and restore essential services.
FEMA provides Public Assistance funding for emergency work that must be executed immediately to save lives, protect public health and safety, protect improved property, or eliminate/lessen an immediate threat of additional impacts and damage.
The definition of an immediate threat varies by the nature of the incident context:
Debris clearance, removal, recycling, and disposal are eligible under Category A if the work is in the public interest to eliminate threats to life, public safety, or improved property, or to ensure the economic recovery of the community at large.
Debris left by the incident on improved public property and public rights-of-way (ROWs), including federal-aid roads, is eligible for removal. If SLTT governments authorize residents to move incident-damaged debris from residential, non-commercial properties to the public ROW, the removal is eligible.
Ineligibility Notice: Commercial debris placed on the public ROW by business owners is completely ineligible for removal unless an exception is granted for extraordinary circumstances. Removal of materials related to the construction, repair, or renovation of any private structure is likewise ineligible.
Debris removal is prohibited from the following locations:
Eligible vegetative debris includes standing trees, limbs, or stumps that are damaged to the extent that they pose an immediate threat to improved property or public-use areas like sidewalks and playgrounds.
EHP Intercention: Stump extraction in areas with high potential for archaeological resources requires FEMA Environmental and Historic Preservation (EHP) consultation with the SHPO/THPO. Work must stop immediately if artifacts are discovered. In highly sensitive areas like cemeteries or tribal lands, a qualified monitor meeting the Secretary of the Interior's Professional Qualification Standards is required.
Debris removal from waterways is eligible only to eliminate immediate threats to life, public safety, or improved property.
Prohibited Practice: Random sonars or general surveys to search for debris are completely ineligible. Funding for side-scan sonar is permitted only if the applicant has already identified a localized debris impact zone and demonstrates the need to map a specific immediate threat.
Removal of abandoned vehicles and vessels from public property is eligible only if they block access to a public-use area, the applicant follows formal local laws for private property removal, and the handling is rigorously documented. Storage costs are eligible for a limited window to identify the owner; if the owner is found, the applicant must pursue cost recovery and credit FEMA.
Emergency protective measures executed before, during, and after an incident are eligible if they eliminate or lessen immediate threats to life, public health, or improved property.
Eligible Category B activities include, but are not limited to: flood fighting; Emergency Operations Center (EOC) operations; provision of emergency access; medical care; evacuation and sheltering; search and rescue; firefighting; security barricades/fencing; public dissemination of health warnings; and mass mortuary services.
Category B work on private property is restricted to widespread threats impacting public health and safety. Eligible private property actions are generally limited to:
Short-term increased operating costs are eligible only if directly required to execute specific emergency health and safety tasks. Eligible examples include water testing/treatment supplies in the immediate aftermath of an incident, or fuel and electrical utility fees for increased pump station operations.
Ineligibility Notice: Ineligible operating costs include general patient care, administrative activities, school make-up days (including bus fuel or mileage to transport students to alternate schools), alternate source utility procurements, and any costs for staff retained for additional hours who did not perform explicit emergency work.
Eligible chemical and pollutant stabilization measures include separating hazardous waste from overall debris, specialized handling/disposal procedures, pumping contaminated water, and site cleanup. Short-term testing to ensure the immediate threat is eliminated is eligible, but testing for long-term remediation planning is ineligible. Operations must utilize certified hazardous waste specialists and comply with the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA).
FEMA funds extraordinary costs to operate emergency rooms and temporary medical facilities when the local healthcare system is destroyed or overwhelmed. Costs are eligible for up to 30 days from the declaration date. Extensions require a policy exception approved by the Assistant Administrator for the Recovery Directorate at FEMA Headquarters based on a rigorous options-and-cost analysis.
Eligible medical care line items are limited to:
Duplication Restriction: FEMA determines cost reasonableness using Medicare's cost-to-charge ratio. Costs are ineligible if underwritten by private insurance, Medicare, or Medicaid; applicants must document a patient-by-patient verification showing third-party billing was pursued. All medical costs cease the moment a survivor is formally admitted to a medical facility on an inpatient basis. Follow-up or long-term treatments and general hospital administrative expenses are completely ineligible.
Transportation to evacuate and subsequently return survivors, luggage, DME, service animals, assistance animals, and household pets is eligible. The mode of transport must be customary and appropriate. Evacuation of exhibition, livestock, or agricultural animals is ineligible, with the sole exception of turtles.
Household pets are restricted to domesticated animals traditionally kept in the home for pleasure (dogs, cats, birds, rabbits, rodents, turtles) that can be carried on commercial transport. Reptiles (except turtles), amphibians, fish, insects, arachnids, and farm animals are strictly excluded.
Eligible tracking activities include utilizing animal microchips, GPS tags, and electronic registries for reunification. Contracts for staging ambulance services must be part of a formal regional evacuation plan. Staging costs are eligible even if the disaster misses the ambulance service area, but funding terminates the moment evacuation is complete or the immediate threat has subsided. Vehicle costs for self-evacuees are ineligible.
FEMA provides funding to SLTT governments for congregate shelters operating 24 hours a day or as limited-hour warming/cooling centers. Funding is restricted strictly to the time the facility is actively housing disaster survivors.
Eligible items include facility rent/lease (including kitchen space), utilities, generator costs, and secure medical storage. Minor modifications to achieve Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliance or establish a functional pet shelter or shelter childcare zone are eligible, as are costs to clean and restore the building to its pre-disaster state.
Reimbursable personnel lines cover medical staff, personal assistance service staff, veterinary/animal workers, public information officers, custodial crews, food service workers, and National Guard personnel.
Covers meals, snacks, cooking supplies, pet food/bowls, animal crates/cages, cots, linens, infant formula, personal hygiene kits, and basic communications (one television per 50 survivors, one computer per 25 survivors, internet, and laundry washers/dryers at a 1:50 ratio).
Covers shelter management, laundry services, and shelter security. Reimbursable care for survivors with disabilities includes personal assistance services (grooming, bathing, toileting, dressing, and cot-to-wheelchair transfers). Medical services are limited to immediate life-stabilizing triage, short-term crisis intervention/psychological first aid, medical waste disposal, and transmissible disease vaccinations (including Bordetella/kennel cough vaccines for sheltered pets).
NCS provides an increased level of privacy over congregate layouts and is restricted to hotels, motels, dormitories, and retreat camps.
Applicants must notify their FEMA Regional Administrator and Headquarters within 5 days of initiating any NCS operations. Traditional hotel/dorm setups do not require advance approval, but non-traditional facilities (recreational vehicles, travel trailers, condominiums, short-term rentals/Airbnb, or ships) require strict advance pre-approval from the Assistant Administrator for the Recovery Directorate at FEMA Headquarters.
NCS funding is processed strictly on a flat per-night, per-room amount. Unlike congregate setups, there is no separate reimbursement for facility staff, utilities, or supplies; all operational costs must be built directly into the base room charge.
Operational Limits: Feeding support, basic casework, and shelter support services are capped at the initial 30 days of NCS operations. They may extend only if routine community access to food and utilities remains disrupted and is heavily documented.
The following expenses are completely excluded from NCS projects:
Any NCS operation extending past the initial 30 days requires an explicit time extension request submitted to the Regional Administrator 7 days prior to expiration. Extensions are issued in 30-day increments, up to a maximum of 6 months from the declaration date. Content past 6 months requires direct approval from FEMA Headquarters. For work to remain eligible past day 30, the household must be registered with IA, have its primary residence confirmed as uninhabitable or inaccessible, and reside in a county designated for both IA and PA.
To preserve funding eligibility and prevent fraud, applicants must compile and report a data index to FEMA on a weekly basis. The reporting framework must capture the following tracking fields:
Recipients must forward this information weekly to the FEMA Data Sharing Support Box. Data streams are cross-checked by FEMA's Recovery Reporting and Analytics Division (RRAD) against active IA distributions to dynamically confirm the ongoing need for shelter and eliminate a duplication of benefits. Personally identifiable information (PII) transfers must be governed by a signed Information Sharing Access Agreement (ISAA) or Data Sharing Addendum (DSA).
If an impacted jurisdiction must evacuate survivors outside its borders, it coordinates with a host-state or host-tribe. Only congregate layouts managed by the host entity are eligible for PA funding.
FEMA provides PA funding directly to the host jurisdiction as the recipient, provided the impact-state requested the aid, the host signs a formal FEMA-State Agreement, and the host accepts all evacuees without restriction based on need. FEMA covers 100 percent of the host's eligible costs (including straight-time and benefits for its permanent personnel) so the host incurs zero out-of-pocket expenses.
Cost-Share Clawbacks: The impact-state remains legally responsible for the non-federal cost share. FEMA bills the impact-state for the local share percentage established in the original disaster declaration. The impact-state is strictly barred from offsetting this financial debt using the volunteer labor or donated resources generated within the host-state.
FEMA reimburses the host for unique out-of-state parameters:
The host must audit medical or ambulance bills against the patient's private insurance, Medicare, or Medicaid, as FEMA deducts these coverages from the project. The purchase and distribution of gas cards, bus passes, cash vouchers, debit cards, food stamps, or direct cash payments to evacuees are completely ineligible.
The Department of Health and Human Services Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) holds primary authority for infectious disease responses. In a Stafford Act declaration, FEMA coordinates directly with the CDC to assist with the evacuation, movement of supplies, and temporary sheltering of affected human populations. When activated, FEMA will issue explicit Disaster-Specific Guidance (DSG) defining the exact eligibility boundaries for that specific pandemic or outbreak.
Mosquito spraying and abatement are eligible only when an SLTT public health official issues a formal written validation certifying that the localized mosquito population poses a specific transmissible health threat. FEMA consults with the CDC to evaluate the SOW, and funding is limited strictly to the disaster-related increased cost. Eligible funding is calculated by taking the total disaster abatement cost and subtracting the applicant's average baseline abatement expenses from the 3 most recent non-disaster years.
Building department officials can claim costs for executing post-incident safety evaluations to determine if structures are safe for entry, occupancy, and lawful use. This covers the placement of safe-occupancy placards (such as "red-tagging" or "green-tagging" buildings) for public and private structures.
Audit Mandate: Applicants must explicitly substantiate that the purpose of the inspection was solely for structural public safety and code enforcement. Any inspection activities executed to compile a damage assessment or estimate repair costs for insurance/grants are completely ineligible under this category.
The removal and disposal of animal carcasses—including interim burning, rendering, mounding, or composting—is eligible. If executed as part of the overall debris operation, it is funded under Category A; if treated as an isolated health task, it is Category B. FEMA may require written public health threat certifications from the local health department, HHS, or the USDA. Small carcasses (rodents, opossums) are ineligible unless a specific epidemic threat is certified. Work is blocked if the NRCS exercises its carcass disposal authority.
Public Assistance funds election-related work to ensure the continued function of local government governance. If a disaster damages voting equipment or renders polling places unusable due to structural collapse or power blackouts, PA covers the temporary cleanup, stabilization, or equipment staging costs, subject to the declaration cost-share.
If an applicant accidentally damages improved public property, supplies, or equipment during eligible debris clearing or emergency protective operations, the repair costs are eligible as a sub-line item within the active Category A or B project.
To qualify for project reimbursement, the applicant must demonstrate the damage met three parameters:
Ineligibility Notice: The replacement of damaged trees, ornamental shrubs, lawns, or ground cover destroyed by heavy equipment during debris removal is completely ineligible for replacement. Crops and agricultural features are likewise excluded. For vehicle or machine damage, applicants must submit maintenance records proving the equipment was in good operational order prior to the event. Damage caused by snowplows operating outside the approved 48-hour window is completely ineligible.
If a landslide or slope instability is triggered by the disaster and directly threatens life or improved property, emergency stabilization is eligible. FEMA funds only the least costly option to alleviate the immediate threat, and the SOW is limited strictly to the area of the immediate threat, never the entire hillside.
Reimbursable stabilization measures are limited to:
Facilities inundated or exposed to prolonged high humidity are eligible for emergency mold remediation to eliminate public health threats. Eligible activities are restricted to wet vacuuming or HEPA vacuuming interior surfaces; removing contaminated gypsum board, plaster, carpets, and ceiling tiles; and cleaning HVAC ductwork and plumbing mechanical fixtures.
FEMA funds mold sampling only if performed by an independent indoor environmental professional (a certified industrial hygienist, certified indoor environmental consultant, or certified microbial consultant). To prevent conflicts of interest, the testing professional must not be employed by or financially tied to the remediation contractor. Pre-remediation sampling is funded only if it reveals the presence of mold; post-remediation testing is eligible to confirm cleanup is complete.
Maintenance Audit: Mold remediation is completely ineligible if the growth resulted from poor facility maintenance, pre-existing leaks, or a failure to extract water in a reasonable time. FEMA reviews structures for evidence of deferred maintenance, such as improperly sealed windows, standing water against exterior foundations, rusted/clogged gutters with vegetative growth, or water-stained ceiling tiles. Growth is eligible only if caused by documented extenuating blocks like a total breakout of the power grid, an extended period where the building was underwater, or an unpassable road blocking access.
If a natural or engineered beach erodes to the point where improved property is endangered, constructing temporary emergency sand berms is eligible under Category B to provide protection against a 5-year storm.
To establish eligibility, the applicant must demonstrate via engineering data that the total water level (TWL)—the 5-year still water level surge plus predicted wave runup—exceeds the post-incident elevation of the primary dune crest. Locations where the dune profile falls below the TWL line qualify for sand placement.
Quantity Caps: FEMA limits funding for emergency berms to a maximum volume of 6 cubic yards per linear foot of sand placed above the 5-year still water level or the pre-incident profile line, whichever is less. Placing sand below the still water line is funded only if structurally necessary to form a physical base for the berm.
Placement of dune grass on the emergency berm is eligible only if required by environmental permit and it represents an enforced, uniform practice across all projects within the jurisdiction. Grass placement costs must be factored into the initial project cost-effectiveness review, and any downstream maintenance of the vegetation is ineligible. Applying sand volumes into an aggregate multi-disaster total for future beach nourishment is completely prohibited.