Chapter 5 › II.A–B Initial Debris Removal and Emergency Protective Measures Grouping

How does FEMA group debris removal and emergency protective measures into projects?

FEMA term

Grouping impacts into projects: Categories A and B

Short answer

FEMA first groups work by category and facility type, then splits out sites that need their own project. Debris is grouped by where it was: public property, waterways, private non-commercial property, commercial property and private roads. Protective measures are grouped as private property demolition, general response, work on private property, work involving construction or repairs, and each temporary facility.

What FEMA requires

FEMA, the recipient and the applicant work together to group impacts into projects in two steps: create groups by category of work and facility type, then identify sites or facilities that should be separate projects.
Facilities under another federal agency’s authority, or ineligible for PA (for example, facilities not in use at the time of the incident), must not be put in a project. Withdraw them from the impact list, or FEMA will issue an ineligibility determination.
Grouping should never be based on project size or grant administration considerations.

<table class="pt-table"><thead><tr><th>Category</th><th>Each of these is one initial group</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>A: Debris removal</td><td>Public property · Waterways · Private non-commercial property · Commercial property · Private roads</td></tr><tr><td>B: Emergency protective measures</td><td>Private property demolition · Emergency response activities (not on private property) · Protective measures on private property · Measures involving facility construction or repairs · Each individual temporary facility</td></tr></tbody></table>

Documentation

An impact list detailed enough for FEMA to sort each debris site and protective measure into the right group: where the debris was (public property, waterway, private or commercial property, private road) and whether a protective measure was on private property, involved construction or repairs, or was a temporary facility.

Watch out · Govstar practitioner advice

Private property work is grouped separately for a reason: it faces stricter eligibility review. Keep its costs, approvals and legal authority separate from your public right-of-way work from the first day.

Govstar summarizes FEMA’s Public Assistance Program and Policy Guide in plain language and links to the official text. Govstar is independent and not affiliated with FEMA. This is general guidance, not legal advice.