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Chapter 8 › IV.A–B Flexible Restoration; Improved Project

Can we use FEMA funds to rebuild bigger or better than before?

FEMA term
Improved project (capped)
Short answer

Yes, as an improved project, if the facility keeps its pre-disaster function. FEMA’s funding is capped at the lesser of the federal share of the approved restoration estimate or the federal share of your actual costs.

What FEMA requires

  • Examples: paving a gravel road, rebuilding a two-bay firehouse with three bays, meeting a code that fails FEMA’s criteria, or relocating a facility FEMA didn’t require you to move.
  • Get recipient approval before proceeding; FEMA reviews environmental compliance if the configuration changes significantly.
  • The cap increases only for errors or omissions in the original restoration scope or estimate.
  • Mitigation is limited to what the original design would have received, and is deobligated if not completed or if the facility is replaced or relocated.
  • You can combine PA with other federal funds, but not for the same work, and generally not for the PA cost share (CDBG-DR is a possible exception).

Documentation

Recipient approval, the capped restoration estimate, and the improved project scope and actual costs.

Watch out · Govstar practitioner advice

Decide on an improved project before formulation if you can. Converting an obligated project later caps that site and slows everything around it.

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.