Chapter 8 › I. Facility Restoration (Categories C–G)

What does FEMA pay to rebuild or repair a damaged facility?

FEMA term

Permanent work (Categories C–G); pre-disaster design and function

Short answer

Permanent work restores a facility to its pre-disaster design (size and capacity) and function, in line with applicable codes and standards. The facility itself must be eligible, and insurable facilities must then be insured.

What FEMA requires

Pre-disaster design is the size or capacity as built or later modified, not how much you were using it. A school designed for 100 students is restored for 100, even if more attended.
Pre-disaster function is the use it was designed or formally altered for. If it served a different use without being altered, FEMA funds whichever restoration costs less.
Work must comply with environmental and historic preservation requirements.
Categories: C roads and bridges; D water control; E buildings and equipment; F utilities; G parks, recreational and other.

Documentation

Design documents or records of later modifications showing the facility’s capacity and function.

Watch out · Govstar practitioner advice

Find the as-built drawings early. Without them, proving capacity or function beyond what FEMA sees on site is hard.

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.