PART 204—FIRE MANAGEMENT ASSISTANCE GRANT PROGRAM Authority: 42 U.S.C. 5121 through 5207; 6 U.S.C. 101 et seq.; Source: 66 FR 57347, Nov. 14, 2001, unless otherwise noted. Subpart A—General § 204.1 Purpose. This part provides information on the procedures for the declaration and grants management processes for the Fire Management Assistance Grant Program in accordance with the provisions of section 420 of the Stafford Act. This part also details applicant eligibility and the eligibility of costs to be considered under the program. FEMA will actively work with State and Tribal emergency managers and foresters on the efficient delivery of fire management assistance as directed by this part. [66 FR 57347, Nov. 14, 2001, as amended at 79 FR 63545, Oct. 24, 2014] § 204.2 Scope. This part is intended for those individuals responsible for requesting declarations and administering grants under the Fire Management Assistance Grant Program, as well as those applying for assistance under the program. § 204.3 Definitions used throughout this part. Applicant. Application for Federal Assistance. Declared fire. Demobilization. Fire complex. Governor's Authorized Representative (GAR). Grant. Hazard mitigation plan. Incident commander. Incident period. Indian tribal government. Individual assistance. Local government. Mitigation, management, and control. Mobilization. Performance period. Pre-positioning. Principal advisor. Project worksheet. Public assistance. Recipient. Regional Administrator. Subgrant. Subrecipient. Threat of a major disaster. Uncontrolled fire. [66 FR 57347, Nov. 14, 2001, as amended at 68 FR 61370, Oct. 28, 2003; 74 FR 15345, Apr. 3, 2009; 75 FR 50715, Aug. 17, 2010; 79 FR 63545, Oct. 24, 2014; 82 FR 42, Jan. 3, 2017] §§ 204.4-204.20 [Reserved] Subpart B—Declaration Process § 204.21 Fire management assistance declaration criteria. (a) Determinations. (b) Evaluation criteria. (1) Threat to lives and improved property, including threats to critical facilities/infrastructure, and critical watershed areas; (2) Availability of State and local firefighting resources; (3) High fire danger conditions, as indicated by nationally accepted indices such as the National Fire Danger Ratings System; (4) Potential major economic impact. [66 FR 57347, Nov. 14, 2001, as amended at 75 FR 50715, Aug. 17, 2010; 79 FR 63546, Oct. 24, 2014] § 204.22 Submitting a request for a fire management assistance declaration. The Governor of a State, or the Governor's Authorized Representative (GAR), may submit a request for a fire management assistance declaration. The request must be submitted while the fire is burning uncontrolled and threatens such destruction as would constitute a major disaster. The request must be submitted to the Regional Administrator and should address the relevant criteria listed in § 204.21, with supporting documentation that contains factual data and professional estimates on the fire or fire complex. To ensure that FEMA can process a State's request for a fire management assistance declaration as expeditiously as possible, the State should transmit the request by telephone, promptly followed by written documentation. [66 FR 57347, Nov. 14, 2001, as amended at 79 FR 63546, Oct. 24, 2014] § 204.23 Processing a request for a fire management assistance declaration. (a) In processing a State's request for a fire management assistance declaration, the Regional Administrator, in coordination with the Principal Advisor, will verify the information submitted in the State's request. (b) The Principal Advisor, at the request of the Regional Administrator, is responsible for providing FEMA a technical assessment of the fire or fire complex for which the State is requesting a fire management assistance declaration. The Principal Advisor may consult with State agencies, usually emergency management or forestry, as well as the Incident Commander, in order to provide FEMA with an accurate assessment. [75 FR 50715, Aug. 17, 2010] § 204.24 Determination on request for a fire management assistance declaration. The Administrator will review all information submitted in the State's request along with the Principal Advisor's assessment and render a determination. The determination will be based on the conditions of the fire or fire complex existing at the time of the State's request. When possible, the Administrator will evaluate the request and make a determination within several hours. Once the Administrator renders a determination, FEMA will promptly notify the State of the determination. [75 FR 50715, Aug. 17, 2010] § 204.25 FEMA-State agreement for fire management assistance grant program. (a) After a State's request for a fire management assistance declaration has been approved, the Governor and Regional Administrator will enter into a standing FEMA-State Agreement (the Agreement) for the declared fire and for future declared fires in that calendar year. The State must have a signed and up-to-date FEMA-State Agreement before receiving Federal funding for fire management assistance grants. FEMA will provide no funding absent a signed and up-to-date Agreement. An Indian tribal government serving as recipient, must sign a FEMA-Tribal Agreement, modeled upon the FEMA-State Agreement. (b) The Agreement states the understandings, commitments, and conditions under which FEMA will provide Federal assistance, including the cost share provision and articles of agreement necessary for the administration of grants approved under fire management assistance declarations. The Agreement must also identify the State legislative authority for firefighting, as well as the State's compliance with the laws, regulations, and other provisions applicable to the Fire Management Assistance Grant Program. (c) For each subsequently declared fire within the calendar year, the parties must add a properly executed amendment, which defines the incident period and contains the official declaration number. Other amendments modifying the standing Agreement may be added throughout the year to reflect changes in the program or signatory parties. [66 FR 57347, Nov. 14, 2001, as amended at 79 FR 63546, Oct. 24, 2014; 82 FR 42, Jan. 3, 2017] § 204.26 Appeal of fire management assistance declaration denial. (a) Submitting an appeal. (b) Requesting a time-extension. (c) Request for such an extension within the 30-day period. [75 FR 50715, Aug. 17, 2010] §§ 204.27-204.40 [Reserved] Subpart C—Eligibility § 204.41 Applicant eligibility. (a) The following entities are eligible to apply through a State recipient for a subgrant under an approved fire management assistance grant: (1) State agencies; (2) Local governments; and (3) Indian tribal governments. (b) Entities that are not eligible to apply for a subgrant as identified in (a), such as privately owned entities and volunteer firefighting organizations, may be reimbursed through a contract or compact with an eligible applicant for eligible costs associated with the fire or fire complex. (c) Eligibility is contingent upon a finding that the Incident Commander or comparable State official requested the applying entity's resources. (d) The activities performed must be the legal responsibility of the applying entity, required as the result of the declared fire, and located within the designated area. [66 FR 57347, Nov. 14, 2001, as amended at 82 FR 42, Jan. 3, 2017] § 204.42 Eligible costs. (a) General. (2) Before obligating Federal funds the Regional Administrator must review and approve the initial grant application, along with Project Worksheets submitted with the application and any subsequent amendments to the application. (3) Recipients will award Federal funds to subrecipients under State law and procedure and complying with 2 CFR parts 200 and 3002. (b) Equipment and supplies. (1) Personal comfort and safety items normally provided by the State under field conditions for firefighter health and safety. (2) Firefighting supplies, tools, materials, expended or lost, to the extent not covered by reasonable insurance, will be replaced with comparable items. (3) Operation and maintenance costs of publicly owned, contracted, rented, or volunteer firefighting department equipment used in eligible firefighting activities to the extent any of these costs are not included in applicable equipment rates. (4) Use of U.S. Government-owned equipment based on reasonable costs as billed by the Federal agency and paid by the State. (Only direct costs for use of Federal Excess Personal Property (FEPP) vehicles and equipment on loan to State Forestry and local cooperators may be eligible.) (5) Repair of equipment damaged in firefighting activities to the extent not covered by reasonable insurance. FEMA will use the lowest applicable equipment rates, or other rates that FEMA determines, to calculate the eligible cost of repairs. (6) Replacement of equipment lost or destroyed in firefighting activities, to the extent not covered by reasonable insurance, will be replaced with comparable equipment. (c) Labor costs. (1) Overtime for permanent or reassigned State and local employees. (2) Regular time and overtime for temporary and contract employees hired to perform fire-related activities. (d) Travel and per diem costs. (1) Travel and per diem of employees who are providing services directly associated with eligible fire-related activities may be eligible. (2) Provision of field camps and meals when made available in place of per diem; (e) Pre-positioning costs. (2) The Regional Administrator must approve all pre-positioning costs. (i) Upon approval of a State's request for a fire management assistance declaration by the Assistant Administrator for the Disaster Assistance Directorate , the State should immediately notify the Regional Administrator of its intention to seek funding for pre-positioning resources. (ii) The State must document the number of pre-positioned resources to be funded and their respective locations throughout the State, estimate the cost of the pre-positioned resources that were used on the declared fire and the amount of time the resources were pre-positioned, and provide a detailed explanation of the need to fund the pre-positioned resources. (iii) The State will base the detailed explanation on recognized scientific indicators, that include, but are not limited to, drought indices, short-term weather forecasts, the current number of fires burning in the State, and the availability of in-State firefighting resources. The State may also include other quantitative indicators with which to measure the increased risk of the threat of a major disaster. (iv) Based on the information contained in the State's notification, the Regional Administrator will determine the number of days of pre-positioning to be approved for Federal funding, up to a maximum of 21 days before the fire declaration. (3) Upon rendering his/her determination on pre-positioning costs, the Regional Administrator will notify the Assistant Administrator for the Disaster Assistance Directorate of his/her determination. (f) Emergency work. (g) Temporary repair of damage caused by firefighting activities. (h) Mobilization and demobilization. (i) Fires on co-mingled Federal/State lands. [66 FR 57347, Nov. 14, 2001, as amended at 79 FR 63546, Oct. 24, 2014; 79 FR 76085, Dec. 19, 2014; 82 FR 42, Jan. 3, 2017] § 204.43 Ineligible costs. Costs not directly associated with the incident period are ineligible. Ineligible costs include the following: (a) Costs incurred in the mitigation, management, and control of undeclared fires; (b) Costs related to planning, pre-suppression ( i.e., i.e., (c) Costs for the straight or regular time salaries and benefits of a subrecipient's permanently employed or reassigned personnel; (d) Costs for mitigation, management, and control of a declared fire on co-mingled Federal land when such costs are reimbursable to the State by a Federal agency under another statute (See 44 CFR part 51); (e) Fires fought on Federal land are generally the responsibility of the Federal Agency that owns or manages the land. Costs incurred while fighting fires on federally owned land are not eligible under the Fire Management Assistance Grant Program except as noted in § 204.42(i). [66 FR 57347, Nov. 14, 2001, as amended at 82 FR 42, Jan. 3, 2017] §§ 204.44-204.50 [Reserved] Subpart D—Application Procedures § 204.51 Application and approval procedures for a fire management assistance grant. (a) Preparing and submitting an application. (2) The State must submit its grant application within 9 months of the declaration. Upon receipt of the written request from the State, the Regional Administrator may grant an extension for up to 6 months. The State's request must include a justification for the extension. (b) Fire cost threshold. (i) Total eligible costs for the declared fire meet or exceed the individual fire cost threshold; or (ii) Total costs of all declared and non-declared fires for which a State has assumed responsibility in a given calendar year meet the cumulative fire cost threshold. (2) The individual fire cost threshold for a State is the greater of the following: (i) $100,000; or (ii) Five percent × $1.07 × the State population, adjusted annually for inflation using the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers published annually by the Department of Labor. (3) The cumulative fire cost threshold for a State is the greater of the following: (i) $500,000; or (ii) Three times the five percent × $1.07 × the State population as described in § 204.51(b)(2)(ii). (4) States must document the total eligible costs for a declared fire on Project Worksheets, which they must submit with the grant application. (5) FEMA will not consider the costs of pre-positioning resources for the purposes of determining whether the grant application meets the fire cost threshold. (6) When the State's total eligible costs associated with the fire management assistance declaration meet or exceed the fire cost threshold eligible costs will be cost shared in accordance with § 204.61. (c) Approval of the State's grant application. (d) Obligation of the grant. (1) State administrative plan. (A) The designation of the State agency or agencies which will have responsibility for program administration. (B) The identification of staffing functions for the Fire Management Assistance Program, the sources of staff to fill these functions, and the management and oversight responsibilities of each. (C) The procedures for: ( 1 ( 2 ( 3 ( 4 ( 5 ( 6 ( 7 ( 8 ( 9 (ii) The recipient may request the Regional Administrator to provide technical assistance in the preparation of the State Administrative Plan. (2) Hazard Mitigation Plan. (i) Develop a Mitigation Plan in accordance with 44 CFR part 201 that addresses wildfire risks and mitigation measures; or (ii) Incorporate wildfire mitigation into the existing Mitigation Plan developed and approved under 44 CFR part 201 that also addresses wildfire risk and contains a wildfire mitigation strategy and related mitigation initiatives. [66 FR 57347, Nov. 14, 2001, as amended at 68 FR 61371, Oct. 28, 2003; 79 FR 63546, Oct. 24, 2014; 82 FR 42, Jan. 3, 2017] § 204.52 Application and approval procedures for a subgrant under a fire management assistance grant. (a) Request for Fire Management Assistance. (2) The recipient will review and forward the Request to the Regional Administrator for final review and determination. The recipient may also forward a recommendation for approval of the Request to the Regional Administrator when appropriate. (3) The Regional Administrator will approve or deny the request based on the eligibility requirements outlined in § 204.41. (4) The Regional Administrator will notify the recipient of his/her determination; the recipient will inform the applicant. (b) Preparing a Project Worksheet. (2) The Regional Administrator may request the Principal Advisor to assist in the preparation of Project Worksheets. (3) The State will be the primary contact for transactions with and on behalf of the applicant. (c) Submitting a Project Worksheet. (2) The recipient will determine the deadline for an applicant to submit completed Project Worksheets, but the deadline must be no later than six months from close of the incident period. (3) At the request of the recipient, the Regional Administrator may extend the time limitations in this section for up to 6 months when the recipient justifies and makes a request in writing. (4) Project Worksheets will not be accepted after the deadline in paragraph (c)(2) of this section has expired, or, if applicable, after an extension specified by the Regional Administrator in paragraph (c)(3) of this section has expired. (5) $1,000 Project Worksheet minimum. [66 FR 57347, Nov. 14, 2001, as amended at 79 FR 63546, Oct. 24, 2014; 82 FR 42, Jan. 3, 2017] § 204.53 Certifying costs and payments. (a) By submitting applicants' Project Worksheets to FEMA, the recipient is certifying that all costs reported on applicant Project Worksheets were incurred for work that was performed in compliance with FEMA laws, regulations, policy and guidance applicable to the Fire Management Assistance Grant Program, as well as with the terms and conditions outlined for the administration of the grant in the FEMA-State Agreement for the Fire Management Assistance Grant Program. (b) Advancement/Reimbursement for State grant costs will be processed as follows: (1) Through the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services SMARTLINK system; and (2) In compliance with 2 CFR 200.305 and U.S. Treasury 31 CFR part 205, Cash Management Improvement Act. [66 FR 57347, Nov. 14, 2001, as amended at 79 FR 63546, Oct. 24, 2014; 79 FR 76085, Dec. 19, 2014; 82 FR 42, Jan. 3, 2017] § 204.54 Appeals. An eligible applicant, subrecipient, or recipient may appeal any determination FEMA makes related to an application for the provision of Federal assistance according to the procedures below. (a) Format and content. (b) Levels of appeal. (2) The Assistant Administrator for the Disaster Assistance Directorate will consider appeals of the Regional Administrator's decision on any first appeal under paragraph (b)(1) of this section. (c) Time limits. (2) The recipient will review and forward appeals from an applicant or subrecipient, with a written recommendation, to the Regional Administrator within 60 days of receipt. (3) Within 90 days following receipt of an appeal, the Regional Administrator (for first appeals) or Assistant Administrator for the Disaster Assistance Directorate (for second appeals) will notify the recipient in writing of the disposition of the appeal or of the need for additional information. A request by the Regional Administrator or Assistant Administrator for the Disaster Assistance Directorate for additional information will include a date by which the information must be provided. Within 90 days following the receipt of the requested additional information or following expiration of the period for providing the information, the Regional Administrator or Assistant Administrator for the Disaster Assistance Directorate will notify the recipient in writing of the disposition of the appeal. If the decision is to grant the appeal, the Regional Administrator will take appropriate implementing action. (d) Technical advice. (e) The decision of the Assistant Administrator for the Disaster Assistance Directorate at the second appeal level will be the final administrative decision of FEMA. [66 FR 57347, Nov. 14, 2001, as amended at 79 FR 63546, Oct. 24, 2014; 82 FR 42, Jan. 3, 2017] §§ 204.55-204.60 [Reserved] Subpart E—Grant Administration § 204.61 Cost share. (a) All fire management assistance grants are subject to a cost share. The Federal cost share for fire management assistance grants is seventy-five percent (75%). (b) As stated in § 204.25, the cost share provision will be outlined in the terms and conditions of the FEMA-State Agreement for the Fire Management Assistance Grant Program. § 204.62 Duplication and recovery of assistance. (a) Duplication of benefits. (b) Duplication of programs. (c) Negligence. (d) Intentional acts. [66 FR 57347, Nov. 14, 2001, as amended at 79 FR 63546, Oct. 24, 2014; 82 FR 42, Jan. 3, 2017] § 204.63 Allowable costs. 2 CFR part 200, subpart E—Cost Principles establishes general policies for determining allowable costs. (a) FEMA will reimburse direct costs for the administration of a fire management assistance grant under 2 CFR part 200. (b) FEMA will reimburse indirect costs for the administration of a fire management assistance grant in compliance with the recipient's approved indirect cost rate under 2 CFR part 200. (c) Management costs as defined in 44 CFR part 207 do not apply to this section. [79 FR 76085, Dec. 19, 2014, as amended at 82 FR 42, Jan. 3, 2017] § 204.64 Reporting and audit requirements (a) Reporting. (b) Audit. (2) FEMA may elect to conduct a program-specific Federal audit on the Fire Management Assistance Grant or a subgrant. [66 FR 57347, Nov. 14, 2001, as amended at 79 FR 63546, Oct. 24, 2014; 79 FR 76085, Dec. 19, 2014; 82 FR 42, Jan. 3, 2017]