Sandy Disaster Relief Appropriations Act

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The Sandy Disaster Relief Appropriations Act appropriates $50.7 billion to reimburse state and local governments for the costs of emergency response and for long-term recovery from the storm. Division B of the Act, entitled the Sandy Recovery Improvement Act of 2013, includes provisions amending the statute that governs federal disaster relief—the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (Stafford Act).  The amendments are designed to streamline the administration of disaster relief funding. 

Bill Details:

Division A appropriates funds to several federal programs that will reimburse state and local governments to repair and rebuild impacted public facilities (such as a roads, bridges, hospitals, and public transit). These appropriations include:

• $11.5 billion to the Disaster Relief Fund administered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency pursuant to the Stafford Act, to support the long-term rebuilding of public facilities and hazard mitigation projects. 
• $16 billion to the Community Development Fund administered by the Department of Housing and Urban Development for long-term recovery and restoration of infrastructure.
• $2 billion to Emergency Relief Program administered by the Federal Highway Administration to support the rebuilding of interstate highways.
• $10.9 billion to the Public Transportation Emergency Relief Program administered by the Federal Transit Administration to support the rebuilding of public transit.
• $607.7 million to the Environmental Protection Agency for capitalization grants to State Revolving Funds created by the Clean Water Act and Safe Drinking Water Act to reduce flood risks to wastewater and drinking water treatment facilities impacted by Sandy.
• $180 million to the Emergency Watershed Protection program administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and U.S. Forest Service;
• $3 million to the National Ocean and Atmospheric Administration to provide technical assistance to communities impacted by Sandy; and
• $5.35 billion to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for to repair and construct Corps projects to reduce future flood risks.

Division B, entitled the Sandy Recovery and Improvement Act of 2013, amends the Stafford Act to reform administrative procedures for allocating disaster relief funds:

Sec. 1102 adds alternative procedures for approving PA projects to increase the flexibility of administration, reduce administrative costs, and expedite the provision of assistance to state and local governments. The state or local government receiving funds must voluntarily agree to participate in the program. Once they have agreed to do so, FEMA can use alternative procedures to “make grants on the basis of fixed estimates.”  The state and local grantees must, however, agree “to be responsible for any actual costs that exceed the estimate.”  Additionally, applicants can elect to receive an “in-lieu contribution, without reduction”.  This provision removes a 10 percent penalty that applicants used to have to take when opting for an in lieu contribution.

Sec. 1104 amends the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program provisions of the Stafford Act (42 U.S.C. 5170c) to add streamlined provisions for conducting environmental review (as required by the National Environmental Policy Act) and historic preservation review (as required by the National Historic Preservation Act). These provisions allow FEMA to use Programmatic Agreements” to allow for the consideration of multiple structures as a group and for analyzing the cost-effectiveness of hazard mitigation projects.

Sec. 1105 allows for the creation of independent review panel to arbitrate disputes over eligible assistance between FEMA and state and local applicants. Similar panels were authorized by the 111th Congress to arbitrate disputes between FEMA and communities impacted by 2005 hurricanes.

Sec. 1106 amends the Stafford Act to allow for a uniform federal review process for compliance with environmental review and historic preservation requirements.  The provisions allow the President to “establish an expedited and unified interagency review process to ensure compliance with environmental and historical requirements under Federal law relating to disaster recovery projects.”

Sec. 1111 directs FEMA, no later than 180 days after enactment, to “submit to Congress recommendations for the development of a national strategy for reducing future costs, loss of life, and injuries associated with extreme disaster events in vulnerable areas of the United States.”
 

Introduced: January 4, 2013

Website: http://beta.congress.gov/113/plaws/publ2/113publ2.pdf