Hawai‘i Emergency Management Agency

Hawaii Severe Storm and Flooding (DR-4549) on – FEMA Public Assistance (PA) Grant Program for State and Local Governments and Private Nonprofit (PNP) Organizations

Incident Period: March 27, 2020 to March 28, 2020

Major Disaster Declaration declared on July 9, 2020

https://www.fema.gov/disaster/4549

 

The President declared a major disaster for severe storm and flooding on the County of Kauai. Under the disaster declaration, state and local governments and private nonprofits may apply for FEMA Public Assistance (PA) grants. Disaster grant assistance is available for communities to quickly respond and recover from major disasters or emergencies declared by the President.

Who can Participate in the PA Program? 

Eligibility

APPLICANT	An applicant must be one of the following: State government agencies. Local governments and special districts – For example school districts, irrigation districts, fire districts and utility districts. Private nonprofit organizations (PNPs). PNPs must own or operate facilities that are open to the general public and provide certain essential and critical services otherwise performed by a government agency.
FACILITY	The facility where emergency protective measures were performed must be: The legal responsibility of an eligible Applicant and not under the specific authority of another Federal agency. Located in the State of Hawaii. In active use and open to the general public at the time of the disaster.
WORK	To be eligible for PA funding, emergency work (Categories A-B) and/or permanent work (Categories C-G) performed were necessary to address the disaster. Emergency Work (Categories A-B) includes work that must be performed to reduce or eliminate an immediate threat to life, protect public health and safety, and to protect improved property that is significantly threatened due to disasters or emergencies declared by the President. Permanent Work (Categories C-G) includes work that is required to restore a damaged facility, through repair or restoration, to its pre-disaster design, function, and capacity in accordance with applicable codes and standards.
COST	Costs must be: Reasonable and necessary to accomplish emergency protective measures. Compliant with Federal, State, and local requirements for procurement. Reduced by all applicable credits, such as insurance proceeds and salvage values. Cost is reasonable if it is a cost that is both fair and equitable for the type of work being performed. FEMA will evaluate the applicant’s submitted documents to determine if the claimed costs are necessary and reasonable.

   

FEMA assistance will be provided at a 75 percent federal cost share. This is a cost reimbursement program. Applicants are required to pay for costs up front. The Recipient (State) administers grant reimbursement to eligible Applicants (Sub-recipients).

ONLINE APPLICANT BRIEFING: There will one online applicant briefing on Tuesday, July 28, 2020 at 9:00 am HST. (UPDATE: Applicant briefing is postponed due to Hurricane Douglas. Date to be determined.) Click on this link to participate in the online briefing.

Joint Meeting Now 

+1 808-829-4853   United States, Honolulu (Toll)

Conference ID: 905 236 092#

DEADLINE:  The deadline to submit the Request for Public Assistance (RPA) for Hawaii Severe Storm and Flooding (DR-4549) is Friday, August 7, 2020.

Grants Portal (https://grantee.fema.gov/) is an online platform that is used to apply, formulate and track grant award packages.

Applicants can use the Public Assistance Grants Portal to:

• Register for and update an applicant profile
• Submit a Request for Public Assistance
• Upload project documentation

If you are a state organization and have any questions, please email [email protected] and [email protected]. Jay St. John Payne and Kay Watanabe are the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency Disaster Assistance Program Specialists assigned to assist the state organizations through the project formulation process.

If you are a Kauai county organization and have any questions, please email [email protected] and [email protected].  Daniel Trexler and Kay Watanabe are the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency Disaster Assistance Program Specialists assigned to assist the County of Kauai and Private Nonprofit-organizations through the project formulation process.

If you are a Private Nonprofit Organization (PNP) requesting for Public Assistance for the first time, please email [email protected] to create a Grants Portal online account. Caroline Kunitake is the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency Disaster Assistance Program Specialist responsible for creating Grants Portal accounts for Private Nonprofit organizations. If your Private Nonprofit has applied for Public Assistance previously, please use your existing login and password. Be sure to include the following information in your email:

• Applicant Name
• Employer Identification Number (EIN tax #)
• DUNS Number (www.dnb.com)
• Org Type (Private Nonprofit with 501C3 Status)
• Primary Contact/Alternate Contact (first name, last name, title, phone number, email address)
• Physical/Mailing Address (please include city, state, and zip code)

PNPs will be contacted to explain the other information and documents needed to complete the initial Request for Public Assistance from FEMA.

There are FEMA Grants Portal instructional videos on You Tube. Click on the link to go to the FEMA PA Grants Portal – Grants Manager Channel. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCIJp91Ds2IaVlR1t8uXcEKg

SBA Disaster Assistance Available to Hawaii Private Nonprofit Organizations

(SBA HI 16539-01 news release dated July 10, 2020)

Low-interest federal disaster loans are now available to certain private nonprofit organizations in Hawaii following President Trump’s federal disaster declaration for Public Assistance as a result of severe storms and flooding that occurred March 27-28, 2020, announced Administrator Jovita Carranza of the U.S. Small Business Administration. Private nonprofits that provide essential services of a governmental nature are eligible for assistance.

These low-interest federal disaster loans are available in Kauai County.

“Private nonprofit organizations should contact Kauai Emergency Management Agency by calling (808) 241-1800, emailing [email protected] or visiting https://www.kauai.gov/kema to obtain information about applicant briefings,” said Director Tanya N. Garfield of SBA’s Disaster Field Operations Center-West. “At the briefings, private nonprofit representatives will need to provide information about their organization,” continued Garfield. The Federal Emergency Management Agency will use that information to determine if the private nonprofit provides an “essential governmental service” and is a “critical facility” as defined by law. If so, FEMA may provide the private nonprofit with a Public Assistance grant for their eligible costs. If not, FEMA may refer the private nonprofit to SBA for disaster loan assistance.

SBA may lend private nonprofits up to $2 million to repair or replace damaged or destroyed real estate, machinery and equipment, inventory and other business assets. SBA can also lend additional funds to help with the cost of improvements to protect, prevent or minimize the same type of disaster damage from occurring in the future.

For certain private nonprofit organizations of any size, SBA offers Economic Injury Disaster Loans to help with meeting working capital needs caused by the disaster. Economic Injury Disaster Loans may be used to pay fixed debts, payroll, accounts payable and other bills that cannot be paid because of the disaster’s impact. Economic injury assistance is available regardless of whether the nonprofit suffered any property damage.

The interest rate is 2.75 percent with terms up to 30 years. The deadline to apply for property damage is Sept. 8, 2020. The deadline to apply for economic injury is April 9, 2021.

Applicants may apply online, receive additional disaster assistance information and download applications at https://disasterloanassistance.sba.gov/. Applicants may also call SBA’s Customer Service Center at (800) 659-2955 or email [email protected] for more information on SBA disaster assistance. Individuals who are deaf or hardofhearing may call (800) 877-8339. Completed applications should be mailed to U.S. Small Business Administration, Processing and Disbursement Center, 14925 Kingsport Road, Fort Worth, TX  76155.