Home Programs Emergency management Recovery DFAA Manual to assist in the interpretation of federal guidelines EPC 22/88 Guidelines for Administration of the Disaster Financial Assistance Arrangements

Guidelines for Administration of the Disaster Financial Assistance Arrangements

1. The purpose of this paper is to provide guidelines for officials who are responsible for determining those eligible costs which can be directly associated with a disaster/emergency and its immediate effects as a basis for cost-sharing arrangements between governments.
2. The guidelines do not refer to projects designed to reduce vulnerability in the event of recurrence of a disaster or to assist the post-disaster economy of an area or community, as these, while very important, are considered to be part of normal intergovernmental arrangements for which means of consultation are already available between the departments and agencies concerned. It is suggested, however, that consideration of such problems should be stated at an early date following a disaster.
3. The guidelines do not refer to post-disaster assistance by government to large businesses and industry whose continued operation is vital to the economy of a community. It is recognized that there may be occasions when such assistance is warranted. A special study should be made for each such situation.
4. These guidelines are meant for application to all types of disasters and to varying circumstances across the country. They have been developed, therefore, using general terms accompanied by examples of intent where necessary. It should not be construed that the omission of any item or contingency means that it need not be considered at the time of a disaster. Each event will require an analysis of its own special requirements and government policy to deal with them.
5. In all cases "eligible costs" means expenditures incurred by the provincial government.

Categories of Eligible Costs

6. The Immediate Disaster Period. Eligible costs would be those related to:
   1. the rescue, transportation, emergency health arrangements and emergency feeding, shelter, clothing and transportation of persons, shelter and feeding for livestock, including the provision and restoration of facilities used for those purposes
   2. measures taken on orders of the proper authorities to reduce the extent of damage by the removal of valuable chattels and assets and hazardous materials from the area of immediate risk, including the provision of storage space and transportation costs
   3. the determination of the area and containment of the extent of the disaster, including emergency provision of essential community services, equipment, material and labour for protective works for individual protection and that of publicly owned institutions and utilities
   4. the provision of emergency medical care to casualties of the disaster, or a resulting epidemic, and the transportation of such casualties from an apprehended disaster area, or of regular patients to make way for casualties, and of their return following the disaster
   5. special security measures
   6. special communications facilities
   7. emergency control headquarters
   8. special registration and enquiry services.
7. Post Disaster Assistance for Individuals. Eligible costs may include:
   1. restoration or replacement of or repairs to immovable real property, for any normally occupied dwelling place, appurtenant buildings and farm buildings and items essential to a farm business, where such dwelling place is used entirely for living accommodation, or partly for living accommodation and the earning of livelihood by a member or members of the family unit
   2. restoration or replacement or repairs to chattels, furnishings and clothing of an essential nature as these may be determined for each disaster (e.g. stoves, refrigerators, beds, heavy winter clothing)
   3. assistance in the restoration of small businesses where the owner's livelihood has been destroyed. This includes payments made to restore farm lands to workable condition where a farm operation has been seriously affected by flood erosion or land gouging
   4. costs of damage inspection and appraisal and administrative assistance excluding those incurred by permanent staff of government departments.
8. Post-Disaster Assistance in the Public Sector. Eligible costs may include:

   Clearance of debris and wreckage. Examples are:

   1. channels of rivers and streams as necessary
   2. intake and outfall of sewer and storm drains to permit adequate functioning of the systems
   3. water supply reservoirs as necessary
   4. removal of buildings which constitute a definite threat to public safety
   5. removal of trees and limbs if public safety is endangered.
   6. Protective health and sanitation facilities.
   7. Repairs to pre-disaster condition of streets, roads and bridges, wharves and docks.
   8. Repairs to dykes, levees and drainage facilities including flood control and irrigation systems, as well as removal of emergency works and restoration of their sites to pre-disaster condition.
   9. Repairs to government and public buildings and their related equipment. These include such facilities as schools, hospitals, public libraries, penal and welfare institutions, police and fire stations, public office buildings and public recreational facilities such as bathing beaches, zoos and parks.
   10. Repairs to publicly owned sewer and water utilities. Repair costs for damage done to Crown corporations except those supplying sewer and water services, would be ineligible.
   11. Costs of inspection and appraisal, and where required planning and design, to determine costs of restoration or replacement excluding those incurred in respect of permanent staff of government agencies.

Administrative Guidelines

9. Geographic Limitation. Eligibility will be limited to damage in defined area(s) mutually agreed to by the governments which may be involved in cost sharing.
10. Amount of Claims. Claims may not exceed the estimate of costs required to restore an item or facility to its immediate pre-disaster condition.
11. The cost of permanent repair or replacement of private property or public facilities to higher than pre-disaster condition may be included in an amount no greater than that estimated to be required for the repair or replacement to their immediate pre-disaster condition.
12. Assistance to the reconstruction of private property in disaster-prone areas should only be given once, unless effective action to avoid recurrence by the individual was not practical.
13. Eligible costs shall not include those:
    1. which are recoverable at law or insurance
    2. which are of a class or kind for which provision is made in whole or in part under any other government program
    3. incurred in dealing with damages to property or facilities in respect of which assistance was previously made available to prevent such damage
    4. incurred in dealing with damages which are an ordinary or normal risk of a trade, calling or enterprise
    5. incurred for restoration or rehabilitation which cannot be considered essential to the restoration of an individual to his/her home or livelihood or the reconstruction of essential community services. Examples of non-essential items might be summer cottages, non essential roads and bridges, trailers, certain chattels, landscaping, fences and pleasure items
    6. incurred for the restoration of property owned by large businesses and industries
    7. which can be considered normal operating expenses of the government department or agency concerned and including maintenance budgets
    8. provincial retail and other similar taxes.
14. In determining the levels and types of costs for which assistance is to be made available, certain factors should be borne in mind such as:
    1. the responsibility of any individual or organization to take reasonable precautions if time was available
    2. the response made by an individual to any warnings or instructions issued by the appropriate authorities to protect himself and his property
    3. the availability of insurance coverage at reasonable rates.
15. Post-Disaster Assistance for Individuals. In settling claims a suitable basis for claims might be as follows:
    1. appraised value of real property (derived from assessment rolls)
    2. appraised value of essential goods and chattels (based on a list of eligible items and unit values)
    3. restoration of property to pre-disaster functional condition where an assessment of values is not practical.
16. 16. Post-Disaster Assistance in the Public Sector.

Construction standards should adhere to the prevailing codes in the area, and to those approved by the participating agencies.

Only in exceptional circumstances should standard tendering practices and wage rates for the reconstruction and restoration programs in the post-disaster period differ from normal approved procedures and policies of the participating agencies.

Note: The remaining chapters provide interpretations of the guidelines which have evolved in the course of their application to actual events and provide additional guidance to administrators of these arrangements.