Federal Disaster and Emergency Assistance for Water Infrastructure Facilities and Supplies
CRS Report for Congress
Federal Disaster and Emergency Assistance
for Water Infrastructure Facilities
and Supplies
Claudia Copeland and Mary Tiemann
Specialists in Environmental Policy
Resources, Science, and Industry Division
Nicole T. Carter
Analyst in Environmental Policy
Resources, Science, and Industry Division
Summary
Natural and other disasters, such as Hurricane Katrina, can impair, contaminate, or
destroy public water systems, including treatment facilities and distribution systems.
Costs of addressing such damage can be substantial, while the potential public health
and safety consequences of lost or impaired water supplies necessitate rapid responses.
Natural and other disasters also can have calamitous impacts on other water
infrastructure facilities, such as wastewater treatment plants and flood control systems.
To help address such emergencies, Congress has authorized programs over the years that
can provide emergency assistance to repair and restore drinking water, wastewater, and
related water infrastructure systems and facilities. This report offers information on
federal programs that can provide emergency drinking water, wastewater, and related
assistance. These include the Public Assistance grant program (Federal Emergency
Management Agency), Emergency and Imminent Community Water Assistance Grant
Program and Emergency Watershed Protection Program (U.S. Department of
Agriculture), Drinking Water Emergency Assistance (Environmental Protection
Agency), and flood control and coastal emergency response (Department of Defense,
Army Corps of Engineers). This report will be updated to reflect developments. (For
a review of other federal water assistance programs, see CRS Report RL30478,
Federally Supported Water Supply and Wastewater Treatment Programs.)
Following natural disasters and other calamities, the immediate recovery tasks
involve assistance for individual victims. In addition, communities also often face the
necessity of repairing critical infrastructure systems that sustain essential services to the
affected population. Among the most important of these are water infrastructure systems:
drinking water treatment and distribution systems that provide safe and healthy potable
water, as well as water supply needed for fire-fighting efforts; sewage collection and
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treatment systems; and water and flood control works to drain flood waters and repair
levees and floodwalls. This report describes several federal programs that can provide
emergency assistance for needed activities so that communities are able to respond to
disasters and restore drinking water, wastewater, and related facilities and services. The
most important of these is the Public Assistance program administered by the Federal
Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Other programs of the U.S. Department of
Agriculture, Environmental Protection Agency, and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers may
also provide emergency assistance and are described below. (For information on Corps
activities related to New Orleans levee and floodwall infrastructure, see CRS Report
RS22238, New Orleans Levees and Floodwalls: Hurricane Damage Protection, by
Nicole T. Carter.)
Federal Emergency Management Agency
Repair, Restoration, and Replacement of Damaged Facilities (Public
Assistance Grant Program). The Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency
Assistance Act (the Stafford Act) authorizes the primary disaster assistance program for
state and local governments overwhelmed by catastrophes. Programs authorized by the
Stafford Act are administered by FEMA. State and local governments and certain private1
nonprofit organizations are eligible to receive Public Assistance program grants to repair,
replace, or restore disaster-damaged, publicly owned facilities. A wide range of activities
are eligible for funding under this program, including repair of water treatment and
distribution systems, sewage collection and treatment facilities, power generation facilities
and distribution lines, water control facilities (including drainage channels, pumping
facilities, and emergency repair of levees2), roads and bridges, and removal of debris. To
be eligible, the work must be required as the result of a disaster, be located within the
designated disaster areas, and be the legal responsibility of an eligible applicant. The
statute states that the federal share shall not be less than 75% of the eligible cost of repair,
restoration, reconstruction, or replacement.
Work that is eligible for federal disaster grant assistance is classified as either
emergency work or permanent work under FEMA regulations (44 C.F.R. 206.204).
Emergency work involves work that must be done immediately to save lives and to
protect property, public health and safety, or to avert or lessen the threat of a major
disaster. Emergency work generally lasts no more than six months, and includes such
activities as debris removal and demolition of unsafe structures. Permanent work is
intended to restore a damaged facility to its pre-disaster design, and must be completed
within 18 months after an emergency is declared. States may extend the deadlines for an
additional six months for emergency work, and an additional 30 months for permanent
work. Work can range from minor repairs to replacement. Categories of permanent work
include utility distribution systems, such as water treatment and delivery systems, sewage
collection and treatment facilities, and power generation facility and distribution lines.
1 Eligible private nonprofit organizations are those that provide critical services that are available
to the general public. Critical services are defined to include power, water, sewer, wastewater
treatment, communications, and emergency medical care (42 U.S.C. 5172(a)(3)(B)).
2 Permanent repair of flood control works is the responsibility of the U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers and the Natural Resources Conservation Services, U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Congress appropriates funds annually to the Disaster Relief Fund for this program
and for other categories of aid authorized under the Stafford Act (i.e., individual and
household assistance, and state hazard mitigation assistance) to ensure that assistance is
available when disasters occur. In most years, supplemental appropriations also have
been made in response to specific natural disasters. For FY2004, Congress originally
appropriated $1.8 billion, and made supplemental appropriations of $2.275 billion. For
FY2005, original appropriations were $2.042 billion, while supplemental appropriations
reached $8.5 billion. (For further information, see CRS Report RL33053, Federal
Stafford Act Disaster Assistance: Presidential Declarations, Eligible Activities, and
Funding, by Keith Bea, and CRS Report RL31734, Federal Disaster Recovery Programs:
Brief Summaries, by Mary Jordan.)
Statutory Authority. The Public Assistance grant program is authorized under
Section 406, Stafford Act, 42 U.S.C. 5172(a). For more information, see [http://www.3
fema.gov/rrr/pa/] .
U.S. Department of Agriculture
Emergency and Imminent Community Water Assistance Grants. The
Rural Utilities Service (RUS), within the USDA, is authorized to help rural residents
where a significant decline in quantity or quality of drinking water exists or is imminent
and funds are needed to obtain adequate quantities of water that meet standards of the
Safe Drinking Water Act or the Clean Water Act. Grants, ranging from $10,000 to a
maximum of $500,000, are provided for projects to serve a rural area with a population
of 10,000 or less that has a median household income not in excess of the statewide non-
metropolitan median household income. Grants for repairs, partial replacement, or
significant maintenance of an established system may be made for 100% of project cost,
but cannot exceed $150,000. Communities use the funds for new systems, waterline
extensions, construction of water sources and treatment facilities, and repairs or
renovation of existing systems. Grants are made for projects needed to meet health or
sanitary standards, including Clean Water Act and Safe Drinking Water Act standards and
requirements. Applicants compete on a national basis for available funding.
The 2002 farm bill (Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002, P.L. 107-171)
authorized $35 million per year through FY2007 for this program and made funding for
it mandatory through reservation of 3% to 5% of appropriated water and waste disposal
grant funds. Amounts provided through this program have been quite variable over time.
In FY2002, emergency grants totaling $2.96 million were made by RUS to projects in six
states; in FY2003, $16.6 million was distributed for 63 projects in 24 states; and in
FY2004, $15.2 million was distributed for 64 projects in 21 states. For FY2005,
3 In the event of a major disaster, the Stafford Act also authorizes the President, acting through
FEMA, to direct federal agencies (with or without reimbursement) to use their authorities and
resources under federal law (including personnel, equipment, supplies, facilities, and technical
services) in support of state and local assistance efforts (42 U.S.C. 5170). Under this authority,
many agencies are providing a wide range of assistance to areas affected by Hurricane Katrina,
including in the area of water supply. For example, the U.S. Navy and the Bureau of
Reclamation, Department of the Interior, have sent to Mississippi water purification units that
can provide up to 200,000 gallons of drinking water per day.
Congress appropriated $22.9 million for emergency and imminent community water
assistance grants.
Statutory Authority. Statutory authority for the emergency and imminent
community water assistance program is the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development
Act, as amended, Section 306A, 7 U.S.C. 1926a. For additional information on RUS
water programs, see [http://www.usda.gov/rus/water/index.htm].
Emergency Watershed Protection and Restoration. The Natural Resources
Conservation Service (NRCS) of the USDA administers several authorities for measures
to prevent erosion and flood damages and to conserve, develop, and utilize land and water
resources. One of these is the Emergency Watershed Protection (EWP) program, which
is used to restore the natural functions of a watershed after a natural disaster has occurred.
This program is designed to help people and conserve natural resources by relieving
imminent hazards to life and property caused by floods, fires, windstorms, and other
natural occurrences. It is an emergency recovery program.
EWP work is not limited to any one set of prescribed measures and can include
removing debris from stream channels, road culverts, and bridges; reshaping and
protecting eroded banks; correcting damaged drainage facilities; repairing levees and
structures; and purchasing floodplain easements. All EWP work must reduce threats to
life and property and must be economically, environmentally, and socially defensible and
sound from a technical standpoint. NRCS makes case-by-case investigations of the
completed work.
EWP funds have a number of significant restrictions. For example, EWP cannot
solve problems that existed before the disaster or improve the level of protection above
that which existed before a disaster. It cannot fund operation and maintenance work or
repair private or public transportation facilities or utilities. The work cannot be used to
install measures not essential to the reduction of hazards. In addition, funds cannot be
used to perform work on structures installed by another federal agency.
Appropriations vary widely from year to year, and activity levels can vary widely
from year to year and place to place. Spending is dependent upon supplemental
congressional appropriations and is usually made available in emergency supplemental
legislation. For example, in FY2005, Congress provided $250 million in P.L. 108-324
(emergency supplemental appropriations for FY2005) to repair damages to waterways and
watersheds resulting from natural disasters, with the largest amount ($120 million) going
to Florida to respond to damage caused there by hurricanes in 2004. In FY2004, Congress
provided $150 million for use in southern California for a wildfire and tree mortality
emergency. According to USDA, over the past 10 years, an average of $120 million per
year has been appropriated for EWP work. Approximately two-thirds of the events that
trigger EWP assistance are local in nature and not presidentially declared disasters.
Statutory Authority. The program is authorized by Section 216, P.L. 81-516, 33
U.S.C. 701b1, and Sections 403-405, P.L. 95-334, 16 U.S.C. 2203-2205. For additional
information, see [http://www.nrcs.usda/programs/ewp/index.html].
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
Drinking Water Emergency Assistance. The Safe Drinking Water Act
(SDWA) authorizes EPA to provide technical assistance and to make grants to states and
public water systems to assist in responding to and alleviating emergency situations
affecting public water systems (including sources of water for such systems) which the
Administrator determines to present substantial danger to the public health.4 Grants may
be used to support those actions which (1) are necessary for preventing, limiting, or
mitigating danger to the public health in such emergency situations, and (2) would not,
in the judgement of the Administrator, be taken without such emergency assistance. The
law specifies that the Administrator may carry out this program as part of, and in
accordance with the terms and conditions of, any other program of assistance for
environmental emergencies that EPA is authorized to carry out under any other provision
of law.
In the Public Health Security and Bioterrorism Preparedness and Response Act (P.L.
107-188, Section 403), Congress amended SDWA Subsection 1442(d) to authorize
appropriations for this emergency assistance of $35 million for FY2002, and such sums
as may be necessary for each fiscal year thereafter. Under this authority, for the past
several fiscal years EPA has requested and received approximately $5 million for grants
to states to support homeland security coordination work involving EPA and drinking
water utilities.
Statutory Authority. The statutory authority for this emergency drinking water
assistance is the Safe Drinking Water Act, Section 1442(b), 42 U.S.C. 300j-1.
Department of Defense, Army Corps of Engineers
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps), within the Department of Defense
(DOD), has military and civilian responsibilities. Under its civil works program at the
direction of Congress, the Corps plans, constructs, operates, and maintains a wide range
of water resources facilities. The agency also has authorities for emergency assistance and5
has responsibilities under the National Response Plan.
Flood Control and Coastal Emergencies. P.L. 84-99 (33 U.S.C. 701n)
provides the Corps authority for emergency response and disaster assistance, including
4 In contrast, the Clean Water Act does not provide for emergency financial assistance for repairs
to wastewater treatment and related water infrastructure facilities that may have been damaged
by a natural disaster. It does authorize a financial assistance program to enable communities to
construct or upgrade municipal sewage treatment plants to achieve prescribed performance levels
(the clean water state revolving fund loan program). However, eligible activities under this
program do not include response to emergency situations. (For information on this program, see
discussion in CRS Report RL30478, Federally Supported Water Supply and Wastewater
Treatment Programs.)
5 Section 502(6) of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 authorized the Secretary of Homeland
Security to consolidate federal government emergency response plans into a single, coordinated
National Response Plan (NRP). The text of the NRP is available at [http://www.dhs.gov/
dhspublic/display?theme+14&content=4264], visited September 2, 2005.
provision of emergency water. It authorizes disaster preparedness, advance measures,
emergency operations (disaster response and post-flood response), rehabilitation of flood
control works threatened or destroyed by flood, protection or repair of federally
authorized shore protection works threatened or destroyed by coastal storm, emergency
dredging, and flood-related rescue operations. This authority was expanded by Section
917 of the Water Resources Development Act of 1986 (P.L. 99-662), which authorizes
the Corps to provide emergency response assistance for up to 10 days following an
emergency and before the presidential declaration of an emergency. Activities are limited
to actions to save lives and protect improved property (public facilities/services and
residential or commercial developments).
Appropriations for these activities often are included in the annual Energy and Water
Development appropriations acts as part of the agency’s civil works budget, and are
sometimes included in emergency supplemental appropriations for emergency response
activities. The levels of appropriations for work conducted under this authority have
varied (e.g., $60 million in FY2004, and $15 million in FY2003).
The Stafford Act. The Stafford Act (42 U.S.C. 5170b) authorizes FEMA to direct
DOD to use its resources to provide assistance in the event of a major disaster or
emergency declaration by the President. Under the National Response Plan, which is
administered by the Department of Homeland Security, the DOD is responsible for
emergency support for public works and engineering. The Corps is the designated
operating agent for DOD in executing these activities. Public works and engineering
support include technical advice and evaluations, engineering services, construction
management and inspection, emergency contracting, emergency power, emergency repair
of wastewater and solid waste facilities, and real estate support. This includes restoring
critical public services and facilities, including supply of adequate amounts of potable
water, temporary restoration of water supply systems, and the provision of water for
firefighting. The Corps funding for these activities is provided through mission
assignments made by FEMA and paid for from the Disaster Relief Fund.
Statutory Authority. The Corps of Engineers emergency and disaster-related
activities are authorized by P.L. 84-99, Section 216, 33 U.S.C. 701n.6 For additional
information, see [http://www.usace.army.mil/inet/functions/cw/cecwo/readness.htm].
6 In addition to the Corps’ emergency authorities for water supply and infrastructure discussed
herein, the Corps also has for its broader water resources missions other emergency authorities
(e.g., an Emergency Streambank and Shoreline Erosion Protection program) and recovery-related
authorities (e.g., a Snagging and Clearing for Flood Control program).