Overview

The FEMA Public Assistance (PA) Program provides federal support and assistance to governments and private non-profit (PNP) organizations following a  federally declared disaster. The state distributes federal pass-through funding to the affected local and tribal governments to quickly respond to and recover from a major disaster situation. This funding may also be used for costs incurred by the state and its agencies resulting from a major disaster.

After a disaster the Division of Emergency Management and Homeland Security (DEMHS) forms a declaration working group to determine if thresholds have been met to apply for federal disaster assistance. DEMHS reaches out to federal, state, regional and local partners to collect initial damage estimates to make this decision.

Public Assistance is a reimbursement program that reimburses state, local and tribal governments for eligible disaster related costs. These costs include the following:

• Eligible Debris Removal Costs
• Emergency Protective Measures
• Repair and replacement of public owned facilities destroyed or damaged by a disaster