42 U.S.C. § 5189 — Simplified procedure

Page 6419 TITLE 42—THE PUBLIC HEALTH AND WELFARE § 5189 1 See References in Text note below. (c) Public notice of sale The Secretary of Agriculture is authorized to reduce to seven days the minimum period of ad- vance public notice required by section 476 1 of title 16, in connection with the sale of timber from national forests, whenever the Secretary determines that (1) the sale of such timber will assist in the construction of any area of a State damaged by a major disaster, (2) the sale of such timber will assist in sustaining the economy of such area, or (3) the sale of such timber is nec- essary to salvage the value of timber damaged in such major disaster or to protect undamaged timber. (d) State grants for removal of damaged timber; reimbursement of expenses limited to sal- vage value of removed timber The President, when he determines it to be in the public interest, is authorized to make grants to any State or local government for the pur- pose of removing from privately owned lands timber damaged as a result of a major disaster, and such State or local government is author- ized upon application, to make payments out of such grants to any person for reimbursement of expenses actually incurred by such person in the removal of damaged timber, not to exceed the amount that such expenses exceed the salvage value of such timber. (Pub. L. 93–288, title IV, § 421, formerly § 418, May 22, 1974, 88 Stat. 158; renumbered § 421, Pub. L. 100–707, title I, § 106(j), Nov. 23, 1988, 102 Stat. 4705.) Editorial Notes REFERENCES IN TEXT Section 476 of title 16, referred to in subsec. (c), was repealed by Pub. L. 94–588, § 13, Oct. 22, 1976, 90 Stat. 2958. § 5189. Simplified procedure (a) In general If the Federal estimate of the cost of— (1) repairing, restoring, reconstructing, or replacing under section 5172 of this title any damaged or destroyed public facility or pri- vate nonprofit facility, (2) emergency assistance under section 5170b or 5192 of this title, or (3) debris removed under section 5173 of this title, is less than $1,000,000 (or, if the Administrator has established a threshold under subsection (b), the amount established under subsection (b)), the President (on application of the State or local government or the owner or operator of the private nonprofit facility) may make the contribution to such State or local government or owner or operator under section 5170b, 5172, 5173, or 5192 of this title, as the case may be, on the basis of such Federal estimate. Such $1,000,000 amount or, if applicable, the amount established under subsection (b), shall be ad- justed annually to reflect changes in the Con- sumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers pub- lished by the Department of Labor. (b) Threshold (1) Report Not later than 1 year after January 29, 2013, the President, acting through the Adminis- trator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (in this section referred to as the ‘‘Ad- ministrator’’), shall— (A) complete an analysis to determine whether an increase in the threshold for eli- gibility under subsection (a) is appropriate, which shall include consideration of cost-ef- fectiveness, speed of recovery, capacity of grantees, past performance, and account- ability measures; and (B) submit to the Committee on Transpor- tation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Af- fairs of the Senate a report regarding the analysis conducted under subparagraph (A). (2) Amount After the Administrator submits the report required under paragraph (1), the President shall direct the Administrator to— (A) immediately establish a threshold for eligibility under this section in an appro- priate amount, without regard to chapter 5 of title 5; and (B) adjust the threshold annually to re- flect changes in the Consumer Price Index for all Urban Consumers published by the Department of Labor. (3) Review and report Not later than 3 years after the date on which the Administrator establishes a thresh- old under paragraph (2), and every 3 years thereafter, the President, acting through the Administrator, shall review the threshold for eligibility under this section and submit to the Committee on Transportation and Infra- structure of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate a report regarding such review, including any rec- ommendations developed pursuant to such re- view. (Pub. L. 93–288, title IV, § 422, as added Pub. L. 100–707, title I, § 106(k), Nov. 23, 1988, 102 Stat. 4705; amended Pub. L. 113–2, div. B, § 1107, Jan. 29, 2013, 127 Stat. 46; Pub. L. 117–189, § 2(a), Oct. 10, 2022, 136 Stat. 2204.) Editorial Notes PRIOR PROVISIONS A prior section 5189, Pub. L. 93–288, title IV, § 419, May 22, 1974, 88 Stat. 159, related to alternate contributions, prior to repeal by Pub. L. 100–707, § 106(k). AMENDMENTS 2022—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 117–189, § 2(a)(1), substituted ‘‘$1,000,000’’ for ‘‘$35,000’’ in two places in concluding provisions. Subsec. (b)(3). Pub. L. 117–189, § 2(a)(2), inserted ‘‘and report’’ after ‘‘Review’’ in heading and ‘‘and submit to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate a report regarding such review, including any recommendations developed pursuant to such review’’ after ‘‘under this section’’ in text. Page 6420 TITLE 42—THE PUBLIC HEALTH AND WELFARE § 5189a 2013—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 113–2, § 1107(3), which di- rected insertion of ‘‘or, if applicable, the amount estab- lished under subsection (b),’’ after ‘‘$35,000 amount’’ the second place appearing, was executed by making the in- sertion after ‘‘$35,000 amount’’ the only place that phrase appeared, to reflect the probable intent of Con- gress. Pub. L. 113–2, § 1107(1), (2), designated existing provi- sions as subsec. (a), inserted heading, and inserted ‘‘(or, if the Administrator has established a threshold under subsection (b), the amount established under sub- section (b))’’ after ‘‘less than $35,000’’ in concluding pro- visions. Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 113–2, § 1107(4), added subsec. (b). Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries EFFECTIVE DATE OF 2022 AMENDMENT Pub. L. 117–189, § 2(b), Oct. 10, 2022, 136 Stat. 2204, pro- vided that: ‘‘The amendments made by subsection (a) [amending this section] shall apply with respect to any amounts appropriated after the date of enactment of this Act [Oct. 10, 2022].’’ § 5189a. Appeals of assistance decisions (a) Right of appeal Any decision regarding eligibility for, from, or amount of assistance under this subchapter may be appealed within 60 days after the date on which the applicant for such assistance is noti- fied of the award or denial of award of such as- sistance. (b) Period for decision A decision regarding an appeal under sub- section (a) shall be rendered within 90 days after the date on which the Federal official des- ignated to administer such appeals receives no- tice of such appeal. (c) Rules The President shall issue rules which provide for the fair and impartial consideration of ap- peals under this section. (d) Right of arbitration (1) In general Notwithstanding this section, an applicant for assistance under this subchapter may re- quest arbitration to dispute the eligibility for assistance or repayment of assistance provided for a dispute of more than $500,000 for any dis- aster that occurred after January 1, 2016. Such arbitration shall be conducted by the Civilian Board of Contract Appeals and the decision of such Board shall be binding. (2) Review The Civilian Board of Contract Appeals shall consider from the applicant all original and additional documentation, testimony, or other such evidence supporting the applicant’s posi- tion at any time during arbitration. (3) Rural areas For an applicant for assistance in a rural area under this subchapter, the assistance amount eligible for arbitration pursuant to this subsection shall be $100,000. (4) Rural area defined For the purposes of this subsection, the term ‘‘rural area’’ means an area with a population of less than 200,000 outside an urbanized area. (5) Eligibility To participate in arbitration under this sub- section, an applicant— (A) shall submit the dispute to the arbitra- tion process established under the authority granted under section 601 of Public Law 111–5; and (B) may submit a request for arbitration after the completion of the first appeal under subsection (a) at any time before the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency has issued a final agen- cy determination or 180 days after the Ad- ministrator’s receipt of the appeal if the Ad- ministrator has not provided the applicant with a final determination on the appeal. The applicant’s request shall contain docu- mentation from the administrative record for the first appeal and may contain addi- tional documentation supporting the appli- cant’s position. (Pub. L. 93–288, title IV, § 423, as added Pub. L. 100–707, title I, § 106(l), Nov. 23, 1988, 102 Stat. 4705; amended Pub. L. 115–254, div. D, § 1219, Oct. 5, 2018, 132 Stat. 3452.) Editorial Notes REFERENCES IN TEXT Section 601 of Public Law 111–5, referred to in subsec. (d)(5)(A), is Pub. L. 111–5, div. A, title VI, § 601, Feb. 17, 2009, 123 Stat. 164, which is not classified to the Code. AMENDMENTS 2018—Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 115–254 added subsec. (d). Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries EFFECTIVE DATE OF 2018 AMENDMENT Amendment by Pub. L. 115–254 applicable to each major disaster and emergency declared by the Presi- dent on or after Aug. 1, 2017, and authorities provided under div. D of Pub. L. 115–254 applicable to each major disaster and emergency declared by the President on or after Jan. 1, 2016, except as otherwise provided, see sec- tion 1202 of Pub. L. 115–254, set out as a note under sec- tion 5121 of this title. DISPUTE RESOLUTION PILOT PROGRAM Pub. L. 113–2, div. B, § 1105, Jan. 29, 2013, 127 Stat. 43, as amended by Pub. L. 114–301, § 2(c), Dec. 16, 2016, 130 Stat. 1514, provided that: ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section, the following defi- nitions apply: ‘‘(1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘Administrator’ means the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency. ‘‘(2) ELIGIBLE ASSISTANCE.—The term ‘eligible as- sistance’ means assistance— ‘‘(A) under section 403, 406, or 407 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170b, 5172, 5173); ‘‘(B) for which the legitimate amount in dispute is not less than $1,000,000, which sum the Adminis- trator shall adjust annually to reflect changes in the Consumer Price Index for all Urban Consumers published by the Department of Labor; ‘‘(C) for which the applicant has a non-Federal share; and ‘‘(D) for which the applicant has received a deci- sion on a first appeal. ‘‘(b) PROCEDURES.— ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this section [Jan. 29, 2013], and