The South Dakota Department Office of Emergency Management held an application briefing on Wednesday, September 4th at the Charles-Mix County 4-H building in Lake Andes. The meeting was held to give county crews, business members and Charles-Mix County residents information about the application process for any damages that were incurred from the flooding this past June and July. There are four phases that an applicant must go through in order to potentially recover damages after completing and submitting an initial request for public assistance.

Phase I is that a Program Delivery Manager (PDMG) is assigned to the claim and the applicant will receive an exploratory call (initial call) to set up a recovery scoping meeting. Phase II of the process is actually having the recovery scoping meeting and damage inventory. A recovery scoping meeting is an in-person meeting between the applicant and the PDMG (FEMA representative) that will help address any specific needs that the applicant has and the representative can help survey the damage to guide the applicant in the right direction for damage recovery. This meeting also signals the beginning of the 60-day timeframe that the applicant has to identify and report all damages that they wish to be considered.

Phase III is the scoping and costing phase. In this phase, the PDMG and applicant work together to come up with the scoping which includes listing the tasks, materials and resources needed for the project. For the costing part of this phase, a detailed budget or estimate for each item in the project’s scope is broken down in order to calculate/estimate the total cost of the project. The final phase is Phase IV which focuses on the reviews of all the paperwork and projects in order to receive approval.

Eligible applicants can include state agencies; city and county governments; Native American Tribes or Tribal Organizations; townships and road districts; private non-profits; and residents.

The first thing that an applicant must do is to obtain a Unique Entity Identification (UEI). This is needed in order to process an application for damage recovery. An applicant needs to go to SAM.gov and follow the steps to obtain one. There are no costs associated with obtaining the number and the number is required. If assistance is needed with obtaining a UEI, the South Dakota Office of Emergency Management is available to assist.

Eligible emergency work is broken down into seven categories including Category A (debris removal); Category B (emergency protective matters); Category C (road and bridge systems); Category D (water control facilities); Category E (public buildings and equipment); Category F (public utilities) and Category G (other-parks, recreation). Categories A and B have a six-month deadline of February 15, 2025 (six months from declaration). Categories C, D, E, F, and G have an 18-month deadline of February 15, 2026.

Projects will be divided into either small or large. A small project is considered if the costs are between $3,900 and $1,036,999. A large project will cost between $1,037,000 and up. Any large project will be audited. There are special considerations that need to be taken into account when repairing any flood damage. These considerations include environmental and historic preservation, flood plains, insurance and hazard mitigation. The PDMG will be able to provide help and answer any questions that one may need answered in regard to these areas.

The Grants Portal will be utilized by both the applicant and the PDMG in order to complete the application process. The web address for the Grants Portal is http://grantee.fema. gov. The Grants Portal site will allow an applicant to complete the organization or person’s profile in order to register; add and manage personnel and update and maintain information; upload documents; file a request for public assistance (RPA) for disasters; complete the damage inventory; complete the essential elements of information (EEI) questions; respond to requests for information (RFI)’s; sign the projects damage description and dimensions; sign the project’s scope and cost; and follow the project’s status through the four phases. Another important website for the applicant would be dps.sd.gov. The website is very vast but for information that would be important to an applicant click on Emergency Services out of the choices on the top of the page and after that click on Public Assistance which will have many different informational categories to choose from.

Documentation will be very important for this entire application process. Some of the necessary documentation that will be needed to provide your PDMG and for the applicant to have are the damage inventory, procurement policies, maps and photos; list of paid staff, timecards, fringe benefit info and pay policy; list of equipment used, hours of operation, miles driven, etc.; list of materials and supplies used; copies of contracts used for the event; applicable codes and standards; hazard mitigation; insurance policies; measurements and location info; permits and correspondences; historical costs, pictures of damage and any pre-damage photos; and building plans or drawings.

The public assistance grant funding is reimbursed based upon actual expenses or agreed upon estimates. Funding is broken down into federal share (75%); state share (15%); and applicant share (10%). All funding will be dispersed by the state so the best point of contact will be the SDOEM.

There are several things that are needed in order to have the grant payment processed; if any one of the items needed are not completed it will delay and or prevent the applicant from receiving funds. Applicants must complete a W9, have a signed State Sub-Recipient Agreement and have a UEI. Once the request has been reviewed and accepted, payment information will be sent to the applicant via mail. After receiving the letter in the mail, the applicant can expect payment within two to four weeks. Should the applicant’s request for funding be denied, there is an appeal process that must be filed with the state within 60 days of the notice.

Some key items to remember if you are requesting public assistance, are deadlines; always keep copies of all documentation, never give the PDMG your original records because things can get lost or misplaced; and do not be afraid to ask questions about anything that is not clear or that you do not understand. The South Dakota Office of Emergency Management is available for any questions or help that an applicant may need. Call 605-773-3231 for assistance from the state office. Miko Kotab, the Charles-Mix County Office of Emergency/Disaster Manager, is more than willing to assist applicants with any questions. He can be emailed at mkotab@charlesmixcounty. org. A date to be aware of is the upcoming deadline to file a request for public assistance which is September 14, 2024.