Reminder to Continue Tracking COVID-19 Costs, Submit for Reimbursement     

On March 30, 2020, the president declared a major disaster for Pennsylvania as a result of COVID-19, which began on January 20, 2020, and is still in effect. FEMA has numbered the disaster declaration for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania as FEMA-4506-DR-PA.  

Deadlines: Townships wanting to submit a Request for Public Assistance (RPA) for their eligible expenses incurred from January 20, 2022, to July 1, 2022, must submit their RPA to FEMA via the Grants Portal website by December 31, 2022. Select “Register Your Organization for Public Assistance” and “DR-4506” as the disaster event. (For more information on the portal, read the Applicant’s Quick-Guide to the FEMA Grants Portal Account and Request for Public Assistance for instructions. Please note this account is not connected to login.gov.) 

These applications must include sufficient documentation for FEMA to determine whether the work is eligible for reimbursement. For a list of frequently asked questions about PEMA’s COVID-19 program, including eligible costs for reimbursement, click HERE.  

Eligible Costs: As a result of the COVID-19 emergency declaration, townships that take eligible emergency protective measures to respond to the disaster at the direction or guidance of public health officials may be reimbursed for eligible expenses as per FEMA’s “Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic: Public Assistance Programmatic Deadlines” guidance document, which states the following:  

1. FEMA will apply 100% federal funding to all eligible COVID-19 costs below for work performed and items used from the beginning of the incident period through July 1, 2022.  
2. Eligible Costs:  
   1. Employee Labor: Costs for hours worked prior to July 2, 2022.
   2. Purchased Supplies: Costs to purchase supplies used prior to July 2, 2022. As described in the COVID-19 Pandemic: Work Eligible for Public Assistance (Interim) policy, FEMA only provides PA funding for the purchase of personal protective equipment (PPE) and other supplies projected to be used in the next 60 days. Any PPE or other supplies purchased for a 60-day timeframe prior to July 2, 2022, are eligible for 100% federal funding only if the items were also used prior to July 2, 2022.  
   3. Purchased Equipment: Costs to purchase equipment that the Applicant used prior to July 2, 2022, and the cost for usage prior to July 2, 2022.
   4. Leased Equipment and Facilities: Lease costs prior to July 2, 2022. FEMA may calculate the cost based on a proration of time. FEMA only provides funding for storage necessary to store 60 days of PPE and other necessary supplies.  
   5. Contract Costs: Costs for work performed prior to July 2, 2022. If costs cannot be distinguished by date performed, FEMA may prorate costs based on the percentage of work completed prior to the deadline versus the percentage of work remaining.  
3. The deadline for townships to apply for reimbursement of such costs after July 1, 2022, is still to be determined as discussed in the FEMA guidance document on COVID-19 Requests for Public Assistance and RPAs.  

Note: The federal COVID-19 disaster declaration is unrelated to the American Rescue Plan (ARP) funds. For more information on the American Rescue Plan, click HERE to reach the PSATS American Rescue Plan informational page.