Disaster Recovery | The Contracting Education Academy

December 8, 2017 By cs

DoD class deviations allow for greater contracting flexibility in times of crisis

The Department of Defense (“DoD”) has issued two Class Deviations that provide defense agencies with greater flexibility when procuring in times of crisis.

These Class Deviations allow for the use of simplified acquisition procedures and excuse certain procurement obligations when DoD is responding to a cyber-attack or providing relief in support of domestic or international disasters.

On November 8, 2017, DoD issued Class Deviation 2018-O0001, which expands the types of procurements treated as commercial item acquisitions and exempts acquisitions in support of cyber-attacks, international disaster assistance, and “emergency or major disaster” relief from requirements to (i) comply with item unique identification, (ii) receive two offers, and (iii) limit the use of time and materials contracts. This Class Deviation also delegates authority for determinations relating to these acquisitions from the Secretary of Defense to the various heads of contracting activities within DoD.

Keep reading this article at: https://www.insidegovernmentcontracts.com/2017/11/dod-allows-for-more-contracting-flexibility-in-times-of-crisis/

December 5, 2017 By cs

Top FEMA official: Hit the ‘reset button’ on disaster recovery roles

State and local governments should own the disaster recovery process by creating integrated, outcome-based mitigation plans like Puerto Rico post-Hurricane Maria, the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s administrator said Thursday at a congressional hearing on Capitol Hill.

To that end, Brock Long asked the House Appropriations Committee for additional authority in FEMA’s third supplemental request for $44 billion to go beyond simply rebuilding communities to pre-disaster standards, per the Stafford Act, and address resiliency.

Too often FEMA finds itself in the role of first responder and even the only responder, Long said, as was the case in Puerto Rico, which faces massive amounts of deferred maintenance on antiquated infrastructure and its energy grid in particular. The average age of power plants in the U.S. commonwealth is 44 years, compared to the national average of 18.

Keep reading this article at: http://www.routefifty.com/public-safety/2017/11/fema-brock-long-congress/144205/

November 7, 2017 By cs

Federal probe into Puerto Rico power scandal expands

A second federal contract with a company hired to rebuild Puerto Rico’s all but collapsed power grid is coming under scrutiny, drawing the attention of federal investigators and even members of Congress even as most of the hurricane-ravaged island remains without power.

The news of a second faulty contract is also raising questions about the contracting process for the island’s government-owned power company, the Puerto Rican Electric Power Authority (PREPA).

Puerto Rico’s crumbling, aging electrical grid was at the heart of the island’s crippling debt and infrastructure problems even before Hurricanes Irma and Maria slammed into it over a month ago. But now, in the wake of recent scandals over contractors hired to fix that very grid, some experts expect the timeline for full recovery to last well into next year.

Keep reading this article at: http://www.govexec.com/contracting/2017/11/federal-probe-puerto-rico-power-scandal-expands/142268/

March 7, 2014 By cs

FEMA raises ‘small’ threshold for public assistance grants

The dollar threshold for a disaster recovery project considered “small” by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has gone up by more than half, to $120,000.

Small construction projects that FEMA funds through public assistance grants after presidentially declared major disasters are subject to significantly fewer paperwork and inspection requirements. The state, local and tribal governments and some nonprofits eligible to receive FEMA grants for rebuilding disaster-damaged facilities get the money upfront when the project is considered small, rather than having to wait until after FEMA can process documented proof of costs incurred.

A FEMA analysis from earlier this year concluded that over the past seven years, 88 percent of projects have been small – and despite that overwhelming percentage, they’ve consumed only 15 percent of public assistance grant dollars. Under the new threshold, that number would have been 93 percent of all projects and 20 percent of grant money – the latter also being the median percentage of small project amount dollars over the past seven years.

Keep reading this article at: http://www.fiercehomelandsecurity.com/story/fema-raises-small-threshold-public-assistance-grants/2014-03-03

The Department of Defense (“DoD”) has issued two Class Deviations that provide defense agencies with greater flexibility when procuring in times of crisis.

State and local governments should own the disaster recovery process by creating integrated, outcome-based mitigation plans like Puerto Rico post-Hurricane Maria, the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s administrator said Thursday at a congressional hearing on Capitol Hill.

A second federal contract with a company hired to rebuild Puerto Rico’s all but collapsed power grid is coming under scrutiny, drawing the attention of federal investigators and even members of Congress even as most of the hurricane-ravaged island remains without power.

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