(EMAILWIRE.COM, October 26, 2009 ) WASHINGTON - The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is reminding eligible Public Assistance applicants who were in the appeals process or received a final determination between February 17th, 2009 and the announcement of the rules governing the arbitration process on August 31, 2009, of the upcoming deadline for arbitration panel requests regarding FEMA Public Assistance projects in excess of $500,000 from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

If applicants from the specified time period have an appeal that is still pending, they have the option to withdraw that appeal and have the matter reviewed by a third-party arbitration panel. Applicants must submit, in writing, a withdrawal of their appeal and their request for arbitration on or before October 30, 2009. For more information on the application process, please visit: http://www.fema.gov/government/grant/pa/arbitration.

While this deadline applies to applicants with pending appeals, the new arbitration process will continue to be available for new disputes arising from FEMA public assistance determinations for Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. An applicant can submit a request for arbitration within 30 days of any new FEMA decision made after August 31, 2009.

“The arbitration process provides an important additional option for remaining Public Assistance projects,” said FEMA’s Administrator Craig Fugate. “We encourage eligible applicants who plan on taking advantage of this additional option to meet the October 30 deadline. We look forward to the arbitration panel’s resolution on eligible projects as we continue to work with state and local leadership to help the Gulf Coast rebuild.”

In August, Secretary Napolitano announced the arbitration process designed to speed recovery efforts by providing final adjudication of disputes arising from public assistance projects by an independent, neutral panel of arbitrators. On August 31, 2009, FEMA published administrative procedures that govern this new process.

Through the arbitration process, a panel of arbitrators is available to review disputes involving Public Assistance projects in excess of $500,000 arising from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in the Gulf Coast states of Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas.

This Arbitration Panel, authorized in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, is one of a series of actions implemented by DHS and FEMA, to hasten the Gulf Coast recovery through improved decision-making and quality coordination between all levels of government.

For more information on the Arbitration Panels for the FEMA Public Assistance Program concerning Hurricanes Katrina and Rita please visit www.fema.gov.

FEMA’s mission is to support our citizens and first responders and ensure that as a nation we work together to build, sustain, and improve our capability to prepare for, protect against, respond to, recover from, and mitigate all hazards.

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