State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds Natural Disaster Resource Guide — Treasury

Summary

This is the U.S. Department of the Treasury State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds Natural Disaster Resource Guide. It says the quick guide aims to provide the available resources for State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds (SLFRF) recipients that may have experienced natural disasters to use SLFRF funds by the obligation deadline of 12/31/2024. It states that all SLFRF funds, including those reported under Expenditure Category 8, Emergency Relief from Natural Disasters, must be obligated by December 31, 2024 via a contract, an interagency agreement, or one of the other methods discussed in section 17 of the SLFRF FAQs. It adds that recipients can also use SLFRF funds on government services up to the revenue loss amount, reported under Expenditure Category 6, Revenue Replacement.

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           U.S. DEPARTMENT
           OF THE TREASURY



                                                   State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds
                                                   Natural Disaster Resource Guide




Treasury is aware that some State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds (SLFRF) recipients may have experienced natural
disasters in their area. This quick guide aims to provide the available resources for those recipients to enable them to
use SLFRF funds for continued community needs by the deadline to obligate funds of 12/31/2024.

1. Obligate Funds toward Your Community’s Natural Disaster-Related Needs Before the
   12/31/24 Obligation Deadline
ALL SLFRF funds, including those reported under Expenditure Category (EC) 8, “Emergency Relief from Natural
Disasters,” to provide emergency relief from natural disasters or their negative economic impacts, MUST be obligated
by the obligation deadline of December 31, 2024. That is, EC 8 projects must meet the same standards of obligation as
any other eligible use category of SLFRF; those funds must be obligated via a contract, or an interagency agreement,
or one of the other methods discussed in section 17 of the SLFRF FAQs and other program guidance.

As a reminder, an obligation is—among other things—an order placed for property and services and entering into
contracts, subawards, and similar transactions that require payment. Recipients may use interagency agreements,
such as Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs), to meet the obligation requirement. As clarified in FAQ 17.6, Treasury
considers an interagency agreement meeting certain conditions to constitute a transaction requiring payment similar
to a contract or subaward and therefore an obligation. Please see FAQs 17.6 and 17.23, along with the Interagency
Agreement Quick Reference Guide for more information on interagency agreements.

Separately, recipients can also use SLFRF funds on government services up to the revenue loss amount, reported
under EC 6 “Revenue Replacement.” Government services generally include any service traditionally provided by a
government, unless Treasury has stated otherwise. Government services is the most flexible eligible use category
under the SLFRF program, and funds are subject to streamlined reporting and compliance requirements.

2. Eligible Uses for Emergency Relief from Natural Disasters
Recipients may use SLFRF funds to provide emergency relief from natural disasters or the negative economic effects of
natural disasters. Recipients seeking to use SLFRF funds for this eligible use category should undertake the following
two-step process:

1. Identify a natural disaster that has occurred or is expected to occur imminently, or a natural disaster that is
   threatened to occur in the future.
2. Identify emergency relief that responds to the physical or negative economic impacts, or potential physical
   or negative economic impacts, of the natural disaster. The emergency relief must be related and reasonably
   proportional to the impact identified.
For more information on this eligible use, please refer to pages 3-8 of the Overview of the 2023 Interim Final Rule,
including pages 5-6 for a non-exhaustive list of eligible emergency relief. Please also see Section 15 of the FAQs. Under
this eligible use category, recipients may use SLFRF funds for costs incurred beginning December 29, 2022.



              State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds (SLFRF) Natural Disaster Resource Guide
3. Blending, Braiding and Non-Federal Match Requirements
Generally, recipients may fund a project with both ARPA funds and other sources of funding (e.g., blending, braiding,
or other pairing funding sources), including in conjunction with financing provided through a debt issuance,
provided that the costs are eligible costs under each source program and are compliant with all related statutory
and regulatory requirements and policies, as applicable, including restrictions on use of funds (e.g., Buy America
Preference (see FAQs #6.18, #6.19), National Environmental Policy Act (see FAQ #6.3)). See FAQ 4.8 for more on
blending and braiding funds.

Under the specific circumstances described in FAQ 4.6, including SLFRF funds spent under the revenue loss eligible
use category, recipients may use SLFRF funds to satisfy non-federal matching requirements. Otherwise, recipients
may not use SLFRF funds to meet the non-federal match or cost-share requirement of other federal financial
assistance programs. Please also see FAQ 15.8 for more information.

4. Public Data Demonstration
For a useful illustration of how recipients are using SLFRF funds for projects to provide emergency relief from natural
disasters, readers can explore Treasury’s public data dashboard. To do so, navigate to the dashboard’s projects tab
and select EC Group 8 to view examples of emergency relief projects that have been reported.

This SLFRF Explainer: Public Data Demonstration provides an accessible way to see practical applications of SLFRF
funding in action, offering real-life examples of how funds are being reported by recipients. Refer to the latest public
data release by navigating to the July SLFRF Reporting Dashboard, which includes Tier 1 and 2 reporters. The April
2024 SLFRF Reporting Dashboard contains the latest data reported by Tier 5 annual reporters.

5. Obligation Deadline Reminder
For all seven eligible uses – including the provision of government services for funds claimed under revenue loss –
recipients must obligate SLFRF funds by December 31, 2024.

6. Reporting Deadline
The Treasury recognizes that some recipients may encounter delays in submitting SLFRF reports due to natural
disasters in their areas, such as Hurricanes Helene and Milton. Treasury will continue to accept reports from affected
communities; however, recipients should submit any outstanding reports as soon as feasible to maintain compliance.

For more guidance, see the SLFRF Compliance and Reporting Guidance and the most recent Project & Expenditure
Report User Guide. For the latest updates and additional resources, refer to the News and Program Updates section
on the SLFRF homepage.

7. Helpful Resources

  Slide Deck: SLFRF Educational Session:                     Webinar: Updated FAQs on Obligations Webinar
  Natural Disasters                                          and Slide Deck.
  Frequently Asked Questions                                 Webinar: SLFRF Educational Session for Obligating Funds
  Eligible Uses and Program Rules                            Walk-through: Simplified Project & Expenditure Portal
                                                             Demonstration 2023
  Compliance and Reporting Guidance
  Reporting User Guide
  Reporting Portal: ID.me | Login.gov




              State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds (SLFRF) Natural Disaster Resource Guide

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