This program helps states and public transportation systems pay for protecting, repairing and/or replacing equipment and facilities that may suffer or have suffered serious damage as a result of an emergency, including natural disasters like floods, hurricanes and tornadoes.
The program can fund capital projects to protect, repair, or replace facilities or equipment that are in danger of suffering serious damage or have suffered serious damage as a result of an emergency. The program can also fund the operating costs of evacuation, rescue operations, temporary public transportation service, or reestablishing, expanding or relocating service before, during or after an emergency. By definition, this program is only designed to be used if funds are appropriated and only to pay for items not covered by either FEMA or insurance. Eligible applicants are states and governmental authorities— including public transportation agencies that operate public transportation services in an area impacted by an emergency or major disaster as defined by a gubernatorial or presidential declaration of such an emergency or disaster —and that historically receive federal transit funds directly from FTA. (Source: FTA)
Congress has authorized a special program from the Highway Trust Fund for the repair or reconstruction of federally aided highways and roads on federal lands that have suffered serious damage as a result of (1) natural disasters or (2) catastrophic failures from an external cause.
This program, commonly referred to as the ER program, supplements the commitment of resources by states, their political subdivisions and other federal agencies to help pay for unusually heavy expenses resulting from extraordinary conditions.
The applicability of the ER program to a natural disaster is based on the extent and intensity of the disaster. Damage to highways must be severe, occur over a wide area and result in unusually high expenses to the highway agency. Applicability of ER to a catastrophic failure due to an external cause is based on the criteria that the failure was not the result of an inherent flaw in the facility but was sudden, had a disastrous impact on transportation services and resulted in unusually high expenses to the highway agency.
Under 23 U.S.C. 125, $100 million is authorized annually for the ER Program. Congress has periodically provided additional funds for the program through supplemental appropriations. While MAP-21 eliminated the $100 million per- state event trigger, program activation occurs only if funding is available.
Approved ER funds are available at the pro-rata share that would normally apply to the federally aided facility that was...