Myths & Facts About FEMA Housing Following Katrina 

Release Date: May 26, 2008
Release Number: FNF-08-046

Myth:  FEMA travel trailers have high levels of formaldehyde because of inadequate specifications.

Fact:  There are no industry standards for air quality levels in travel trailers. 
FEMA acquired travel trailer, mobile homes and park models from a variety of retail and commercial sources in good faith and fully expected all units to comply with all relevant industry standards, best practices and regulations.  FEMA neither knowingly, or willingly, purchase manufactured units from dealerships and manufacturers that contained levels of formaldehyde above existing construction standards, nor did FEMA's specifications encourage non-compliance with such standards.

FEMA's specifications in Request for Quotes represented the minimum attributes that each travel trailer or mobile home must meet.  For mobile homes, the specifications provided by the program office for use in acquiring units consisted of a "one page" specification detailing the minimum physical requirements.  For travel trailers, a more detailed specification was provided for the solicitation, delineating the minimum standards and requirements, including quality.   This specification had been developed by FEMA in coordination with the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Following the CDC's findings, FEMA and the Department of Homeland Security's Office of Health Affairs developed procedures to ensure the consistent and reliable testing of temporary housing units in FEMA's existing inventory.  The same protocol is used for all air quality testing, no matter where it takes place, whether at storage sites, staging areas, forward staging areas or on private property.

Since 2007, FEMA has been working with the Recreational Park Trailer Industry Association (RPTIA), the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the Department of Homeland Security's Office of Health Affairs (DHS/OHA) to develop a new set of procurement specifications for manufactured housing.  This year, FEMA announced that all future temporary housing units purchased by FEMA must meet strict new procurement specifications for indoor air quality, including a requirement that formaldehyde emission levels must be significantly reduced inside the units. Each unit must test below .016 parts per million (ppm).

Myth:  FEMA is not protecting disaster applicants.

Fact:  FEMA is working to move all of the approximately 23,000 families living in temporary housing units still located throughout the Gulf Coast. 

FEMA and DHS have made it clear that anyone who wants to move out of their temporary housing unit because of formaldehyde will be offered alternate housing. 

On July 21, 2007, FEMA set up call centers for the applicants living on group/commercial or private sites who have concerns, questions or request information about formaldehyde.  In July, FEMA distributed 70,000 formaldehyde and housing fact sheets to the occupants of every FEMA temporary housing unit across the Gulf Coast.  FEMA ceased the sale and deployment of travel trailers for use in housing operations. On August 22, 2007, FEMA authorized hotel/motel assistance for occupants of FEMA provided travel trailers and mobile homes who ask to be moved because of health concerns associated with their units. 

Everyone who has called FEMA's formaldehyde call centers with concerns has been offered an immediate move to a hotel or motel until alternate housing is located. 

FEMA's commitment to move applicants was further reinforced and expanded following the announcement of the CDC's findings in February, 2008.  FEMA announced it would carry out the following actions where needed:

FEMA continues to meet with and work with every applicant to identify the most appropriate housing alternative for each family's individual housing needs.

Myth:  FEMA is not aggressively moving applicants out of units.

Fact:  As of May 23, 2008, there were 22,979 families living in temporary housing units still located throughout the Gulf Coast.  This is more than an 83 percent reduction in the peak occupancy.

FEMA has made a concerted effort in the past two years to ensure that the housing needs of applicants are met.  Cumulatively, FEMA provided 143,123 families with temporary housing units (Travel Trailers, Park Models and Manufactured Homes) across the Gulf Coast.  

Although affordable housing, particularly rental units, is very limited in many areas along the Gulf Coast, FEMA has taken steps to increase the amount of available rental units and reduce the other barriers that may slow the process for an applicant.  In early 2007,

FEMA partnered with state, local and voluntary organizations to identify housing gaps, track the resources of various agencies, and ensure a comprehensive approach to transitioning occupants to more suitable long-term housing options.  Additionally, FEMA redefined the current Corporate Lodging Consultants (CLC) contract on August 24, 2007, to encourage greater landlord participation.

In October 2007, FEMA reinstituted and expanded a reimbursement program that provides relocation assistance to disaster victims displaced by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.  This program reimburses up to $4,000 of relocation expenses associated with travel costs, furniture transportation expenses, and moving services for eligible applicants if the applicant has funds remaining under its total capped assistance from FEMA.

Myth:  FEMA purchased unused mobile homes following Katrina that were not used because of government restrictions preventing them from being placed in floodplains.

Fact:  FEMA could have placed the purchased mobile homes in floodplains. 
These units were not able to be used in the Gulf Coast states due to local regulations restricting the measures required to place these units in a floodplain.

Executive Order 11988 requires federal agencies to avoid to the extent possible the long and short-term adverse impacts associated with the occupancy and modification of flood plains and to avoid direct and indirect support of floodplain development wherever there is a practicable alternative.  FEMA has a responsibility to reduce the risk of flood loss, to minimize the impact of floods on human safety, health, and welfare, and to restore and preserve the natural and beneficial values served by flood plains in carrying out its responsibilities. 

The guidelines address an eight-step process that agencies should carry out as part of their decision-making on projects that have potential impacts to or within the floodplain. The eight steps, which are summarized below, reflect the decision-making process required in Section 2(a) of the Order.

  1. Determine if a proposed action is in the base floodplain (that area which has a one percent or greater chance of flooding in any given year).
  2. Conduct early public review, including public notice.
  3. Identify and evaluate practicable alternatives to locating in the base floodplain, including alterative sites outside of the floodplain.
  4. Identify impacts of the proposed action.
  5. If impacts cannot be avoided, develop measures to minimize the impacts and restore and preserve the floodplain, as appropriate.
  6. Reevaluate alternatives. 
  7. Present the findings and a public explanation.
  8. Implement the action.

This release has been modified from its original version.

Last Modified: Tuesday, 27-May-2008 10:06:22