HR6342-119

What This Bill Does

The Clean Up DEBRIS Act amends the Stafford Act in two linked steps. First, it adds definitions for residential common interest communities, condominiums, housing cooperatives, and manufactured home parks. The definitions cover mandatory-membership communities where owners pay shared expenses, condominium projects with association-managed common elements, cooperative housing entities where members have possessory rights through shares or membership interests, and manufactured home parks with two or more lots containing manufactured homes. Second, the bill amends Stafford Act section 407 on debris removal. The President must issue rules providing that debris or wreckage removal from real estate units within these communities is in the public interest after a major disaster when a state or local government determines in writing that the debris threatens life, public health or safety, or the economic recovery of the residential common interest community. The rules must defer to state and local definitions.

Who Benefits and How

Condominium associations benefit because disaster debris in their communities can qualify for public-interest removal treatment. Homeowners associations and residential common interest communities benefit when local or state governments document health, safety, life, or recovery threats. Housing cooperatives and manufactured home parks benefit from explicit inclusion in Stafford Act debris-removal rules. Residents benefit from faster debris clearance after major disasters. State and local governments benefit because their written determinations trigger federal public-interest treatment and FEMA must defer to state and local legal definitions.

Who Bears the Burden and How

FEMA and presidential disaster-recovery administrators must write and apply new debris-removal rules for private or shared residential communities. State and local governments must make written determinations that debris threatens life, public health or safety, or economic recovery. Federal taxpayers may pay more for debris removal in settings that previously faced eligibility uncertainty. Debris-removal contractors may gain work, but FEMA oversight must ensure removal is tied to major-disaster threats rather than ordinary private maintenance.

Key Provisions

• Adds Stafford Act definitions for residential common interest communities, condominiums, housing cooperatives, and manufactured home parks.
• Requires debris-removal rules for units of real estate in those communities after major disasters.
• Provides public-interest treatment when a state or local government makes a written threat determination.
• Requires rulemaking to defer to state and local law definitions.
• Expands potential FEMA-supported debris removal beyond traditional public streets and facilities into shared residential community settings.