FEMA Should Disallow $4.1 Million of the $48.5 Million Public Assistance Grant Awarded to ARK Valley Electric Cooperative, Kansas

We audited Public Assistance grant funds awarded to ARK Valley Electric Cooperative(Cooperative) in Kansas (Public Assistance Identification Number OOO-UEBOK-OO). Our audit objective was to determine whether the Cooperative accounted for and expended Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) grant funds according to Federal regulations and FEMA guidelines. The Kansas Division of Emergency Management (KDEM). a FEMA grantee, awarded the Cooperative $48.5 million for damages resulting from severe winter storms that occurred December 6 through 19, 1007. The award provided 75 percent funding for permanent work (Category F) and emergency protective measures (Category B) for eight projects (one sma11 and seven large). Of the seven large projects, three were improved projects. The audit covered the period December 6, 2007, to September 16, 2011, the cutoff date of our audit, and included a detailed review of projects totaling $48.5 million, or 100 percent of the total award.