U.S. Department of Agriculture 

Washington, D.C. 

DEPARTMENTAL REGULATION NUMBER:

2300-004 

DATE: March 6, 2006 SUBJECT: 

 USDA Evacuation Policies and Procedures 

 OPI: Office of the Chief Financial Officer 

1 PURPOSE 

This regulation provides a coordinated and uniform USDA policy pursuant to 

the issuance of an order to evacuate. 

2 SPECIAL INSTRUCTION/CANCELLATIONS 

a. This regulation is effective immediately and supersedes the previous 

version issued September 7, 2005. 

 b. Appendix A is the Evacuation Policies and Procedures Instructions. 

 c. Appendix B is the Example Scenario. 
March 6, 2006 DR 2300-004

 Appendix A 

Appendix A

Evacuation Policies and Procedures

Due to the issuance of an order to evacuate, USDA has reviewed the evacuation 

regulations and other applicable laws and has set forth the following two types of 

payments that may be made to evacuated USDA employees and their dependents. These 

payments consist of advance pay and subsistence payments, subject to a few caveats. 

These are the only payments that will be made to Federal employees and their dependents 

under this authority. 

1. Advance Net Salary Payments (Prepaid Card)

USDA may make two types of salary payments:

• One advance payment of an employee’s net salary, under 5 CFR 550.404, 

“shall cover a time period not to exceed 30 days or a lesser number of 

days, as determined by the authorizing agency official.” The advance 

must be approved by the authorized agency official as determined by 

governing Office of Human Capital Management (OHCM) regulations. 

Agencies should refer to OHCM regulations for information on pay 

benefits for Federal employees affected by severe weather conditions or 

other emergency situations. National Finance Center (NFC) will process 

an Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) payment to the employee’s payroll 

account. If an employee’s financial institution is unable to process the 

EFT payment, the employee may request payment to an alternate EFT 

account or via a Prepaid Card. 

• Replacement of salary payments: If the employee’s financial institution is 

unable to process EFT payments, the employee may request payment to an 

alternate EFT account or may request a Prepaid Card. The unprocessed 

EFT payment will then be cancelled.

Receiving Prepaid Cards: 

Prepaid Cards can be initiated by the appropriate official (employees for 

replacement of salary payments, supervisors and designated officials for salary 

advances) by calling NFC–Payroll at (800) 981-3026 from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. central 

time. 

Repayment and/or Repayment Forgiveness: 

At the earliest possible date after the evacuation is terminated (or earlier if the 

circumstances justify), after the employee returns to his or her assigned duty 

station, or when the employee is reassigned officially, the payroll office having 

jurisdiction over the employee's account shall review each employee's account for 

the purpose of making adjustments. The employee's pay shall be adjusted on the 

basis of the rates of pay, allowances, or differentials, if any, to which he or she 

would otherwise have been entitled under all applicable statutes other than 

Section 5527 of Title 5, United States Code. Any adjustments in the employee's 

account shall also reflect advance payments made to the employee. 

A-1 
DR 2300-004 March 6, 2006 

Appendix A 

After an employee's account is reviewed, if it is found that the employee is 

indebted for any part of the advance payment made to him or her or his or her 

dependent(s) or designated representative, recovery of the indebtedness shall be 

effected by the payroll office having jurisdiction over the employee's account, 

unless a waiver of recovery has been approved. Repayment of the indebtedness 

may be made either in full or in partial payments, as determined by the head of 

the agency or designated official. 

Recovery of indebtedness for advance payment shall not be required when it is 

determined by the head of the agency or designated official that the recovery 

would be against equity or good conscience or against the public interest. 

Findings that formed the basis for waiver of recovery shall be filed in the 

employee's personnel folder on the permanent side. 

For the period covered by any payment made under this subpart, the employee 

shall be considered as performing active Federal service in his or her position 

without a break in service. 

Tracking: Employees issued Prepaid Cards will receive monthly activity 

statements (not a bill) from Bank of America. 

Prepaid Card Restrictions: 

• There are no merchant category code restrictions. 

• The spending capability of the card is limited to the dollar amount loaded.

• There is a $6 hundred daily ATM limit; however the employee can obtain 

the maximum daily limit of $3 thousand by taking the card to a bank. 

2. Subsistence Payments

Subsistence payments may be provided from the date of departure from the area 

being evacuated to the date of arrival at the agency designated safe haven in 

accordance with 5 CFR 550.405(a). An agency designated safe haven is defined 

as a designated area to which an employee or dependent will be or has been 

evacuated. On the date following arrival at the agency designated safe haven, 

subsistence payments may continue until the date that the evacuation order is 

terminated, or 180 days after the effective date of the order to evacuate, 

whichever is earlier. An employee must be returned to his/her regular duty 

station, or appropriate action must be taken to reassign him/her to another duty 

station, as in accordance with 5 CFR 550.406(c). The maximum per diem, and 

one half the maximum per diem for dependents under age 12, may be paid to the 

employee and his/her designated representative for up to 30 days. After 30 days, 

60 percent of the maximum per diem may be paid for up to another 150 days. 

The per diem rates and percentages paid are provided in detail below. 

 

Approval: Supervisors or higher level officials may authorize subsistence 

payments to employees and their dependents. Payments should be authorized (for 

both employees and dependents) on the AD-202. 

A-2 
March 6, 2006 DR 2300-004

 Appendix A 

Additional Information and Restrictions

Transportation: Travel expenses for the employee and dependents will be 

determined, in accordance with the Federal Travel Regulation

(FTR), from the evacuated area to the agency designated safe 

haven and for their return to the previously evacuated area, as

authorized. 

Lodging-plus: Actual amount of lodging plus a set allowance for meals and 

expenses (per diem). 

Per Diem Percentages Allowed: 

Adult 1st 30 days: Employees and dependants that are 12 years 

and older are entitled to 100 percent of the 

maximum per diem. 

Adult 31-180 days: Employees and dependants that are 12 years 

and older are entitled to 60 percent of the 

maximum per diem. 

Children 1st 30 days: Dependents under the age of 12 are entitled 

to 50 percent of the maximum per diem. 

Children 31-180 days: Dependents under the age of 12 are entitled 

to 30 percent of the maximum per diem. 

Dependent: As defined under the Office of Personnel Management regulations 

a dependant is a relative of the employee residing with the 

employee and dependent on the employee for support. 

Vouchering: 

• Employees: Employees should receive travel authorizations for their 

personal subsistence expenses. Vouchers should be completed using the 

normal travel voucher processes. 

o Consult your supervisor or administrative staff to determine travel 

authorization and voucher processes. 

o USDA’s travel authorization (AD-202) and voucher (AD-616) 

forms should be used to authorize and voucher travel expenses. 

o Note that the authorizations should be completed to allow only 

those expenses authorized by 5 CFR 550.405. 

• Dependents: Subsistence expenses will be reimbursed using a SF-1164, 

“Claim for Reimbursement for Expenditures on Official Business.” The 

SF-1164 must be approved by the employee’s supervisor or designated 

authority. 

Paying Subsistence Expenses (see Example Scenario in Appendix A): 

• Prepaid card (dependent expenses only) 

o Prepaid cards are limited to the balance authorized. 

o Prepaid cards can include the subsistence payments of dependents. 

Employees should use the travel card or travel advance processes. 

A-3 
DR 2300-004 March 6, 2006 

Appendix A 

o The amount issued on the Prepaid card must be subtracted from the 

reimbursement requested on an SF-1164. See page A-4 of 

Appendix A, “Example Scenario” for the recommended format. 

o Supervisors or a designated authority may request Prepaid cards at 

(800) 981-3026 from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. central time. 

 

• Travel card (employees only) 

o If the employee needs to make ATM withdrawals and does not 

have a PIN, contact Bank of America customer service at 

1-800-472-1424 to obtain PIN. 

o The amount reimbursed on the travel card may not exceed the 

amount authorized for subsistence payments. 

o Employees using the travel card will need to provide Bank of 

America with their new temporary address and are expected to pay 

in a timely manner. 

• Travel advance (employees without a travel card) 

o Consult your supervisor or administrative staff to obtain a travel 

advance through USDA’s travel system. 

o Travel advances should be repaid via the travel voucher. Block 40 

of AD-616 allows for repaying travel advances. 

 Restrictions: 

• Receipts documenting actual lodging and transportation costs will be 

required. If receipts are unavailable, supervisors can accept alternate 

documentation at their discretion. (Example: Employee lost receipt due 

to the need to evacuate, documentation of the charges from EAGLS or 

Bank of America billing statements can be used.) 

• Subsistence per diem can be used for any purpose. If lodging expenses are 

not charged to the employee (or family), no lodging reimbursement will be 

provided. This includes lodging provided by evacuation shelters, family 

and charities. 

• If the employee leaves the agency designated safe haven or performs

official temporary duty travel, subsistence payments to the employee will 

be suspended for this period. Payments will continue for dependents that 

remain at the agency designated safe haven and will resume for the 

employee when they return to the agency designated safe haven. 

Administrative or sick leave does not interrupt subsistence payments. 

• If dependents of the employee leave the agency designated safe haven, 

subsistence payments will be suspended for this period. Payments will 

resume once the dependent returns to the agency designated safe haven. 

Payments will continue for the employee and dependents that remain at 

the agency designated safe haven. 

A-4 
March 6, 2006 DR 2300-004

 Appendix A 

• Subsistence payments will terminate for both the employee and 

dependents when the evacuation is terminated or when an employee is 

assigned to a permanent duty station (relocation). 

• The per diem amount claimed must be reduced for meals provided by the 

government or complimentary lodging meals. Use the appropriate 

schedule to calculate the reduction for each meal provided (current 

schedule, as of the publication date of this regulation, follows). If the 

maximum per diem rate is reduced due to the age of a dependent or the 

length in subsistence, the schedule below should be reduced by the same

percentage. 

A-5 
DR 2300-004 March 6, 2006 

Appendix A 

Employees and Adult Dependents (12+ Years Old) – Days 1-30 

Meals Per Diem Breakdown 

by Agency Designated Safe Haven 

Location 

 1 

Location

2 

Location

3 

Location

4 

Location

5 

Location

6 

Breakfast $6 $7 $7 $9 $9 $10

Lunch 6 8 8 9 11 12

Dinner 16 18 20 22 24 26

Incidental 3 3 3 3 3 3

Total Daily Per Diem $31 $35 $39 $43 $47 $51

Employees and Adult Dependents (12+ Years Old) – Days 31-180

Meals Per Diem Breakdown 

by Agency Designated Safe Haven 

Location 

 1 

Location

2 

Location

3 

Location

4 

Location

5 

Location

6 

Breakfast 3.60 4.20 4.20 5.40 5.40 6.00

Lunch 3.60 4.80 4.80 5.40 6.60 7.20

Dinner 9.60 10.80 12.00 13.20 14.40 15.60

Incidental 1.80 1.80 1.80 1.80 1.80 1.80

Total Daily Per Diem 18.60 21.60 22.80 25.80 28.20 30.60

Dependents Less Than 12 Years Old– Days 1-30

Meals Per Diem Breakdown 

by Agency Designated Safe Haven 

Location 

 1 

Location

2 

Location

3 

Location

4 

Location

5 

Location

6 

Breakfast 3.00 3.50 3.50 4.50 4.50 5.00

Lunch 3.00 4.00 4.00 4.50 5.50 6.00

Dinner 8.00 9.00 10.00 11.00 12.00 13.00

Incidental 1.50 1.50 1.50 1.50 1.50 1.50

Total Daily Per Diem 15.50 18.00 19.00 21.50 23.50 25.50

Dependents Less Than 12 Years Old – Days 31-180

Meals Per Diem Breakdown 

by Agency Designated Safe Haven 

Location 

 1 

Location

2 

Location 

3 

Location

4 

Location

5 

Location

6 

Breakfast 1.80 2.10 2.10 2.70 2.70 3.00

Lunch 1.80 2.40 2.40 2.70 3.30 3.60

Dinner 4.80 5.40 6.00 6.60 7.20 7.80

Incidental 0.90 0.90 0.90 0.90 0.90 0.90

Total Daily Per Diem 9.30 10.80 11.40 12.90 14.10 15.30 

NOTE: Use current Federal Travel Regulation Meals & Incidental Expenses for 

calculations.

A-6 
March 6, 2006 DR 2300-004

Appendix B

Appendix B

Example Scenario: Employee is evacuated to the Location 6 safe haven. Travel from the 

evacuation area begins on 8/28/05 and ends on 8/29/05. Transportation expenses of $3 hundred 

were incurred (mileage of personally owned vehicle). Subsistence at the agency designated safe 

haven begins 8/30/05. 

On the evening of 8/28/05, the employee and dependents (spouse and three children ages 11, 12, 

and 16) stay at a relative/friends house (cost $0); 8/29/05 was spent at a motel (two rooms for a

total of $125). The employee receives a Prepaid card worth $3 thousand as an advance for the 

family’s subsistence expenses. 

The employee and/or family stay at the agency designated safe haven location for 81 days. The 

family rents an apartment for $2 thousand per month. During that period, some family members 

leave according to the schedule below: 

• Days 7 – 12: Employee performs official travel to Washington, DC.

• Days 31 – 52: The three children visit grandparents in Portland, Oregon, (outside the 

agency designated safe haven area). 

• Days 31 – 40: Employee and spouse travel back to permanent duty station to survey the 

damage to their personal property.

During the evacuation and while at the designated agency designated safe haven location, the 

following meals are provided at no cost to the employee and dependents: 

• Evacuation day #1 (8/28/05); breakfast and lunch were provided by Red Cross 

• Day #2 at agency designated safe haven location (8/31/05); employer provides dinner for 

all employees and their dependents. 

• Day #5 at agency designated safe haven (9/03/05); employer provides lunch at the 

alternate work site. Employee had lunch, but dependents were not provided lunch. 

The employee would be reimbursed the following: 

Dependents (SF 1164)

Evacuation Subsistence:

 Cost Item Calculation

Day #1 (8/28/05) 

Per Diem

 Adults (3) 153.00 51*3

 

Children 

(1) 25.50 51*0.5*1

Provided Meals

 Adults (3) -66.00 -(10+12)*3

 

Children 

(1) -11.00 -(10+12)*0.5

Total Day #1 101.50

 

Day #2 (8/29/05)

Lodging 62.50 125/2 (Other half on employee’s AD 616)

Per Diem

 Adults (3) 153.00 51*3

 

Children 

(1) 25.50 51*0.5*1

Total Day #2 241.00

B-1 
DR 2300-004 March 6, 2006 

Appendix B

Total Evacuation Subsistence Costs:

Lodging 62.50

Per Diem 357.00

Less Meals -77.00

Total 342.50

 

Agency Designated Safe Haven Subsistence: 

Per Diem

Days 3-8 (8/30-9/4)

 Adults (3) 918.00 51*3*6

 

Children 

(1) 153.00 51*0.5*1*6

Provided Meals

 Adults (3) -78.00 -26*3

 

Children 

(1) -13.00 -26*1*0.5

Total Days 3-8 980.00

 

Days 9-14 (9/5-9/10)

 Adults (3) 918.00 51*3*6

 

Children 

(1) 153.00 51*0.5*6

Total Days 9-14 1,071.00

 

Days 15-32 (9/11-9/28) 

 Adults (4) 2,631.60 51*3*16 + 51*3*2*.6

 

Children 

(1) 438.60 51*0.5*16 + 51*.3*2

Total Days 15-32 3,070.20

 

Days 33-42 (9/29-10-8) 0.00

 

Days 43-54 (10/9-10/19)

 Adults (1) 336.6 51*1*0.6*11

 

Days 55-83 (10/20-11/17) 

 Adults (3) 2662.2 51*3*0.6*29

 

Children 

(1) 443.7 51*0.3*29

Total Days 55-83 3,105.90

 

Total Safe Haven Subsistence Costs:

Lodging 0.00

Per Diem 8,654.70

Less Meals -91.00

Less Prepaid Card 

Advance -3,000.00

Total 5,563.70

B-2 
March 6, 2006 DR 2300-004

Appendix B

 

Employee (Travel System) 

Evacuation Subsistence: 

 Cost Item Calculation Comments 

Day #1 (8/28/05)

Lodging 0.00 Stayed with relative ($0 cost) 

Per Diem 51.00 51-10-12 

Less Meals -22.00 -10-12 Breakfast & Lunch 

Transportation 300.00 Mileage for personally owned vehicle 

Day #2 (8/29/05)

Lodging 62.50 125/2

Per Diem 51.00 

 

Total Evacuation Costs 

Lodging 62.50

Per Diem 102.00

Less Meals -22.00

Transportation 300.00

Total 442.50

Agency Designated Safe Haven Subsistence: 

Lodging 6,000.00 2000*3 Receipt Required

 

Days 3-8 8/30 – 9/4 

 Per Diem 306.00 51*6 

 Less Meals -38.00 -26-12 Dinner and lunch 

Net Per Diem 268.00 

 

Days 9-14 0.00 9/5 - 9/10 

 

Employee on travel. Costs reimbursed under FTR 

rules. 

 

Days 15-32 (9/11 - 9/28) 

Per Diem 877.2 +51*16+51*.6*2 Reduced per diem takes affect on day 31

 

Days 33-42 0.00 (9/29 - 10/8) 

 Nobody at Agency designated safe haven

 

Days 43-83 1,224.00 51*0.6*40 Reduced per diem 

 

Total Employee Safe Haven Subsistence Costs: 

Lodging 6,000.00

Per Diem 2,407.20

Less Meals 38.00

Total 8,445.20 

B-3 
DR 2300-004 March 6, 2006 

Appendix B

B-4