SECTION 3. DISCUSSION

.01 Designation as a qualified disaster . The Commissioner, pursuant to a general delegation by the Secretary, has determined that the Derailment is an event of a catastrophic nature under § 139(c)(3). Therefore, the Derailment is a qualified disaster under § 139.

.02 Qualified disaster relief payments. As a result of the Commissioner’s determination, certain of the payments described in section 2 of this notice, which were made by the common carrier to affected individuals, are excluded from affected individuals’ gross income because the payments are qualified disaster relief payments. Specifically, the following types of payments to affected individuals are excludable from gross income as qualified disaster relief payments: payment or reimbursement of relocation expenses, including for hotels, meals, gas or other fuel, pet boarding, and replacement of clothing and other personal items, as well as payment or reimbursement of expenses for the repair and rehabilitation of homes and surrounding environment (for example power washing, air purifiers, air duct cleaning, and well-water testing), medical expenses, prescription medications, the one-time inconvenience payments of $1,000, and compensation to certain affected individuals who sold their homes if the sale was completed after the Derailment. The following types of payments are not qualified disaster relief payments and are includable in gross income: (1) payments made for the replacement of income, such as lost wages; (2) payments of any type made to businesses; or (3) payments made by the common carrier to access the track for remediation or to access creeks or streams for cleaning.