FEMA Announces Application Period for $1.16 Billion to Build Resilient Infrastructure, Includes Flood Mitigation
FEMA announced it published funding notices for two hazard mitigation grant programs for $1.16 billion to combat climate change and protect underserved communities against disaster hazards.
The Flood Mitigation Assistance and the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) aim to provide funds to states, local communities, tribes and territories. The application period for the BRIC and Flood Mitigation Assistance grants opens on Sept. 30 and the funding notices are available on Grants.gov, according to FEMA’s press release.
According to the press release, these programs fund projects that: invest in resilience; reduce disaster suffering; and avoid future disaster costs, especially in disadvantaged communities that face more severe floods, wildfires and hurricanes.
“It is critical that as we work to address climate change, we are doing so in a way that ensures equity in the delivery of our programs,” said FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell in the press release. “By altering the criteria for the programs, we aim to reach more underserved and at-risk communities, which are often disproportionately impacted by climate change, and provide them with the necessary means to make them more resilient for the next disaster.”
This announcement follows the announcement of the post-disaster $3.46 billion in Hazard Mitigation Grant Program assistance for hazard mitigation measures across the 59 major disaster declarations issued due to the COVID-19 global pandemic.
The Flood Mitigation Assistance grant amount this year is $160 million, and FEMA will use the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Social Vulnerability Index as a selection factor in its scoring process for the Flood Mitigation Assistance grants. According to FEMA, underserved populations will receive more points for projects that benefit their communities.
FEMA has also doubled to 20 the number of communities that can receive help with project development, according to the press release.
Eligible applicants must apply for funding using FEMA Grants Outcomes. Applications must be submitted in the FEMA Grants Outcome Portal no later than 3 p.m. ET on Jan. 28, 2022. Applications received by FEMA after this deadline will not be considered.
Interested applicants should contact their hazard mitigation officer for more information. For more information visit FEMA.gov.
