FEMA Designates $700 Million in Hazard Mitigation

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has selected the sub-applications for the $700 million being made available in fiscal year 2020 (FY20) for Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) and Flood Mitigation Assistance (FMA) grant programs.

These FEMA programs provide funding to states, tribes, territories and local governments for eligible mitigation activities to strengthen the nation’s ability to reduce disaster losses and protect properties from disaster damage.

“Mitigation is an investment that makes a real difference in our communities,” said FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell. “We’re seeing the effects of climate change now. We must continue to identify opportunities to combat the impacts of climate change and help our communities become more resilient against the threats of future disasters.”

These FY20 selections are a first for the BRIC program which was authorized by Section 1234 of the Disaster Recovery Reform Act of 2018, which “Authorizes the National Public Infrastructure Pre-Disaster Mitigation fund, which is funded through the Disaster Relief Fund as a 6% set aside from estimated disaster grant expenditures. This allows for a greater investment in mitigation before a disaster.”

FEMA has reviewed sub-applications to ensure that they are eligible, long-term, cost-effective and technically feasible in reducing the impacts of hazards. A sub-application can be determined as one of three categories: “Identified for Further Review,” “Not Selected” or “Does not Meet HMA Requirements.”

FEMA regions will work with applicants to conduct programmatic reviews of the selected “Identified for Further Review” sub-applications before making a final decision for funding.

Through the FEMA Grants Outcomes (FEMA GO) system, FEMA will notify applicants and sub-applicants that a determination has been made regarding the status of their FY20 grant application.

The top five project types selected for BRIC by total project cost are:

• Flood control: $550 million
• Utility/infrastructure protection: $91.3 million
• Wildfire management: $49.3 million
• Relocation: $21.9 million
• Saferoom/shelters: $15.2 million

The top five project types selected for FMA total project cost are:

• Flood control: $187.7 million
• Elevation: $159.3 million
• Acquisition: $75.2 million
• Relocation: $11.8 million
• Mitigation reconstruction: $8.3 million