The Virginia Department of Emergency Management announced that 53 hazard mitigation project applications were submitted to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) under two grant programs.
These projects total over $326 million and demonstrates the increased interest in taking pre-disaster actions to reduce risk from future disasters
Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities
The BRIC grant program prioritizes project applications that reduce the risk states, local communities, and tribes face from disasters and natural hazards. BRIC is a new FEMA pre-disaster hazard mitigation program that replaces the Pre-Disaster Mitigation program. The guiding principles of BRIC are to support communities through capability and capacity building; encourage and enable innovation; promote partnerships; and enable large projects. VDEM submitted 26 applications for local governments, six applications for Planning District Commissions, three applications for state agencies, and one application for the Pamunkey Indian Tribe.
Virginia was one of five states to submit over $200 million in project applications.
Flood Mitigation Assistance
The Flood Mitigation Assistance (grant provides funding to states, localities, and federally recognized tribes and territories to reduce or eliminate the risk of repetitive flood damage to buildings insured by the National Flood Insurance Program. Through the application process, the commonwealth submitted a total of 17 project applications, including 13 applications to support local governments and quasi-government agencies and four applications on behalf of state agencies. Virginia was one of eight states to submit over $10 million in project applications.
“We will continue to pursue funding avenues that provide necessary resources to localities for preparedness and mitigation efforts,” said Secretary of Public Safety and Homeland Security Brian J. Moran. “I am proud of the work VDEM does on behalf of the Commonwealth and their demonstrated commitment to prevention and preparedness efforts.”
“Virginia continues to be active in supporting communities in seeking funding to reduce risk to vulnerable populations,” said Curtis Brown, State Coordinator of Emergency Management. “VDEM is partnering with the Virginia Modeling and Simulation Center to do a series of workshops focused on equity, flood risk, and vulnerable populations this year in hopes to generate additional projects in these vulnerable communities this year and in the future.”
For a full list of project applications submitted to FEMA, please visit our website BRIC/FMA Report for a full list of applications submitted to FEMA.
Based on FEMA’s press release dated March 17, 2021, there is a total of $700 million available in funding for both nationally competitive grant programs. FEMA received 1,216 project applications for a total of 3.99 billion in funding across the two non-disaster programs. FEMA will publish projects that are selected for further review in the summer of 2021. VDEM anticipates opening the application cycle for FY 21 in the late summer.
For additional information on mitigation grant funding opportunities, contact Debbie Messmer, VDEM State Hazard Mitigation Officer, at [email protected]
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