FEMA Releases Funding Notice for Mitigation Grants

WASHINGTON, Aug. 29 -- The U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Federal Emergency Management Agency issued the following news release:

FEMA is announcing $410 million in funding is available through two Fiscal Year 2019 Hazard Mitigation Assistance grant programs: Pre-Disaster Mitigation and Flood Mitigation Assistance.

These competitive grant programs assist state, tribal and territorial governments to reduce disaster losses and protect life and property from future disaster damages.

The Disaster Recovery Reform Act of 2018 allows FEMA to set aside 6 percent of estimated annual disaster expenses for pre-disaster mitigation grants. For this grant cycle, $250 million is available. That amount also includes $20 million that is set aside for federally recognized tribal governments.

For flood mitigation grants, $160 million is available to implement measures to reduce or eliminate risk of flood damage to insured structures. These grants are funded by the National Flood Insurance Program.

Potential applicants can review the Notice of Funding Opportunity for details such as eligibility, funding guidelines and evaluation criteria at https://www.fema.gov/media-library/resources-documents/collections/729. The application period will open Sept. 30. Eligible applicants must apply for funding through the Mitigation eGrants system on the FEMA Grants Portal accessible at https://www.fema.gov/application-submittal. All applications must be submitted no later than 3 p.m. EST, Jan. 31, 2020. Each program's funding notice is available online at www.grants.gov and FEMA.gov.

FEMA is offering a series of informational webinars for interested applicants to provide an overview of the grant programs and details about the agency's funding priorities and review process. The first information webinar is scheduled for 2 p.m. EDT, Wednesday, Sept. 4.

Additional webinars are also scheduled about the eGrants program for subapplicants or new users and "Avoiding Application Pitfalls." For a complete list of dates and times, visit https://www.fema.gov/2019-nofo-webinar-schedule-hazard-mitigation-assistance-grants.