INDIAN TRIBAL GOVERNMENTS, LOCAL GOVERNMENTS AND CERTAIN PRIVATE NON-PROFITS (PNPs)

The New York State Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services (DHSES) is pleased to announce the availability of Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP) funds for Presidential Declaration: DR-4615 (Remnants of Hurricane Ida).

(To disseminate program information to the widest possible audience, DHSES places program information on its website and asks that County Emergency Managers, Mitigation Coordinators, and other recipients of this notice to forward the information to interested eligible subapplicants.)

* Please note: Advance Assistance applications are eligible through this funding opportunity up to the federally allowed maximum amount of $10,000,000. Additionally, 5 Percent Initiative applications are also eligible through this funding opportunity. All program requirements are available in FEMA’s Hazard Mitigation Assistance (HMA) Unified Guidance and Addendum.

What is the HMGP?

After a Presidential disaster declaration, New York State receives HMGP funds to administer grant programs that support hazard mitigation planning and long-term mitigation measures that avoid loss of life, reduce damages to property and enhance the State’s resiliency.

• The State of New York, acting through DHSES, is the applicant for FEMA’s HMGP.

• Eligible subapplicants: Federally recognized Indian Tribal Governments, local governments (to include State-recognized Indian Tribes and authorized Indian Tribal organizations), and certain Private Non-Profits (PNPs) that perform a government-like function. Eligible applicants under FEMA’s Public Assistance (PA) program are also eligible subapplicants under the HMGP.

• Ineligible subapplicants for HMGP assistance include individuals and businesses; however, eligible subapplicants may apply on their behalf.

• FEMA’s planning requirement must be met by all subapplicants at the time of project approval.

• HMGP provides up to 75% reimbursement of eligible costs, not to exceed the award. The remaining 25% non-federal match will be the responsibility of the subapplicant. The non-federal cost share may consist of cash, donated or in-kind services, materials, or any combination thereof. While most Federal funds cannot be used for the non-federal match, there are some exceptions.¹

• Information about the HMGP and all program requirements are available in FEMA’s Hazard Mitigation Assistance (HMA) Unified Guidance and Addendum (see link to guidance under “How to Apply” at the end of this announcement).

• HMGP funded projects must be cost-effective through verification that future benefits (losses avoided) are equal to or greater than the project’s cost.

To receive HMGP funding, FEMA requires that a project be proven cost-effective using FEMA’s Benefit-Cost Analysis (BCA) Toolkit.² If a formal BCA achieving a Benefit Cost Ratio (BCR) of 1.0 or greater (with supporting documentation) is not provided, substantive information to demonstrate that a BCR of 1.0 or greater is achievable must be included. Either instance requires supporting documentation, including but not limited to: a completed NYS DHSES BCA Worksheet, documentation of historical damages (which may include a detailed attestation by a community official), copies of invoices, Project Worksheets (PWs) from FEMA’s Public Assistance (PA) program, likelihood of future damages (including the population impacted).

State Priorities for Project Grants

The HMGP allows NYS to establish priorities that target damaged areas and enhance its resiliency posture by promoting strategies and activities identified in the NYS Standard Multi-Hazard Mitigation Plan (https://mitigateny.availabs.org/strategies) For this grant opportunity, HMGP funding will be available statewide for new subapplications and for resubmittals of projects previously deemed eligible by FEMA but unable to be funded through prior grant opportunities. All projects submitted will be ranked against each other based on priorities outlined below.

Following subapplication development, complete, eligible subapplications will be scored based on priorities below and detailed further in the attached Subapplication Development document. While scoring will not take place until after subapplications are submitted, it is recommended that subapplicants review these priorities and use the screening criteria during the subapplication development process.

Justice40 Initiative:

In accordance with the guiding principle of promoting equity and in implementing the Justice40 Initiative, the HMGP program is prioritizing assistance that benefits disadvantaged communities as referenced in Presidential Executive Order 14008. A disadvantaged community may be characterized by variables including, but not limited to: Low income; high and/or persistent poverty; high unemployment and underemployment; racial and ethnic segregation, particularly where the segregation stems from discrimination by government entities; linguistic isolation; high housing cost burden and substandard housing; distressed neighborhoods; high transportation cost burden and/or low transportation access; disproportionate environmental stressor burden and high cumulative impacts; limited water and sanitation access and affordability; disproportionate impacts from climate; high energy cost burden and low energy access; jobs lost through the energy transition; access to health care; and all geographic areas within Tribal jurisdictions.

As a result of New York State support of the federal Justice40 Initiative, DHSES is prioritizing projects that benefit the highest-risk communities and underserved populations within the State. Subapplicants are encouraged to make their case that a proposed project benefits disadvantaged communities (as outlined in the paragraph above). All cases submitted with disadvantaged community identification will be considered when supported utilizing predefined datasets (ex: SVI, ACS, NRI, etc.), supporting documents (ex: income surveys, local employment statistics, etc.), or any reasonable, and/or verifiable measure are used to support the high-risk criteria status determination. The final acceptance/approval of any disadvantaged community case will be determined by FEMA.

State Priorities for Planning Grants

There are 3 funding opportunities available through this announcement:

1. County Plan Updates

2. County Plan Enhancements

3. Planning Related Activities

County Plan Updates:

Subapplications for formal Hazard Mitigation planning and plan updates will be prioritized before planning related activities under this funding announcement.

Preference for formal hazard mitigation planning and plan updates will be prioritized for counties that:

1. Do not have a current, FEMA approved Hazard Mitigation Plan.

2. Have existing plans that expire prior to the plans of other subapplicants.

3. Do not have secured grant funding in place for development of a Hazard Mitigation Plan.

4. Do not have anticipated funding in place for development of a Hazard Mitigation Plan.

Funding may be prorated based on available funds; however, total dollars requested may not exceed HMGP established planning limits based on county population as follows:

County Plan Enhancements:

The significant impact of climate change on communities across New York State continues to rise and must be addressed. Additionally, disadvantaged communities and populations tend to be adversely impacted by natural hazards, disasters and public health emergencies. DHSES encourages all counties, those with an approved Hazard Mitigation Plan and those coming due, to take advantage of a unique opportunity to conduct Plan Enhancement activities. This enhanced funding opportunity is intended for applicants choosing to address efforts to combat climate hazard conditions and emergencies, including pandemics, with a priority focus on disadvantaged communities and populations and link planning work directly to identifying risks, response activities and ultimately prioritizing hazard mitigation projects for those disadvantaged communities and populations.

Planning Related Activities:

Planning-related activities that are not formal plan updates will be scored based on the prioritization criteria for projects. For a complete list of eligible planning activities, see page 39 of the Hazard Mitigation Assistance Guidance (see link below). For supplemental guidance on eligible planning related activities, please see: https://www.fema.gov/sites/default/files/documents/fema_hma-planning-related-activities factsheet.pdf

How to Apply

Complete subapplications must be submitted to DHSES no later than 5:00pm, on May 4, 2022. For resubmittals of projects previously deemed eligible by FEMA, please be sure to submit using the application package for DR-4615 (see link below).

Subapplications, all required forms, and guidance materials can be found on the DHSES website at: www.dhses.ny.gov/recovery.

Please submit requests for technical assistance and/or questions to: [email protected]

Links for sites referenced in this announcement:

• FEMA’s 2015 Hazard Mitigation Assistance (HMA) Unified Guidance: www.dhses.ny.gov/recovery/mitigation/documents/FY-2015-HMA-Unified-Guide.pdf

• FEMA’s 2015 Hazard Mitigation Assistance (HMA) Unified Guidance addendum at: www.dhses.ny.gov/recovery/mitigation/documents/FY-2015-Addendum-HMA-Unified-Guide.pdf

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¹ Please consult FEMA’s cost share guide (https://www.fema.gov/sites/default/files/2020-08/fema_hma_cost-share-guide.pdf) for more information.

² Visit FEMA’s Benefit Cost Analysis website for more information: https://www.fema.gov/grants/guidance-tools/benefit-cost-analysis