FEDERALLY RECOGNIZED INDIAN TRIBAL GOVERNMENTS, LOCAL GOVERNMENTS AND CERTAIN PRIVATE NON-PROFITS

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-4480 (COVID-19).

* 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.

NYS DHSES staff are available upon request to provide technical assistance. NYS DHSES encourages applicants to submit initial applications as soon as possible.

What is the HMGP?

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

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

• Eligible subapplicants include 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 funded projects must be cost-effective through verification that future benefits (losses avoided) are equal to or greater than the project’s cost (see more on this on page 2).

• 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 (February 27, 2015).

State Priorities for Project Grants

The HMGP allows NYS to establish priorities for each event. The State priorities for DR-4480 COVID-19 target disadvantaged communities and socially vulnerable areas and enhance resiliency postures by promoting strategies and activities identified in the NYS Standard Multi-Hazard Mitigation Plan. HMGP funding will be available statewide and will be based on the Prioritization Criteria listed below. The NYS Standard Multi-Hazard Mitigation Plan is available at https://mitigateny.availabs.org/strategies

To be eligible for 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).

Following application development, complete and eligible applications will be scored based on priorities below.

Applicants that previously submitted projects under Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) and /or Flood Mitigation Assistance (FMA) 2020 and were determined eligible by FEMA and not funded are strongly encouraged to apply.

The COVID-19 Disaster pertains to all of New York State. Therefore, all counties are eligible for this funding opportunity. Please note that there is not a federal funding cap associated with this grant opportunity.

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 condition of receiving this funding, Recipients and Subrecipients must focus the use of FEMA funding on the highest-risk communities and underserved populations as determined by established measures of social and economic disadvantage using the CDCs Social Vulnerability Index (SVI). The US Census Bureau also contains additional Select Social, Economic and Housing Characteristic data that may be used to support high-risk criteria.

For a complete list of eligible project types, see page 33 of the Hazard Mitigation Assistance Guidance (February 27, 2015).

The FEMA Mitigation Action Portfolio includes examples of innovative projects that address many types of natural hazards and is located at: https://www.fema.gov/sites/default/files/2020-08/fema_mitigation-action-portfolio-support-document_08-01-2020_0.pdf

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:

Applications for planning grants for formal hazard mitigation planning and plan updates will be prioritized.

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

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

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

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 (February 27, 2015). 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

Guidance Documents including the Project Application and the Planning Application, and other resources can be found on DHSES’ website at: www.dhses.ny.gov/recovery/

• 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

Additional Requirements

Pursuant to “Executive Order on Ensuring an Equitable Pandemic Response and Recovery,” Executive Order 13995 of January 21, 2021, as a condition of the financial assistance, each state, territory, tribal and local government must focus the use of FEMA funding on the highest-risk communities and underserved populations as determined by established measures of social and economic disadvantage and prioritize limited resources to ensure an equitable pandemic response. Recipients must ensure that subrecipients receiving FEMA financial assistance collect and store data necessary to ensure equitable delivery of assistance and for recipients to demonstrate to FEMA compliance with federal civil rights laws. All recipients must provide this data to FEMA upon request or as directed by applicable FEMA policy. This grant condition will be monitored by FEMA in concert with the obligations set-forth in 44 C.F.R. part 7, the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, 29 U.S.C. § 794, Age Discrimination Act of 1975, 42 U.S.C. § 6101 et seq., Executive Order 13166, Improving Access to Services for Persons with Limited English Proficiency, Executive Order 12898, Environmental, and 42 U.S.C. § 5151. See FEMA Advisories, Civil Rights Data Collection (link) and Civil Rights Considerations During COVID-19 Vaccination Distribution Efforts (link) for additional information.

Technical Assistance and Questions

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

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 forward the information to interested eligible subapplicants. For more information, please visit www.dhses.ny.gov/recovery/

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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