STATE AGENCIES, LOCAL GOVERNMENTS, AND INDIAN TRIBAL GOVERNMENTS

GENERAL HMA INFORMATION

The New York State Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services (DHSES) is the Applicant for Hazard Mitigation Assistance and eligible subapplicants must apply directly to DHSES. Eligible subapplicants include:

• State Agencies

• Local Governments

• Indian Tribal Governments (may also apply directly to FEMA as Applicants)

Individuals, businesses, and non-profit organizations are not eligible to apply for HMA funds; however, an eligible subapplicant may apply on behalf of individuals, businesses, and non-profit organizations.

Subapplicants must have a FEMA-approved Local Hazard Mitigation Plan by the application deadline and at the time of obligation of grant funds.

A cost share is required for all subapplications funded under HMA programs. The non-federal cost share may consist of cash, donated or third-part in-kind services, materials, or any combination thereof.

• The cost share for BRIC is 75 percent federal and 25 percent non-federal. Small, impoverished communities are eligible for an increase in cost share up to 90 percent federal and 10 percent non-federal (see page 9 of the BRIC NOFO for more information on small, impoverished communities).

• The cost share for FMA is generally 75 percent federal and 25 percent non-federal; however, FEMA may increase the cost share to 100 percent federal for severe repetitive loss (SRL) properties and 90 percent federal for repetitive loss (RL) properties (see pages 5-6 of the FMA NOFO for more information on RL/SRL property definitions).

Subapplicants who are awarded HMA funding are eligible for reimbursement of up to 5 percent of the total project award for eligible and reasonable indirect costs, direct administrative costs, and other administrative expenses associated with a specific mitigation measure or project. Subapplicants must add management cost activities to the Scope of Work section and identify a line item in the Cost Estimate section of the FEMA GO application.

For more information on eligible management cost activities, see page 18 of the BRIC NOFO and pages 12-13 of the FMA NOFO.

Eligible subapplicants will be notified by DHSES to proceed to subapplication development by October 7, 2020. All subapplications must be submitted through the FEMA’s new grants management system, FEMA Grants Outcome (FEMA GO). More information will be provided with the notice to proceed. For additional information and assistance with FEMA GO, visit FEMA's website.

BUILDING RESILIENT INFRASTRUCTURE AND COMMUNITIES (BRIC)

FEMA’s new Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) program replaces the Pre-Disaster Mitigation (PDM) program and prioritizes comprehensive, long-term risk reduction strategies that improve public infrastructure, mitigate risk to one or more Community Lifelines, incorporate nature-based solutions, and support adoption and enforcement of improved/modernized building codes.

Total Available Nationwide Funding for BRIC: $500,000,000

(1) Capability and Capacity Building (C&CB) Planning LOI

Total federal funding available: $33,600,000

New York State maximum allocation: $600,000* (federal share)

C&CB activities are those which enhance the knowledge, skills, expertise, etc., of the current workforce to expand or improve the administration of mitigation assistance.

Eligible activities include:

• Building codes activities

• Partnerships

• Project scoping

• Hazard Mitigation Planning

• Planning-related activities

*NYS will make available up to $600,000 for C&CB activities, $300,000 of which may be used for mitigation planning and planning-related activities.

Resources:

FEMA Program Support – Building Code Activities

FEMA Program Support – Partnership Activities

FEMA Program Support – Project Scoping Activities

FEMA Program Support – Mitigation Planning Activities

(2) Mitigation Projects Project LOI

Total federal funding available (nationally competitive): $446,400,000

Maximum project cost: $50,000,000 (federal share)

Subapplication limit for Applicants: Unlimited

Mitigation projects are those that are cost-effective and designed to increase resilience and public safety, reduce injuries and loss of life, and reduce damage and destruction to property, critical services, facilities, and infrastructure.

For more information on eligible project activities, please consult the 2015 FEMA HMA Guidance.

Resources:

FEMA Support - HMA Mitigation Action Portfolio

FEMA BCA Toolkit Version 6.0

Building Community Resilience with Nature-Based Solutions

Eligibility Criteria for Projects

• Mitigation projects must be technically feasible and proven cost-effective using FEMA’s Benefit-Cost Analysis (BCA) v6.0 software. All project applications must include a BCA containing all appropriate back-up documentation and:

о Address a problem that has been repetitive or that poses a risk to public health and safety and improved property if left unresolved;

о Contribute to a long-term solution to the problem it is intended to address; and

о Account for long-term changes to the areas and entities it protects and has manageable future maintenance and modification requirements.

• Mitigation projects must solve a problem independently or constitute a functional portion of a long-term solution for which there is assurance that the project as a whole will be completed or there is a reasonable plan and available funding for completion.

• If the mitigation project is located in a Special Flood Hazard Area (SFHA), the jurisdiction in which it falls must be a participating member of the National Flood Insurance Program that is not on probation, suspended, or withdrawn.

• Consideration should be given to high wind and continued sea level rise and ensure responsible floodplain and wetland management based on the history of flood mitigation efforts and the frequency and intensity of precipitation events.

For more information on eligibility criteria for projects, please consult pages 7-8 of the BRIC NOFO.

DHSES will review all subapplications for programmatic eligibility and completeness. All subapplications that pass the programmatic review will be ranked based on a review that is aligned with FEMA’s Evaluation Criteria and submitted to FEMA.

FEMA will also review all subapplications to ensure programmatic eligibility. Subapplications submitted to the national competition that pass the programmatic review will be scored with technical and qualitative evaluation criteria as described on page 19 of the BRIC NOFO.

For more details on the evaluation criteria that FEMA will use in the BRIC national competition, please see:

FEMA Program Support – Technical Criteria

FEMA Program Support – Qualitative Criteria

FEMA's BRIC Summer 2020 Engagement Series

FEMA Community Lifelines

FLOOD MITIGATION ASSISTANCE (FMA)

The Flood Mitigation Assistance (FMA) program makes federal funds available to reduce or eliminate the risk of repetitive flood damage to buildings and structures insured under the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP).

Total Available Nationwide Funding for FMA: $160,000,000

(1) Project Scoping (previously Advance Assistance) Planning LOI

Total federal funding available (nationally competitive): $4,000,000

New York State federal funding limit: $600,000 for all Project Scoping applications combined

Project Scoping activities develop community flood mitigation projects and/or individual flood mitigation projects that will subsequently reduce flood claims against the NFIP. Project scoping can be used to obtain data and to prioritize, select, and develop community flood mitigation projects and/or individual flood mitigation projects for future funding based on current FEMA-approved mitigation plans.

(2) Community Flood Mitigation Projects Project LOI

Total federal funding available (nationally competitive): $70M

Funding limit: $30M per subapplication

Community flood mitigation projects address community flood risk for the purpose of reducing NFIP flood claim payments. Examples include, but are not limited to:

• Localized flood control

• Floodwater storage and diversion

• Floodplain and stream restoration

• Stormwater management

• Wetland restoration/creation

(3) Flood Hazard Mitigation Planning Planning LOI

Funding limit: $100,000 for all subapplications combined ($50,000 cap for state subapplications and $25,000 cap for local subapplications)

Planning subapplications are for the flood hazard component of State, Local, Territory, and Tribal Hazard Mitigation Plans and plan updates.

(4) Individual Flood Mitigation Projects Project LOI

Individual Flood Mitigation projects mitigate the risk of flooding to individual NFIP-insured structures.

For more information on eligible criteria for projects, please consult page 21 of the FMA NOFO.

The State will review all subapplications for programmatic eligibility and completeness. All subapplications that pass the programmatic review will be ranked based on benefits to NFIP insured properties and submitted to FEMA.

Eligible subapplicants must submit Letters of Intent (LOIs) by September 30, 2020 to: [email protected]

Links to appropriate LOIs can be found at: www.dhses.ny.gov/recovery/

Please note: DHSES announced DR-4472 Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP) funding on August 24, 2020. LOIs submitted for DR-4472 HMGP will not be automatically applied for BRIC and/or FMA. Subapplicants are encouraged to submit eligible projects for all grant opportunities.