MUNICIPALITIES

Subject to Article 25-AAA of the Agriculture and Markets Law, applications will be accepted exclusively from municipalities on a continuous basis and will remain open until such time as available funds are fully committed, or the RFA is closed. Approximately $500,000 of State financial assistance may be awarded in the form of matching grants to municipalities to support amendments to municipal laws affecting agricultural lands, farm operations, or farmland protection. New York State municipalities that are located within a county which has established an agricultural and farmland protection board are eligible to submit applications for funding under this RFA. Municipalities include cities, towns and villages. Furthermore, each proposed project must be endorsed for funding by the agricultural and farmland protection board for the county in which the municipality is located.

The New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets (the “Department”) invites applications for financial assistance only from municipalities specifically to:

(1) remove unreasonable restrictions from municipal land use and subdivision regulations, zoning, and site plan requirements pertaining to agricultural land and farm operations,

AND/OR

2) establish an implementation-ready Transfer of Development Rights (TDR) program for farmland protection.

Municipalities must provide a twenty-five percent (25%) match of cash or in-kind services. A minimum of twenty percent (20%) of that match must be cash.

For an application, contact: Department of Agriculture and Markets c/o David Behm, at the above address. David Behm may be reached at (518) 485-7729, or [email protected] or, please visit the New York State Grants Gateway (https://grantsgateway.ny.gov/IntelliGrants_NYSGG/module/nysgg/goportal.aspx) or the Department’s website at http://www.agriculture.ny.gov/RFPS.html.

COUNTIES TO DEVELOP OR UPDATE HAZARD MITIGATION PLANS

Letters of Intent Due: Wednesday, January 15 by 11:59:59 pm (see details below)

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 associated with two Presidential Disaster Declarations:

• DR-4111: New York Severe Winter Storm and Snowstorm (declared April 23, 2013);

• DR-4129: New York Severe Storms and Flooding (declared July 10, 2013).

What is the HMGP?

After a Presidential disaster declaration, FEMA provides HMGP funds for States to administer grant programs that support local hazard mitigation planning and long-term hazard mitigation measures to reduce the loss of life and damage to improved property from natural disasters. The State of New York, acting through DHSES, is the applicant for FEMA’s HMGP. More information about the HMGP, including all FEMA requirements, is available at www.dhses.ny.gov/oem/mitigation/documents/FY2011-HMA-Unified_Guidance.pdf.

Please note: Additional FEMA mitigation programs are generally announced each spring, subject to Congressional appropriation:. These programs are currently closed, and are not made available with this canvass.

Hazard Mitigation Planning Grants

The State seeks to fund requests that create or update county-wide plans, or bring communities currently without a plan (or with a single-jurisdiction plan) under an existing county plan. Sub-applicants are encouraged to carefully review FEMA’s March 2013 “Local Mitigation Planning Book” (available at www.fema.gov/library/viewRecord.do?id=7209) and DHSES’s “2012 NYS Hazard Mitigation Planning Standards” (see www.dhses.ny.gov/oem/mitigation/documents/hazard-mit-plan-standards2012.pdf).

The State has established the following funding caps (75% Federal share) for mitigation planning grants based on the number of residents to be covered by the final mitigation plan:

The State will not provide grants that update or augment:

• stand-alone single-jurisdiction mitigation plans;

• county plans that do not assess impacts to all jurisdictions within the county;

• single-jurisdiction or county plans covered by an existing open mitigation planning grant;

Hazard Mitigation Project Grants

New York State is currently administering its largest-ever HMGP cycle associated with Superstorm Sandy. DHSES will use the HMGP monies associated with DR-4111 and DR-4129 to support Sandy HMGP projects consistent with the Governor’s resiliency objectives and initiatives.

How to Apply

Interested eligible sub-applicants must use the Letters of Intent (LOIs) available on DHSES’s webpage (see www.dhses.ny.gov/oem/mitigation) to register for available county-wide mitigation plan grants.

LOIs must be received at [email protected] by 11:59:59 on Wednesday, January 15, 2014.

Please note: An LOI is not an application, nor is it a guarantee of funding. Submitted LOIs will be used to establish an organization’s interest and to assist in identifying projects that may be funded under HMGP. Applicants who do not submit an LOI by the due date cannot move to the application development phase.

DHSES may also make available funds for State agencies and authorities to implement mitigation measures, including those identified in the “New York State Standard Multi-Hazard Mitigation Plan” or in the reports and findings of the NYS Ready Commission, the NYS Respond Commission, and the NYS 2100 Commission.

If you have questions or need further information, please visit www.dhses.ny.gov/oem/mitigation or telephone 1-855-NYS-SANDY (855-697-7263).