FEMA announces $1.16 billion for FY 2021 Hazard Mitigation Assistance Grants
Key Takeaways
On August 9, the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) announced the Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for $1.16 billion in FY 2021 Hazard Mitigation Assistance (HMA) grants. States and localities will be eligible to apply for Flood Mitigation Assistance (FMA) and the new Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) pre-disaster mitigation grants. The application period opens on September 30, 2021 and will close on January 28, 2022. To view the funding notices please visit Grants.gov.
$1 billion is made available for BRIC, which provides funding to states and localities to implement pre-disaster mitigation activities that reduce risk and disaster costs and increase the resilience of critical infrastructure lifelines. For FY21, the scoring criteria has been adjusted to incentivize mitigation actions that consider climate change and future conditions, populations impacted and economically disadvantaged communities.
FEMA is also making $160 million available through FMA grants to help localities implement changes to reduce or eliminate risk of flood damage to structures insured by the National Flood Insurance Program. The program will use the Centers for Disease Controls’ Social Vulnerability Index as a selection factor in its competitive scoring process, which will prioritize applications from underserved communities.
FEMA will be offering a series of informational webinars for applications to provide an overview of the grant programs and details about the agency’s funding priorities and review process. For those interested in attending, you can check out the full webinar schedule at FEMA.gov and register for webinars of interest here.
Featured Initiative
Resilient Counties Initiative
NACo works to strengthen county resiliency by building leadership capacity to identify and manage risk, and allow counties to become more flexible and responsive.
House draft bill text proposes FEMA reform package with major wins for counties
This week, the U.S. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee’s Economic Development, Public Buildings and Emergency Management Subcommittee released draft bill text for a sweeping Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) reform package aimed at improving disaster response, streamlining aid and increasing local flexibility—reflecting many long-standing county priorities.
County Countdown – April 21, 2025
Every other week, NACo's County Countdown reviews top federal policy advocacy items with an eye towards counties and the intergovernmental partnership. This week features the ARPA reporting deadline, a budget reconciliation update and more
FEMA halts disaster mitigation grant program
On April 4, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) announced it will not allocate $750 million this year for the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) grant program. According to the press release, FEMA will also stop funding BRIC projects that were previously approved and are still underway.
County Countdown – March 25, 2025
Every other week, NACo's County Countdown reviews top federal policy advocacy items with an eye towards counties and the intergovernmental partnership. This week features budget reconciliation, FY 2025 funding and more.
NACo testifies on the critical role of counties in disasters
NACo Intergovernmental Disaster Reform Task Force Co-Chair and Harris County, Texas Commission Adrian Garcia testifies before the House Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings and Emergency Management.
Faster, Smarter Disaster Relief: How LA County Used AI & Geospatial Mapping to Deliver $20M in Aid
Key Takeaways:
- Strategies for incorporating geospatial technology in disaster planning and response.
- Techniques for using identity verification tools to balance security and accessibility.
- Best practices for building public-private partnerships in times of crisis.