Congress has given local municipalities another instrument to use in the fight against the impact of natural hazards. With the signing of the Safeguarding Tomorrow Through Ongoing Risk Mitigation Act, or STORM Act, FEMA has been empowered to provide even more funding solutions to communities who are fighting to make their homeowners, businesses and other local organizations safer in the face of natural disasters.

The STORM Act amends existing legislation to allow the Federal Emergency Management Association (FEMA) to contribute funds to Revolving Loan Funds administered by individual States. Like other FEMA Grant-funding solutions (HMGP, FMA & the new BRIC Program) Grants awarded to applicants like local communities through these Revolving Loan Funds are intended to be used to mitigate the impact of natural hazards. These hazards include:

• Droughts
• Severe Storms (Hurricanes, Tornadoes, Wind Storms, Cyclones & Severe Winter Storms)
• Wildfires
• Earthquakes
• Flooding – Including construction, repair or replacement of non-Federal levees or other flood control structures designed appropriately and intended to prevent Shoreline Erosion, High Water Levels, Storm Surge(s)
• Zoning and Land Use Planning Changes – 10% of a grant may be used for these purposes

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Highlights of the Terms & Conditions for these Revolving Loan Funds include:

• $5,000,000 cap on grant awards on a per-project basis
• 1% interest rate – Repayment begins 1 year after project completion OR Repayment begins before 30 years after project completion in low-income Geographic areas

These Funds will be managed individually by States through their Emergency Management entities. Examples would be the Mississippi Emergency Management Association (MEMA) in Mississippi or the Louisiana Governor’s Office of Homeland Security (GOHSEP) in Louisiana.

 

Like stated goals and focuses of other forms of FEMA-funded Hazard Mitigation Assistance Grants, consideration for awarding projects applying for funding from the Revolving Loan Funds will be based on :

• Reduction of Future Damages and Losses from Natural Disasters
• Reduction in the number of both Repetitive Loss (RL) and Severe Repetitive Loss (SRL) Structures within the Project Area
• Improvement in the participating community’s ranking in the Community Rating System (CRS) through the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP).

 

Additional rules and regulations governing the administration and use of these Revolving Loan Funds and the STORM Act of 2020 will be forthcoming via printing in the Federal Register.

Our Team at Fenstermaker is focused on continued analysis and review of STORM Act along with other opportunities like BRIC, Louisiana Watershed Initiative (LWI) and CDBG-MIT in an ongoing effort to ensure our Municipal clients have access to the very latest in producing competitive grant applications, innovative project ideas and winning funding solutions to help pave the way to safer, more resilient communities for our future.

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