A joint effort from U.S. Sens. Gary Peters (D-MI) and Bill Cassidy (R-LA) last week yielded the Hazard Mitigation Projects Act, which would require the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to simplify requirements surrounding hazard mitigation grants.
“Too often, complex application requirements limit the ability of underserved communities to access critical hazard mitigation funding that helps protect people and property against disasters,” Peters, chairman of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, said. “This bipartisan legislation will help simplify the process and ensure communities in Michigan and across the United States will have the capacity to apply for critical FEMA funding.”
Hazard mitigation grant funds can be used for projects that reduce or eliminate long-term risks posed by natural hazards to people and property. As it stands, states, local governments, Tribes and territories (SLTTs) can generally request this funding from FEMA, but they need to provide a benefit-cost analysis (BCA) to demonstrate their projects’ cost effectiveness. According to the senators, feedback from those applicants over the years has denounced the BCA process as cumbersome and unnecessarily complex, disadvantaging already underserved communities.
The new legislation would require FEMA to create strategies to reduce those complexities and report to Congress on how it has implemented those strategies. Part of that evaluation would require FEMA consult with those actually impacted: SLTTs and non-profit partners. Cost efficacy requirements on grants themselves and other eligibility requirements would remain the same.
“Louisiana communities need less bureaucratic red tape to better access the resources needed to build protections against natural disasters,” Cassidy said. “Our bill makes it easier to apply for grants to fund resiliency projects.”
The Hazard Mitigation Projects Act was backed by organizations including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, BuildStrong Coalition, National Association of Counties and Natural Hazard Mitigation Association, among others.