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Politics & Government

American Dream Café: Funds Available to Banish Flooding Issues Once and For All

FEMA grants offer opportunities to mitigate continual flooding problems.

       

If you’re tired of wringing out everything in your basement or lifting furniture and rugs off of the floor every time a hurricane descends upon the area and the river or brook threatens to knock on your front door, there may be funding available to help you permanently solve your flooding problems.

There are several programs available, but you have to sift through the criteria carefully.

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For instance, the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP) is a federally funded program administered by the state. But application begins at the local level, according to Mary Olsen, FEMA News Desk Manager in the Office of External Affairs.

“Property owners interested in taking steps to reduce risks from future disasters begin by expressing their interest to their municipal or county officials. If the officials decide to apply for an HMGP grant, they put together a proposal and submit it to the state,” said Olsen.

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She said state officials then make their choices from among all of the proposals sent to them, then FEMA reviews them to ensure that they are cost effective, conform to federal law, and address a continuing threat.

Olsen said, if the proposed work meets the criteria, FEMA will pay 75 percent of the cost and also provides state and local governments with administration funds to help cover the cost of implementing the projects.

The HMGP is just one of five programs available and it is specifically linked to presidential declared disasters, according to Michael Foley, Senior Hazard Mitigation Specialist for FEMA.

The funds can be used to elevate a home, acquire a home that is continually flooded, or install detention basins and storm water management projects, Foley said.

To apply for the HMGP funding, the state needs to apply to FEMA within one year of the date of the disaster declaration.

He said a property owner should outline what he or she would like to accomplish, preferably with a costenefit analysis, then submit it to the local municipality or county emergency management agency which will then submit it to the state as a letter of intent.

The other programs available for flood mitigation are: Flood Mitigation Assistance, Pre-Disaster Mitigation Grant, Repetitive Flood Claims, and Severe Repetitive Loss.

Foley said, even though funding is available not every applicant’s proposed project will be funded.

“There may be 50 million dollars worth of proposed projects, but we may only have $20 million in funding to distribute,” said Foley.

FEMA offers a home buyout program that offers fair market value for a home that is continually flooded. This program is a separate program from the Blue Acres program that is offered by the state.

He said a home that is purchased by FEMA must be demolished within 60 to 90 days and becomes designated ‘Open Space’ for perpetuity.

The property can then only be used for a park or other use that does not disturb or add soil to the landscape.

Foley said the rules about how this land can be used fall under the New Jersey Flood Plain Law. He said each municipality, by law, must have a flood plain administrator, though sometimes it is a role handled by the town’s building inspector.

He said the flood plain administrator is responsible for knowing the flood plain laws and enforcing them.

Foley said while there are a number of opportunities for assistance, often people affected by flooding or damage to their home are focused on the immediate disaster and are not paying attention to long term solutions.

He said but now is a good time to begin thinking long term because weather disasters are becoming more frequent, but whatever work is proposed, the applicant must show that it will prove to be cost-effective on a long term basis.  

Foley said, “In New Jersey, we’ve had six weather disasters in the last two to three years.”

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For more information about flood mitigation grants through FEMA, visit the Web site: http://www.fema.gov/government/grant/hma/index.shtm

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