[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 48 (Tuesday, March 12, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 11117-11119]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-5832]


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FEDERAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY


Pre-Disaster Mitigation Program

AGENCY: Federal Insurance and Mitigation Administration, Federal 
Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

ACTION: Notice of availability of Pre-Disaster Mitigation grants.

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SUMMARY: FEMA gives notice of the availability of grants for fiscal 
year (FY) 2002 under the Pre-Disaster Mitigation (PDM) Program as 
authorized by section 203 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and 
Emergency Assistance Act (Stafford Act), 42 USC 5133, as amended by 
section 102 of the Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000 (DMA), Public Law 
106-390, 114 Stat. 1552. No State shall receive less than one percent 
of the $25M appropriated in FY 2002, as specified in section 203(f) of 
the Stafford Act for eligible State, local, and tribal activities. FEMA 
will contribute up to 75 percent of the cost of activities approved for 
funding. At least 25 percent of the total eligible costs must be 
provided from a nonfederal source. Grants awarded to small and 
impoverished communities may receive a Federal cost share of up to 90 
percent of the total cost to implement eligible PDM activities. A Small 
and Impoverished Community must meet all of the following criteria:
     It must be a community of 3,000 or fewer individuals that 
is identified by the State as a rural community, and is not a remote 
area within the corporate boundaries of a larger city;
     It must be economically disadvantaged, with residents 
having an average per capita annual income not exceeding 80 percent of 
national per capita income, based on best available data;
     It must have a local unemployment rate that exceeds by one 
percentage point or more, the most recently reported, average yearly 
national unemployment rate; and
     It must meet any other factors identified in the State 
Plan in which the community is located.

DATES: States are requested to submit a letter of intent to the 
appropriate FEMA Regional Director by March 30, 2002, including a list 
of communities they are targeting (i.e., identify potential sub-
grantees). States must submit a grant application and their assessment 
of the extent to which communities meet the criteria outlined in 
section 203(g) of the Stafford Act to the appropriate FEMA Regional 
Office by June 30, 2002.

ADDRESSES: FEMA Regional Offices:
    Serving the State of Maine, State of New Hampshire, State of 
Vermont, State of Rhode Island, State of Connecticut, and the 
Commonwealth of Massachusetts:

FEMA Region I

    442 J.W. McCormack POCH, Boston, MA 02109-4595.
    Serving the State of New York, State of New Jersey, the 
Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and the Territory of the U.S. Virgin 
Islands:

FEMA Region II

    26 Federal Plaza, Rm. 1337, New York, NY 10278-0002.
    Serving the District of Columbia, Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, 
Commonwealth of Virginia, and West Virginia:

FEMA Region III

    1 Independence Mall, 6th Floor, 615 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, 
PA 19106-4404.

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    Serving the States of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, 
Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee:

FEMA Region IV

    3003 Chamblee Tucker Road, Atlanta, GA 30341.
    Serving the States of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio 
and Wisconsin:

FEMA Region V

    536 S. Clark Street, 6th Floor, Chicago, IL 60605.
    Serving the States of Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma and 
Texas:

FEMA Region VI

    FRC 800 North Loop 288, Denton, TX 76201-3698.
    Serving Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, and Nebraska:

FEMA Region VII

    2323 Grand Avenue, Suite 900, Kansas City, MO 64108.
    Serving Colorado, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, and 
Wyoming:

FEMA Region VIII

    Denver Federal Center, Building 710, Box 25267, Denver, CO 80225-
0267.
    Serving the States of Arizona, California, Hawaii and Nevada; and 
the Territory of American Samoa, the Territory of Guam, the 
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the Republic of the 
Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, and the Republic 
of Palau:

FEMA Region IX

    Building 105, Presidio of San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94129-
1250.
    Serving the States of Alaska, Idaho, Oregon and Washington:

FEMA Region X

    Federal Regional Center, 130 228th Street, SW, Bothell, WA 98021-
979.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Margaret Lawless, Program Planning and 
Delivery Division, Federal Insurance and Mitigation Administration, 
FEMA, 500 C Street, SW., Room 401, Washington, DC 20472, (202) 646-3027 
or e-mail: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Appropriations

    Under Public Law 107-73, 115 Stat. 651, Departments of Veterans 
Affairs and Housing and Urban Development, and Independent Agencies 
Appropriations Act, 2002, we are issuing a Request for Application 
(RFA) to implement the PDM Program.

Background

    The PDM program provides funding for cost-effective hazard 
mitigation activities that complement comprehensive mitigation 
programs, reduce injuries, loss of life, and damage and destruction of 
property.
    Section 203 of the Stafford Act provided a deadline of October 1, 
2001 for States' submittal of recommendations for eligible communities 
to receive assistance. Since the president's budget request for FY 2002 
did not include funding for the program, FEMA did not feel that it was 
appropriate to request the States to recommend communities for 
assistance. FEMA has notified Congress that the deadline was not 
applied because enactment of FEMA's appropriations came after the 
deadline.
    It is anticipated that proposed program regulations will be 
available in 2002 and should be effective for next year's (FY 2003) PDM 
grants. Pending publication of our program regulations, we encourage 
States to focus their applications, including applications from local 
governments and tribes (sub-grantees), on the development of local 
mitigation plans or on cost-effective ``brick and mortar'' projects in 
communities where plans have already been developed. For FY 2002 funds, 
awards will be governed by section 203 of the Stafford Act, this 
notice, and program guidance, which will be made available to the 
public on the FEMA Internet site: www.fema.gov.

Applicant Eligibility

    A State or Indian tribal government is eligible to apply for 
assistance as a grantee.
    A local government or Indian tribal government is eligible to apply 
to the grantee for assistance as a sub-grantee. In order for flood 
prone communities to receive funds, applicants must be NFIP-
participating communities (if they have been mapped through the NFIP) 
and must be in good standing (not on probation or suspension).

Grant Application Process

    Local governments should consult the official designated point of 
contact in their State for more information on the process the State 
requires to be followed in applying for assistance.
    To apply for this grant, States are requested to submit a letter to 
the Regional Director expressing their intent to participate in the PDM 
Program for FY 2002. The letter must also include a list of which 
communities they are targeting (i.e., identify potential sub-grantees) 
based on a State prioritization that takes into consideration relevant 
criteria under section 203(g) of the Stafford Act.
    States must complete and submit to the appropriate FEMA Regional 
Office a grant application, which can be obtained from the FEMA 
Regional Office. The grant application should include:
     Application for Federal Assistance, Standard Form 424;
     Budget Information--Non-Construction Program, FEMA Form 
20-20;
     Summary Sheet for Assurances and Certification, FEMA Form 
20-16;
     Assurances--Non-Construction Program, FEMA Form 20-16A;
     Certification Regarding Lobbying; Debarment, Suspension 
and Other Responsible
     Matters; and Drug-Free Workplace Requirements, FEMA Form 
20-16C;
     Disclosure of Lobbying Activities, Standard Form LLL; and,
     Program Narrative identifying the activities for which 
funding is requested.
    The State should prioritize activities included in their Program 
Narrative taking into consideration relevant criteria under section 
203(g) of the Stafford Act. Mitigation projects should be ranked 
beginning with those that are most cost effective, consistent with OMB 
Circular A-94, Guidelines and Discount Rates for Benefit-Cost Analysis 
of Federal Programs. However, consideration should be made to complete 
mitigation projects within a geographic area when possible. In this 
case, supporting documentation should be submitted with the 
application. The Program Narrative should include the following:
     Individual activity location and name of sub-grantee;
     Activity title and number;
     Individual activity costs, including Federal and 
nonfederal shares;
     Activity specific scopes of work, including a list of 
properties, if applicable;
     Recommendations and documentation regarding the 
environmental review required by 44 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) 
part 10, Environmental Considerations, and other applicable laws and 
executive orders; and
     Certification that the State has evaluated the included 
projects, they meet all PDM Program eligibility criteria, and the 
projects will be implemented in accordance with 44 CFR part 13, Uniform 
Administrative

[[Page 11119]]

Requirements for Grants and Cooperative Agreements to State and Local 
Governments.
     State's assessment of the extent to which communities meet 
the relevant criteria under section 203(g) of the Stafford Act.

Eligible Activities

    44 CFR part 201, Hazard Mitigation Planning, establishes new 
criteria for State and local hazard mitigation planning, pursuant to 
section 322 of the Stafford Act, which will require local governments 
and Indian tribal governments applying for PDM funds through the States 
to have an approved local mitigation plan prior to the approval of 
mitigation project grants after November 1, 2003. Therefore, we 
encourage States to focus their FY 2002 PDM funding on the development 
of State and local multi-hazard mitigation plans in order to meet this 
future requirement. This may include developing countywide or multi-
jurisdictional plans (must be adopted by all jurisdictions included), 
since many issues are better resolved by evaluating hazards in a more 
comprehensive fashion. Eligible activities under this grant are:
     Management costs. Grantees may use up to $50,000 of their 
PDM funds to assist in soliciting and reviewing PDM applications and 
for providing technical assistance to sub-applicants.
     Information dissemination. Up to 10 percent of the funds 
awarded to States may be used to disseminate information regarding 
cost-effective mitigation technologies, such as marketing, outreach, 
training and education.
     Planning. PDM funds may be used to develop State, tribal, 
and local multi-hazard (to include man-made) mitigation plans which 
meet the planning criteria outlined in 44 CFR part 201.
     Technical assistance. Sub-grantee activities to support 
the development of comprehensive project applications are eligible.
     Mitigation projects. A mitigation project is any action 
that results in elimination or long-term reduction of damages to public 
or private property from natural hazards, and may include property 
acquisition or relocation, consistent with 44 CFR 206.434(e) and 
related guidance; structural and non-structural retrofitting; minor 
structural hazard control or protection projects; and, localized flood 
control projects. Mitigation projects must also meet the following 
general criteria:
    (1) Be in conformance with an existing FEMA-approved State hazard 
mitigation plan;
    (2) Be in conformance with 44 CFR part 9, Floodplain Management and 
Protection of Wetlands, and 44 CFR part 10, consistent with 44 CFR part 
206, subpart N, Hazard Mitigation Grant Program, section 434(b)(3);
    (3) Solve a problem independently or constitute a functional 
portion of a solution where there is assurance that the project as a 
whole will be completed, consistent with 44 CFR 206.434(c)(4);
    (4) Be cost-effective and substantially reduce the risk of future 
damage, hardship, loss, or suffering resulting from a major disaster, 
consistent with 44 CFR 206.434(c)(5) and related guidance;
    (5) Not duplicate the assistance that another Federal agency or 
program has the primary authority to provide, consistent with 44 CFR 
206.434(g);
    (6) Be located physically in a participating NFIP community that is 
not on probation or suspended (if the community has been mapped through 
the NFIP); and,
    (7) Meet the requirements of applicable Federal, State, and local 
laws.

Reporting Requirements

    The States are required to submit quarterly financial and 
performance reports 30 days after the end of each quarter, per 44 CFR 
13.40 and 41. Reporting dates are: January 30, April 30, July 30, and 
October 30. The performance reports will provide a comparison of actual 
accomplishments to the objectives approved for the period. Where the 
output of the project can be quantified, that information shall be 
provided. The States must also report the progress of each sub-grantee 
award in their quarterly reports. In addition, final financial and 
performance reports are required 90 after the close of the grant, per 
44 CFR 13.50.

    Dated: March 5, 2002.
Robert F. Shea,
Deputy Administrator for Mitigation, Federal Insurance and Mitigation 
Administration.
[FR Doc. 02-5832 Filed 3-11-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6718-04-P