Transcript HUD and Disaster Mitigation

HUD and Disaster Mitigation
ASFPM
May 22, 2012
Community Development Block
Grant (CDBG) Disaster Recovery
• In response to a Presidentially-declared disaster,
Congress may appropriate funding for long-term
recovery through the CDBG program; this funding
supplements standard recovery programs
administered by other federal agencies
• HUD allocates the funds as grants to individual states
or municipalities affected by the disaster
CDBG Disaster Recovery
• CDBG-DR awards must be carried out in compliance
with the Housing and Community Development Act
of 1974 and other federal laws.
– Activities must be CDBG eligible (or subject to a
waiver granted by HUD)
– Activities must meet a CDBG national objective
• Benefit persons of low and moderate income
• Aid in the prevention or elimination of slums or blight
• Meet urgent community development needs
CDBG Disaster Recovery
• In addition, every activity must respond to a disasterrelated impact
• Typical activities include:
– Housing (e.g., rehabilitation of damaged units)
– Economic development (e.g., loans to affected
businesses)
– Infrastructure (e.g., repair of water lines)
• Through all activities, HUD encourages grantees to
rebuild safer, smarter, and stronger
CDBG-DR Funding
• More than $30 Billion since Sept. 11, 2001
• Currently 40 grantees
•
•
•
•
•
• 26 states
• 14 local governments
2001 approx. $3.5 Billion (World Trade Center)
2005 approx. $20 Billion (Katrina, Rita, Wilma)
2008 approx. $6.4 Billion (Ike, Gustav, Dolly, Midwest Floods)
2010 approx. $100 Million (Severe Flooding)
2011 approx. $400 Million (Tornadoes, Flooding, Irene)
Disaster Recovery Enhancement Fund
(DREF)
• Set-Aside of $311 Million from 2008 appropriation
• Goal: Incentivize investment in projects that mitigate
hazards and reduce risk from future disasters
• How it works:
– Grantees eligible for 1-for-1 match as a supplemental
allocation from the DREF
– Award based on how much of each grantee’s original
allocation is dedicated to activities that reduce future risk
DREF Eligible Activities
• Qualifying activities were limited to:
– Development and adoption of a forward-thinking
land-use plans
– Buyout programs for floodplain, critical fire, or seismic
areas
– Individual mitigation measures to improve residential
properties & make them less prone to damage
– Implementation of modern disaster-resistant building
codes, including training on new standards and code
enforcement
DREF Awards
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
California – $15 M
Florida – $26.9 M
Georgia – $640,000
Illinois – $24.5 M
Indiana – $24.1 M
Iowa – $92.2 M
Kentucky – $500,000
Louisiana – $34.5 M
Mississippi – $5.4 M
Missouri – $5 M
• Puerto Rico – $12 M
• Texas – $55.5 M
• Wisconsin – $15.3 M
DREF Return on Investment
$311 Million
in DREF awards incentivized
grantees to dedicate more than
$875 Million
toward activities that reduce future risk.
Producing a return of investment of up to
$3.5 BILLION
Other Federal Requirements
• Section 102(a) of Flood Disaster Protection Act
of 1973
– mandates the purchase of flood insurance for any
HUD-assisted property within the Special Flood
Hazard Area or ‘‘100-year’’ floodplain
Other Federal Requirements
• Section 582 of the National Flood Insurance
Reform Act of 1994
– Prohibits federal disaster assistance for repair,
replacement, or restoration to any personal,
residential, or commercial property if that person at
any time has received federal flood disaster assistance
that was conditional on the person first having
obtained flood insurance and the person has
subsequently failed to obtain and maintain flood
insurance as required
Best Practices
•
•
•
•
•
Watershed Planning
Buyout Programs
Elevation of Housing
Relocation of Infrastructure
Green Building Principles
Watershed Planning (Iowa)
• Watershed Planning—$1.5 million allocated
– Create watershed management authorities to rehabilitate
flood prevention systems in a coordinated fashion, and
restore and enhance Iowa’s drainage infrastructure in
more effective ways
– Assess needs and viable drainage improvements
• Watershed Projects-- $8 million allocated
– Design and implement projects
• restore more subsurface hydrology through better infiltration
• control overland flow through judicious application of innovative
water retention technologies (this will lower the amount and
frequency of floods)
Voluntary Buyouts
• State of Iowa has budgeted $240 million for
buyouts of residential or commercial
properties in flood-prone areas for which
FEMA funds are not available
– Funds provided to units of local government
– Awards to local governments based on:
• overall level of damage in the proposed buyout area,
• extent to which the proposed buyout program supports
overall flood mitigation plans for the community
Voluntary Buyouts
• Many grantees use CDBG-DR funds to match
FEMA’s Hazard Mitigation Grant Program
(HMGP)
Elevation of Housing
In addition to buyouts, CDBG-DR funds can be
used for elevating homes
Louisiana
Homeowners can be reimbursed
for expenses incurred in
elevating their homes to meet
the Advisory Base Flood
Elevation or the adopted Base
Flood Elevation.
More than $930 Million has
been expended for this purpose
Mississippi
Provides grants (up to $30,000)
to help homeowners defray the
cost of elevating their homes to
the most recent FEMA elevation
standards.
Assisted thousands of
households.
Relocation of Infrastructure
• Similar to buyouts, grantees are encouraged
to relocate public facilities out of harm’s way
where feasible and cost is not prohibitive