HMA Introduces New, More User-Friendly Online Resources

f e m a hazard mitigation assistance e-brief

June 19, 2017  -  Subscribe

In This Issue:

HMA Introduces New, More User-Friendly Online Resources

Hazard Mitigation Assistance (HMA) is pleased to introduce its newly revised and reformatted Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP) online content. The user-friendly content is designed to help visitors easily locate general information about the program. Online tools and resource materials are now aligned and consolidated more intuitively into the following categories: individual, state or local government or federally-recognized tribes. Also, best practice stories are now available in both story and video formats.

Website

The overarching redesign work is being done in two phases. The first phase, the HMGP webpage, is completed and was recently unveiled at the Annual Mitigation Stakeholders Workshop in Emmitsburg, Maryland. A visitor to the webpage is encouraged to select a category of interest – individual, state or local government or federally-recognized tribe. In each section there is an easy-to-use navigation tool to access specific information about fact sheets, job aids, loss avoidance studies, program and project information, etc. 

The second phase of the redesign will be to revise the grants specific information for Pre-Disaster Mitigation (PDM) and Flood Mitigation Assistance (FMA) and consolidate the tools and resources in more defined ways. To browse through the new HMGP content, visit www.fema.gov/hazard-mitigation-grant-program.

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Annual Hazard Mitigation Workshop Builds Partnerships and Information Exchange

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More than 300 participants attended the Annual Hazard Mitigation Workshop from May 31 - June 2, 2017 at the Emergency Management Institute (EMI) in Emmitsburg, Maryland. The workshop included three days of plenary sessions, breakout sessions, and the sharing of program best practices and project case studies, providing an opportunity for information exchange and discussion of success stories and challenges associated with the delivery of the HMA programs. “The workshop was a huge success with collaboration and engaging conversations happening across the EMI campus.  It’s important to have the opportunity for face-to-face conversations and to build relationships,” said Karen Helbrecht, Acting Hazard Mitigation Assistance Division Director, FEMA.

 The workshop is devoted to the partnerships between HMA and Floodplain Management stakeholders, such as State and Tribal Hazard Mitigation Officers, and is by invitation only.

(Photo Above: Participants sign in at the beginning of the HMA workshop.)

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(Photo: David Goldbloom-Helzner with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Office of Water, Water Security Division and  and Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Tribe of Indians Director of Emergency Management Tracy De Pew, attend the poster session mixer where a variety of best practices and success stories were presented in addition to exhibit booths and demonstrations.)

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Coming Soon!

Notice of Funding Opportunity Announcements

This summer, FEMA will post the Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFOs) for Pre-Disaster Mitigation (PDM) and Flood Mitigation Assistance (FMA) grant announcements for Fiscal Year 2017 (FY17). The NOFOs will be posted on www.Grants.gov at least one month in advance of opening the application period to allow time to for FEMA to share with our stakeholders what the program priorities are for this year. This year, FEMA has $90 million available for PDM, which includes a $10 million set-aside for applications from Tribes. In FMA, $160 million is available and FEMA is setting aside $70 million of the overall FMA commitment for community flood mitigation grants. This is a new initiative for this year.   

HMA Customer Satisfaction Survey

FEMA HMA will be conducting a survey of customer satisfaction with HMGP, PDM, and FMA. Applicants who applied for grants under any of these programs from 2010 to 2016 may be contacted by phone or email. The survey is expected to begin later this summer.

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Hazard Mitigation External Stakeholders Working Group Update

ESWG Group

(Left to Right: George De La O, ­­Tom Hughes, Karen Helbrecht, Mark Schneider, Dorothy Cook, Sarah White, Paula Gutierrez, Donna Boreck, Tracy De Pew, Kaylynn Gresham, Chris Blinzinger, and Miles Anderson.)

At their second meeting at the Annual Hazard Mitigation Workshop in Emmitsburg, Maryland, the FEMA HMA External Stakeholders Working Group (ESWG) began developing their 2017 work plans and identified leads for corresponding work teams. This group acts as a bridge between federal staff and state, local, tribal, and territorial stakeholders that provides insight and external perspective on HMA priorities, issues, and program resources.

The 2017 ESWG Work Plans include efforts in the following areas: 

  1. Mitigation Core Competency and Skills Analysis
  2. Online HMA Knowledge and Support
  3. Advance Assistance Outreach and Education
  4. Building Better Habits for Knowledge and Experience Exchange with the current HMA network

ESWG members will execute the work plans throughout 2017.

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Environmental Planning and Historic Preservation Unified Federal Review Process

FEMA is among 11 Federal agencies that have agreed to coordinate their independent environmental planning and historic preservation (EHP) reviews associated with disaster recovery projects, known as the Unified Federal Review (UFR).  Included among its goals are to unify and standardize EHP requirements, improve the efficiency of the EHP process, support informed and transparent decision-making and expedite delivery of Federal assistance to applicants. Get the latest news about the UFR.

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Cost Estimating Principles for HMA Applications

Button View Webinar

In May, FEMA’s HMA Division held a webinar to share cost estimating principles for HMA applications.  Presenters provided general principles for reviewing cost estimates for HMA projects, a process for determining “reasonable costs” as part of the grant application review, and resources where you can get more detailed information and examples. View the webinar and download the presentation.

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Training

August 3-4: Course E0276: Benefit-Cost Analysis: Entry-Level

This course is designed as an introduction to the fundamental concepts of benefit-cost (BC) analysis. Participants will learn how to obtain BC data and conduct analyses using the latest version of the Benefit Cost Toolkit.

Rules for Procurement Under Grants: Webinars

This is a series of webinar modules on grant rules for procurement. There are eight modules in this series. This series covers the procurement standards under the Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards which are found in Title 2 of the Code of Federal Regulations, sections 200.317 through 200.326. These webinars will help familiarize you with the procurement standards imposed by Federal regulations on recipients and sub-recipients when procuring services and property with funding from Hazard Mitigation Assistance.

Flood Provisions of the International Residential Code

FEMA Building Science, in partnership with the International Code Council, is proud to launch the new online course “Flood Provisions of the International Residential Code.” For a limited time, this course will be available free of charge.

Flood Provisions of the International Residential Code (IRC) is a two-part course presenting basic information needed to understand the flood provisions of the IRC.

Its goal is to educate floodplain management and building officials, design professionals, and builders about: how the building code provisions satisfy the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) requirements for buildings, coordinating building codes and local floodplain management ordinances, and the distinctions between the International Codes and the NFIP floodplain management requirements. Access FEMA’s free building code resources for all hazards.

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Did You Know?

96 dpi MUSC

For more of the story, read “Medical University Earns High Marks for Low Country Lesson in Disaster Resilience” written by Henrietta Williams.

Learn more about the Pre-Disaster Mitigation Grant Program.

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Dates For Your Calendar