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On Jan. 20, President Joseph R. Biden appointed key regional leadership roles for FEMA Regions 1, 2 and 8.
FEMA Region 1 Regional Administrator Lori Ehrlich
Former Massachusetts State Representative Lori Ehrlich will start with FEMA on Jan. 31 after FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell administers the oath of office. Ehrlich will oversee emergency management operations for Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont.
FEMA Region 2 Regional Administrator David Warrington
David Warrington, who recently served as the Senior Manager of Strategic Preparedness for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, will be sworn-in as the FEMA Region 2 Regional Administrator. Warrington will bring 20 years of experience in the public sector and has experience in coordinating multiple national special security events and developing an all-hazard risk management programs.
FEMA Region 8 Regional Administrator Nancy Dragani
Administrator Criswell swore in Nancy Dragani as the Region 8 Regional Administrator on Jan. 20. Dragani is no stranger to FEMA, having served as Region 8 Deputy Regional Administrator since 2016 and has 20 years of emergency management experience. In addition, Dragani retired from the Ohio National Guard with 22 years of combined U.S. Army, Army National Guard and Air National Guard Service.
Regional administrators lead FEMA’s 10 Regional offices and coordinate directly with Administrator Criswell to support state, local, tribal and territorial communities. The regional administrators play a critical role in delivering effective federal assistance to help people before, during and after disasters.
FEMA is accepting applications for the Youth Preparedness Council. All applications are due no later than by midnight on March 6. If you know a teen interested in preparedness and community service, encourage them to apply.
The diverse and distinguished council was created in 2012 to bring together youth leaders interested in supporting disaster preparedness and making a difference in their communities. During their one-year term on the virtual council, members meet peers from across the country, build leadership skills and serve their schools and communities. Members also have the unique opportunity to participate in an annual summit and share their perspectives, feedback and opinions directly with FEMA leaders and staff. There are no in-person requirements for council members.
FEMA will host an applicant information session on Feb. 17 for those interested in learning more about the council and the application process. Help us spread the word about this year’s Youth Preparedness Council by using #YPC2022 on social media when sharing this news.
To learn more about the Youth Preparedness Council, visit Youth Preparedness Council | Ready.gov.
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A big change is coming soon that affects grant applicants and recipients in FEMA grants management systems, including the new grants system FEMA Grants Outcomes (FEMA GO).
FEMA GO will allow users to apply, track and manage all disaster and non-disaster grants and currently supports firefighter, emergency responder and pre-disaster mitigation grants.
On April 4, the federal government will stop using the Dun & Bradstreet number (DUNS) to uniquely identify entities registered in the System for Award Management (SAM). After April 4, entities doing business with the federal government will use a Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) created in SAM.gov. They will no longer have to go to a third-party website, such as DUNS, to obtain their identifier.
Organizations that are currently registered in SAM.gov will automatically see their UEI in FEMA GO system when they log in. The system is sweeping SAM.gov nightly and the UEI will prepopulate when you start an application.
New organizations that register with SAM.gov will be given the UEI number. To register for a new account in FEMA GO, you need to know the SAM-generated UEI for your organization to find your organization’s electronic business point of contact (EBiz POC). In FEMA GO, the EBIZ POC is the authorized organization representative and the only person who can add you as an authorized user for your organization in FEMA GO. If you create or re-activate a SAM record, it may take 48 hours before the FEMA GO system recognizes the updates and allows you to register your organization or begin an application.
Additional information about UEI and FEMA GO is provided in the FEMA GO Startup Guide for Assistance to Firefighters Grants Program and the FEMA GO Startup Guide for Hazard Mitigation Assistance Grants.
For more information about the UEI transition, go to GSAFSD Service Portal Landing - GSA Federal Service Desk Service Portal and select the green “Help” on UEI Transition button.
FEMA, in coordination with the government of Puerto Rico, announced a federal share obligation of $554.25 million for the Puerto Rico Public Housing Administration (PRPHA) to rebuild over 4,600 disaster-damaged public housing facilities on the island. This funding obligation will provide PRPHA with a recovery budget from which they can plan their long-term recovery.
Aside from construction repairs, other activities like lead and asbestos remediation in buildings and basketball courts are addressed in the obligation. The PRPHA is the second largest public housing entity in the United States and is legally responsible for over 55,000 residential units and 6,800 facilities on the island.
Due to the volume of inspections and the time required to finalize cost estimates, FEMA and the Puerto Rico Central Office for Recovery, Reconstruction and Resiliency (COR3) used a sample of the damaged facilities to arrive at a fixed cost estimate. This historic obligation for PRPHA is made possible through the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018, which allows FEMA to provide assistance to restore critical facilities like these to an industry standard without regard to its pre-disaster condition.
As part of the conditions of this project obligation, PRPHA is required to provide FEMA and COR3, with a work plan for how they intend to submit scopes of work, which detail how the funds will be used. This plan must be submitted within 90 days of the project obligation and updated every 90 days thereafter.
To date, the total funding under FEMA’s Public Assistance program is over $26 billion for costs related to hurricanes Irma and María. For more information on Puerto Rico's recovery from Hurricane María, visit FEMA.gov and recuperacion.pr.
On Jan. 14, FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell spoke at the White House about FEMA and the federal government’s continued support in the ongoing response to COVID-19. Criswell announced that FEMA policy will now provide funding for states to use their National Guard troops to fill critical healthcare vacancies.
“I am now directing an expansion of our FEMA policy to permit funding to states who elect to use their National Guard troops to fill these critical support roles in hospitals.” said Criswell. “Together, we will continue to surge staff, push resources and provide support using every tool that we have available to fight our fight against COVID-19.”
To learn more about how FEMA continues to support COVID-19 response efforts, visit FEMA.gov.
FEMA and the Resilient Nation Partnership Network (RNPN) will host a virtual meeting at 1 p.m. ET on Jan. 26 to discuss opportunities to solve pressing challenges and how to create a more resilient nation for all communities.
Attendees should prepare to discuss topics such as:
- Your organization's top priorities for the year.
- Challenges you need help solving in 2022.
- Conversations and issues in resilience and climate change.
- What you hope to gain being a RNPN partner.
- Support and resources the RNPN can provide.
The meeting is open to all. To join the meeting:
To learn more about the RNPN, visit FEMA.gov. For questions, contact fema-resilientnation@fema.dhs.gov.
Join FEMA's U.S. Fire Administration (USFA) and our nation's fire and emergency medical services experts as they teach us how to reduce fire and life safety risks to our communities and emergency responders.
On the first episode of the podcast, USFA Administrator Dr. Lori Moore-Merrell and Deputy USFA Tonya Hoover discuss agency programs and their vision for the future.
Visit usfa.FEMA.gov to check out the first podcast episode.
FEMA Extends Request for Information
FEMA published a notice in the Federal Register extending the public comment on the National Flood Insurance Program’s minimum floodplain management standards to Jan. 27.
Written comments can be submitted to the Federal eRulemaking Portal, Docket ID: FEMA-2021-0024.
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Application Period for BRIC, FMA Grant Programs Closes Jan. 28
The Flood Mitigation Assistance (FMA) and the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) grants provide funds to states, local communities, tribes and territories for eligible mitigation activities to strengthen our nation’s ability to build a culture of preparedness. These programs fund projects that invest in a more resilient nation, reduce disaster suffering and avoid future disaster costs.
Applications are due no later than 3 p.m. ET on Jan. 28. Applications received by FEMA after this deadline will not be considered for funding. Subapplicants should touch base with their respective State Hazard Mitigation Officer to ask about project priorities and additional application requirements or deadlines for submitting information.
FMA and BRIC grant applicants experiencing technical problems outside of their control while using FEMA GO must notify FEMA as soon as possible and no later than 3 p.m. ET Jan. 26. Call the help desk, at 1-877-585-3242, or email FEMAGO@fema.dhs.gov. Please note, after submitting a technical issue about an application, applicants and subapplicants will be assigned or issued a ticket number. For any further inquiries, this ticket number must be presented in order to inquire about its status.
The funding notices are available on Grants.gov. Eligible applicants must apply for funding using FEMA Grants Outcomes (FEMA GO), the agency’s grants management system.
For more information visit FEMA.gov.
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FEMA BRIC Technical Assistance Application Period Opens
FEMA seeks to provide non-financial Direct Technical Assistance to a maximum of 20 communities to support mitigation outcomes of the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) program. This announcement was first made in the Fiscal Year 2021 BRIC funding opportunity.
Applicants must email one letter of interest not exceeding two pages by 3 p.m. ET on Jan. 28 to FEMA-BRICDirectTechnicalAssistance@fema.dhs.gov. Additional details are available on FEMA.gov. Information with examples can be reviewed in the Program Support Material on FEMA.gov.
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More Than $1B Available for Firefighters Grants
FEMA is accepting applications for the fiscal year 2021 grants that constitute the Assistance to Firefighters Grants program.
The application period for $560 million in funding for Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) grants closes at 5 p.m. ET on Feb. 4. SAFER grants focus on enhancing the ability of recipients to attain and maintain fire department staffing and to assure that their communities have adequate protection from fire and fire-related hazards.
The application period is now open for $46 million in funding for the Fire Protection and Safety (FP&S) grants and will close 5 p.m. ET on Feb. 18. FP&S grants focus on enhancing the safety of the public and firefighters with respect to fire and fire-related hazards.
The funding notice and technical assistance documents for this program will be available at grants.gov and FEMA.gov. For questions, contact FEMA's Fire Grants Helpdesk via email at firegrants@fema.dhs.gov.
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FEMA Seeks Input on the Development of National Continuous Improvement Guidance
FEMA is seeking whole community stakeholder feedback to aid in the development of National Continuous Improvement Guidance. The engagement period will last until Feb. 10.
FEMA will host a series of 60-minute webinar sessions to gather input from whole community stakeholders that wish to participate and indicate what they would find most useful in establishing new or developing existing continuous improvement processes.
Webinar sessions will be offered until Feb.8.
- Listening Session #2: 2 – 3 p.m. ET on Jan. 27.
- Listening Session #3: 10 – 11 a.m. ET on Jan. 31.
- Listening Session #4: 5 – 6 p.m. ET on Feb. 02.
- Listening Sessions #5: noon – 1 p.m. ET on Feb. 08.
For information on webinar sessions and to register visit https://preptoolkit.fema.gov/web/cip-citap/events. For additional questions or feedback contact FEMA-CITAP@fema.dhs.gov.
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