PRINCE FREDERICK, Md. — Calvert County will be able to continue with Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)-funded projects as planned, after a five-month pause.
In February of this year, FEMA froze grants that were used by the county, including the Emergency Management Performance Grant (EMPG), the State Homeland Security Grant Program (SHSP), and the Hazard Mitigation Assistance (HMA) program grants. You can read more about the specific grants here.
Typically, when an HMA project is awarded, it’s with the state as the recipient. The state enters into an agreement with the county so the county can receive the funds. The county forward-funds HMA projects and then requests reimbursements from FEMA.
With the funds frozen, the Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) voted in March to pause the projects and halt further expenditures until the funds were approved and the current reimbursements released.
FEMA completed the review in May and released the funds for the grants. As of the July 22 meeting, $1,275,240.62 was reimbursed and $142,623.14 in new requests is currently processing. Five projects are still impacted by the grant freeze and awaiting outstanding reimbursement approval for a total of $958,838.83. All in-progress projects are approved to move forward by FEMA.
The Calvert County Division of Emergency Management recommended that the county continue with projects they’ve already begun, but cautioned the BOCC about disaster mitigation projects going forward.
“Some future funding streams have closed, and that may impact future opportunities,” said emergency management specialist Kara Buckmaster.
For example, in April, FEMA announced that the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) grant program was canceled, and the fiscal 2024 notice of funding opportunity was withdrawn. As a result, there is no longer a recurring grant program from FEMA to fund projects for the acquisition of high-risk cliff houses. Calvert has used previous BRIC funds to buy properties in the county and may still be eligible for post-disaster FEMA funds going forward.
Buckmaster said that for Calvert’s grants, “Everything has returned to normal operations,” and advised the BOCC to move forward before current funding expires.
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thanks for informasi bro