Welcome to Skagit County
December 12th 2003
HAZARD MITIGATION GRANT PROGRAM
As a result of the presidential declaration of a major disaster for the October
2003 severe storms and flooding, the state of Washington will administer the
Hazard Mitigation Grant Program. The Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP)
will fund projects that will reduce or eliminate the effects (costs) of hazards
and/or vulnerability to future disaster damage.
Applicants must be jurisdictions such as state or local government, Indian tribes,
special purpose districts, or registered nonprofit corporations. Applicants
wishing to apply for HMGP funds must submit a Letter Of Intent before January
16, 2004 followed by a formal application at a later date. Applications
will be reviewed for eligibility, evaluated and scored; qualifying projects
will be recommended to FEMA for approval/funding based upon score and available
funds.
The grants will be made available to eligible applicants on a competitive basis.
The total amount of funding available for this Hazard Mitigation Grant Program
will be very limited in comparison to past events. For example, the February
1996 flood event provided approximately $16 million in HMGP funds, but for this
event we estimate that the HMGP funding may be closer to $500,000 – possibly
less in federal, state, and local funds for eligible applicants state-wide.
TYPES OF ACTIVITIES THAT CAN BE FUNDED:
- Structural hazard control, such as debris basins and retention ponds.
- Retrofitting, such as seismic, flood proofing and elevating to protect structures from future damage.
- Acquisition and relocation
of structures from hazard-prone areas.
For more information regarding the hazard mitigation grant program in Skagit County, please contact Mark Watkinson at Skagit County Emergency Management at (360) 428-3250.