What is FEMA’s Flood Mitigation Assistance Grant Program (FMA)?

FEMA’s Flood Mitigation Assistance Grant (FMA) is a federal grant program which provides competitive funding for projects which reduce or eliminate the risk of repetitive flood damage to buildings insured by the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). Eligible recipients are the governments of states, local municipalities, and federally recognized tribes and territories. The hazard mitigation department of FEMA oversees the FMA, as well as the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP) and the Pre-Disaster Mitigation Grant (PDM).

What Can FMA Funding Be Used For?

FMA funding is for projects which work to reduce or eliminate the risk of repetitive flood damage to buildings insured by the NFIP. Eligible recipients must submit hazard mitigation plans to FEMA for approval as a precondition of receiving FMA funding. Eligible activities include planning projects, technical assistance, community flood mitigation projects, property level flood mitigation projects and management costs.

What is a Flood Mitigation Plan?

Flood mitigation plans are considered eligible hazard mitigation plans submitted to FEMA for approval which address repetitive flood damage risk. For flood mitigation plans to be considered for FMA funding they must address structures enrolled in and in good standing with the NFIP.

How Can UrbanEcoTech Help Resilience Planners Make a Successful Flood Mitigation Plan?

Successful mitigation plans should identify hazards, assess community needs and describe a community-wide strategy for reducing risks associated with natural disasters. UrbanEcoTech can help resilience planners identify where repetitive flooding hazards are most prevalent in their communities, understand why those areas are being impacted the most severely and plan responses which will target those critical factors using local data.

What Types of Eligible Projects Can UrbanEcotech Help With?

UrbanEcoTech helps resilience planners design and implement nature based solutions using local data to drive an evidence based approach to results. As a result, UrbanEcoTech can help with project scoping, technical assistance, community flood mitigation projects and property level flood mitigation projects.

What Are Some Examples of Flood Mitigation Actions Using UrbanEcoTech?

There is a large diversity of nature based solutions which provide repetitive flooding mitigation, including urban forests, rain gardens, wetland restoration and protection, tree trenches, coastal dunes, stormwater and waterfront parks, living shorelines (i.e. mangroves), and many others. These nature based solutions offer their communities many critical co-benefits in addition to their impact on flooding. Nature based solutions are eligible actions for FMA projects and should be included in official community hazard mitigation plans.