Arizona Division of Emergency Management (ADEM)

FLOOD MITIGATION ASSISTANCE (FMA) PROGRAM

The purpose of the FMA Program is to create funding for pre-disaster flood mitigation, with the goal of eliminating or reducing repetitive losses to structures insurable under the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP).

Each state receives a base amount of $10,000 for planning grants and $100,000 for project grants, with additional funds added based on the number of NFIP policies and repetitive loss structures. In Arizona, this typically equates to about $15,000 in planning grants and $145,000 in project grants. These funds are available annually.

Although federally funded, the FMA Program is administered by the Arizona Division of Emergency Management (ADEM).

MINIMUM PROGRAM ELIGIBILITY
Eligible applicants include state, county, local and federally recognized tribal governments. Private non-profit agencies are not eligible; however, an eligible applicant may apply on their behalf. Tribal governments must apply directly to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

All jurisdictions who apply for FMA Program funding must participate in, and be in good standing with the NFIP. Homes to be mitigated must have flood insurance prior to the award. Additionally, the jurisdiction must have a FEMA approved Flood Mitigation Plan. The plan may be a part of a FEMA approved multi-hazard mitigation plan.

Acquisition of insured structures and underlying real property;
Relocation or demolition of insured structures;
Elevation of insured residential structures;
Elevation or dry floodproofing of insured non-residential structures; and
Minor physical flood mitigation projects that reduce localized flooding problems and do not duplicate the flood prevention activities of other federal agencies.

Major flood control projects;
Dry floodproofing of residential structures;
Demolition and rebuild projects;
Flood studies or flood mapping;
Maintenance or repair projects;
Generators and related equipment; and
Warning and alert notification systems.

COST SHARE REQUIREMENTS
Funding for the FMA Program is a 75/25 federal/non-federal source. One half of the applicant’s share must be a cash match; the remainder may be in-kind contributions.

BENEFIT-COST ANALYSIS/COST-EFFECTIVENESS
To be eligible, projects submitted must have a benefit-cost ratio of greater than or equal to 1.0 to be considered for funding. Applicants are responsible for completing the Benefit-Cost Analysis (BCA) using the BCA Toolkit (developed by FEMA and supplied by ADEM upon request). Gathering credible documentation to support the BCA may be a rather lengthy process, so be sure to allot plenty of time to this endeavor.

PROJECT EVALUATION PROCESS
ADEM will prioritize (rank) all eligible projects based upon:

Meeting the objectives and criteria of the State of Arizona Multi-Hazard Mitigation Plan;
Conformance with federal and state criteria as outlined earlier in this document;
Compliance with the criteria described in the current year FMA Program guidance; and
With priority given to repetitive loss properties.

Applicants will be formally notified of the results of the prioritization process and the top-ranking projects will be submitted to FEMA for funding consideration.

ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), before a project can be funded, it must successfully pass an environmental review. FEMA is responsible for conducting the environmental review. Projects may not begin prior to completion of a successful review.

APPLICATION PROCEDURES
Applications for FMA Program funds must be submitted electronically through FEMA’s Electronic Grants Management System (eGrants). Applicants should contact the State FMA Program Manager to obtain access to eGrants as soon as the decision is made to pursue funding, as the authorization process may be time consuming. The application window is sometimes short, and obtaining the necessary documentation to fill-out the application may also consume considerable time. ADEM recommends developing projects throughout the year.

CONTACT
For additional information regarding the FMA Program and eGrants, please contact us for your area of interest. You may also visit FEMA's web site about FMA.