The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has released an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking for Program Administration by States. FEMA is seeking public comment on implementing Section 404(c) of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, 42 U.S.C. § 5170c(c), regarding administration of the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP).
The public’s input will help inform the development of this new method of program delivery that may provide states and tribes with increased oversight as they implement the grant program. The Notice contains a series of questions about various aspects on state administration of the HMGP. The concerns and recommendations raised by the public will be used to guide development of program regulations.
The Sandy Recovery Improvement Act of 2013 (SRIA) was signed by the President on January 29, 2013. The goal of SRIA is to establish efficiencies in Federal disaster recovery programs that will expedite the recovery process and reduce costs.
A piece of SRIA provided FEMA with the authority to implement HMGP Program Administration by States (PAS) as a pilot program concurrently with the development of regulations that will formalize the program. The Pilot was initiated in April 2013. States and tribes that wish to participate in the Pilot may be delegated defined responsibilities by FEMA based on an analysis of their staffing plan, grants management, and hazard mitigation experience, and demonstrated past performance. In return, for assuming additional responsibilities, Grantees will have increased control and oversight in implementing the program. Implementation of the Pilot helped guide the development of many of the questions included in the Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking.
Interested persons are invited to submit written data, views, or arguments on all aspects of the notice. FEMA also specifically invites comments that relate to the economic, environmental, or Federalism effects that might result from implementation of any final rule stemming from this notice. All comments received will be posted, without change, including personal information provided to www.regulations.gov. Comments submitted must include the Docket ID for this rulemaking, FEMA-2014-0013. The deadline for public comments is May 12, 2014.
More information on the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program may be found on FEMA’s website at http://www.fema.gov/hazard-mitigation-grant-program.
Information about the Program Administration by States Pilot can be found at http://www.fema.gov/hazard-mitigation-assistance-sandy-recovery-improvement-act.