The Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000 and Hazard Mitigation Grants

Kathy Smith, AICP, Planning and Safety Branch Chief shares her
views on the importance of�the 20th anniversary of the Disaster
Mitigation Act of 2000. 

October 30 was the 20th anniversary of the Disaster Mitigation
Act of 2000. With this law, Congress officially recognized that
disaster protection starts with a mitigation plan. This law also
authorized the Pre-Disaster Mitigation Grant Program. This grant
program has been a major source of funding for community mitigation
plans and projects. It supports them as they plan for and reduce
risk before disasters hit.

Over the last 20 years, we have learned more about
mitigation’s power to protect our communities from future
disaster losses. The National Institute of Building Sciences
reports
that on average, for every federal dollar invested in mitigation,
communities prevent $6 in disaster losses.

Our risk landscape has changed. Disasters are occurring more
frequently and their impacts are causing communities millions of
dollars in damages and lost lives every year. According to the
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, from 2016-2019,
the United States has faced 44 “billion-dollar
disasters.†These increases in damages signal a need for
mitigation investments to change.  They need to focus on helping
communities adapt to changing conditions and become more
resilient.

In 2018, Congress passed the Disaster Recovery and Reform Act
(DRRA). The DRRA, like the Disaster Mitigation Act, amended the
Robert T.
Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act to
support mitigation planning and projects. One piece of the DRRA is
a new pre-disaster mitigation grant program, Building Resilient
Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC). This grant program launched
its first application cycle on Sept.  30.

FEMA’s priorities for the BRIC program are to incentivize:

• Public infrastructure projects.
• Projects that mitigate risk to one or more lifelines.
• Projects that incorporate nature-based solutions.
• Adoption and enforcement of modern building codes.

BRIC is funded through an authority to set aside up to 6% of the
Disaster Relief Funds. This takes place after federal post-disaster
grant funding estimates, which include contributions from four FEMA
post-disaster elements: Individual Assistance, Public Assistance,
Disaster Unemployment Assistance and Crisis Counselling.

The BRIC program can fund eligible planning activities like:

• Creating, updating, or enhancing a mitigation plan;
• Integrating information from the mitigation plan into
  comprehensive plans, capital improvement plans, and others;
  and
• Adopting, applying, and enforcing building codes.

FEMA is celebrating the anniversary and legacy of the Disaster
Mitigation Act of 2000 throughout October and November. For more
information, visit fema.gov/disasters/authorities.

In addition, the 2020 Fiscal Year funding cycle for the Hazard
Mitigation non-disaster grants is accepting applications until Jan.
29, 2021.  As a FEMA-approved Hazard Mitigation Plan is required
for funding, review the eligible projects for funding for a

Flood Mitigation Assistance and the new pre-disaster mitigation
program
Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities.