On Friday, FEMA announced the Flood Mitigation Assistance grant program’s initial round of selections.
A total of 270 applications were received and 58 applications were selected nationwide. Over 10 percent of the selected projects are for communities in Atlantic and Cape May Counties, according to a news release from Rutula Associates.
In Atlantic County, Somers Point was selected for design work for the Gulph Mill Road Pump Station, which benefits a residential area bounded by West Laurel Drive, Dogwood Drive, the Greate Bay Country Club, and the Garden State Parkway.
Atlantic City was the big winner with two grants. Applications for the resiliency plans for the Ducktown/Chelsea and Venice Park neighborhoods were selected.
Last year, the Atlantic City neighborhoods of Bungalow Park and Chelsea Heights received similar funding.
In Cape May County, Stone Harbor was also selected for two grants. One for the 81st Street Flood Mitigation Plan and another for the 93rd Street Area. The goal is to develop proposed improvements for each project area that will provide a complete solution.
West Wildwood was selected for funding for a community wide flood mitigation plan.
This grant will allow the borough to retain an engineering firm for surveying, mapping, evaluation of flood issues, and develop a capital plan and cost estimates.
“We know these mitigation dollars will have the biggest impact at the local level, and that is why we are committed to delivering these funds to communities equitably and in a way that meets their unique needs,” FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell said in the release.
All the applications were prepared by Rutala Associates, a local coastal planning firm. All the grants are for planning and engineering to develop well thought out plans to improve flood resiliency.
Investing in flood mitigation measures through this grant program is a cost-effective way to reduce the risk of flooding and associated economic losses compared with the cost of responding to and recovering from flooding, according to the news release.
This funding will address effects of climate change and prepare the communities for additional FEMA funding for construction projects in the selected areas.
In these initial selections in fiscal year 2022, FEMA selected 58 sub-applications eligible for Flood Mitigation Assistance grant funding for capability and capacity building activities.
Eligible project types include updating flood hazard mitigation plans, technical assistance, and project scoping. FEMA awards these funds so communities can enhance capability and capacity and implement mitigation projects faster.
FEMA will announce additional selections later this summer, which will include more complex projects, including those being selected for Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities grant funding through the National Competition and Flood Mitigation Assistance grant funding for individual flood mitigation projects and localized flood risk reduction projects
