• Application Development
• Planning Application Development
• Application Process
• Pre-Award Documents for Mitigation Grants
• Post-Award Mitigation Grant Requirements
• Benefit-Cost Analysis for Projects
• HMA Technical Assistance
• Important Contacts for Subapplicants

The Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA's) Hazard Mitigation Assistance (HMA) grants are provided to eligible Applicant States/Tribes/Territories that, in turn, provide subgrants to local governments. The Applicant selects and prioritizes applications developed and submitted to them by local jurisdictions to submit to FEMA for consideration of funding.

Resources for project or plan application development are found below.

Application Development

FEMA has developed procedures to assist Applicants applying for funding under FEMA's Hazard Mitigation Assistance (HMA) grant programs for several project types. The purpose of these documents is to provide guidance to Applicants and subapplicants regarding collection of the administrative and technical data that FEMA requires. The Procedures for Developing Scopes of Work listed below are available from the FEMA Library:

• Acquisition of Floodprone Properties
• Elevation of Floodprone Structures
• Acquisition and Relocation of Floodprone Structures
• Drainage/Stormwater Management Project
• Protective Measures Retrofit Projects for Utility, Water, and Sanitary Systems and Infrastructure
• Seismic Structural and Non-Structural Retrofit Projects
• Wind Retrofit Projects

In addition, a Project Tip Sheet is available for use when developing project sub-applications.

Planning Application Development

A Sample Local Mitigation Planning Scope of Work was developed to assist applicants with developing a scope of work for a local mitigation planning application. The Sample Local Mitigation Planning Scope of Work is available from the FEMA Library. A Plan Tip Sheet is also available for use when developing a Planning sub-application. For more information on mitigation planning, please see the Mitigation Planning web page.

Application Process

Applicants applying for funding under Pre-Disaster Mitigation (PDM), Flood Mitigation Assistance (FMA), Repetitive Flood Claim (RFC), or Severe Repetitive Loss (SRL) MUST use FEMA’s web-based Mitigation Electronic Grants Management System (MT eGrants) to submit their Hazard Mitigation Assistance (HMA) applications.

Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP) applications are submitted by the Applicant to FEMA via the National Emergency Management Information System Mitigation (NEMIS-MT) module. A NEMIS-MT User Manual is available from the FEMA Library. NEMIS-MT FAQs are also available as a resource.

Because of differing performance periods for each grant type, Applicants for PDM, FMA, RFC, or SRL must submit separate applications in eGrants for Plans, Projects, and Management Costs.

Additional information for FEMA mitigation project development, pre-award requirements, FEMA mitigation policy, and application guidance is available on the Grant Applicant Resources web page.

Pre-Award Documents for Mitigation Grants

For planning and project subapplications selected for further review, FEMA will work with Applicants to implement required pre-award activities, including complete the Environmental/Historic preservation compliance review for projects, prior to award. 

For property acquisition projects, the subapplicant acquiring property must deed restrict all acquired property using the Model Deed Restrictions.  Pre-award documents, including Model Deed Restrictions for each FEMA mitigation grant program, are available on the Pre-Award Documents for Mitigation Grants web page.

Additional compliance information for the Environmental/Historic Preservation review is available on the Environmental Planning and Historic Preservation (EHP) Program web page.  For more information on acquisition projects, please see FEMA's question and answer page on Acquisition Projects.

Post-Award Mitigation Grant Requirements

Grantees must submit quarterly financial and performance reports for each grant award to the FEMA Regional Office within 30-days from the end of the first Federal quarter following the initial grant award. FEMA may waive the initial report. The Grantee shall submit quarterly reports thereafter until the grant ends. Reports are due on January 30, April 30, July 30, and October 30. Obligations and expenditures must be reported through the Federal Financial Report (FFR), Standard Form (SF) 425, which replaces SF-269, SF-269-A, SF-272, and SF-272A.

Financial and Performance Reports are available for completion in the Mitigation eGrants system for PDM, FMA, RFC and SRL. For HMGP, quarterly reoprts can be submitted via NEMIS.

The Grantee shall submit a Final Financial Status Report and Performance Report within 90 days from Grant Award Performance Period expiration date, per 44 C.F.R. Part 13.50

For property acquisition projects Applicants must submit a completed Statement of Voluntary Participation for each participating property that has been acquired. A Model Statement of Voluntary Participation is available for use.

For repetitive loss properties mitigated as a result of FEMA mitigation grants, FEMA requires the submission of Form AW-501, NFIP Repetitive Loss Update Worksheet (OMB #1660-0022) available on the Post-Award NFIP Property Mitigation Documents web page.

Benefit-Cost Analysis for Projects

Benefit-Cost Analysis (BCA) is the method by which the future benefits of a mitigation project are determined and compared to its cost. The end result is a Benefit-Cost Ratio (BCR), which is derived from a project’s total net benefits divided by its total cost. The BCR is a numerical expression of the cost-effectiveness of a project. BCRs of 1.0 or greater have more future benefits than costs, and are therefore considered cost-effective. FEMA can only fund cost-effective mitigation projects.

For more information, please see the Benefit-Cost Analysis web page.

HMA Technical Assistance

HMA Technical Assistance

Technical Assistance for HMA Grant Programs is available for Applicants and subapplicants regarding application development.  The Helpline can be reached via phone at (866) 222-3580 or by e-mail at hmagrantshelpline@fema.dhs.gov.  The helpline guarantees a 48-hour response time.

Benefit Cost, Engineering, and EHP Technical Assistance

FEMA has also established Technical Assistance Helplines to provide assistance to Applicants and subapplicants with engineering feasibility and effectiveness; Benefit Cost Analysis (BCA), including BCA software, technical manuals, and other BCA references; and Environmental/Historic Preservation compliance for project subapplications. However, in no case will technical assistance involve conducting a BCA, or reviewing project-specific information for completeness or technical feasibility.

The Helplines can be reached via phone at 866-222-3580 or by e-mail as listed below. The Helplines guarantee a 48-hour response time.

• Engineering feasibility and effectiveness: enghelpline@fema.dhs.gov
• Cost-effectiveness: bchelpline@fema.dhs.gov
• Environmental/Historic Preservation compliance: ehhelpline@fema.dhs.gov

Important Contacts for Subapplicants

Prospective subapplicants should consult the official designated point of contact for their Applicant for further information regarding specific program and application requirements:

Regional Offices

State Hazard Mitigation Officers

State NFIP Coordinators