After You Apply for Flood Mitigation Assistance Funds

Reconsiderations

Managing Your Award

After FEMA has completed its review of all FMA subapplications, each of them will be assigned and updated with one of the following three statuses:

• Identified for Further Review
• Not Selected
• Did Not Meet HMA Requirements

Once a status has been assigned, FEMA will make a formal announcement. At that time, FEMA Regions will conduct any additional pre-award review action necessary. Applicants should work with their FEMA Regional points of contact and subapplicants should work with their applicant points of contact.

An eligible applicant or subapplicant (through the applicant) may request FEMA reconsider a Not selected or Did Not Meet HMA Requirements status only if there is an indication of a substantive technical or procedural error in FEMA’s decision.  FEMA will not reconsider decisions regarding:

• The amount of planning subapplications,
• Applicant management costs, or
• Technical Assistance costs

Requests for Reconsideration must be submitted according to the following procedures:

• Applicants must submit requests to the FEMA Regional Office within 60 days of the posting of application or subapplication status.
• Subapplicants should contact their applicant agency regarding reconsideration requests, so that the applicant may submit it to the FEMA Regional Office on their behalf. Contact information for each State Hazard Mitigation Officer is provided at State Hazard Mitigation Officers. 

The FEMA Regional Office will review Reconsideration requests and submit a recommendation to FEMA Headquarters. FEMA Headquarters will make a final determination to overturn or uphold the original decision and send the response to the applicant.  

The Period of Performance (POP) is 36 months starting on the date of the recipient’s federal award. Given the complexity of the Localized Flood Risk Reduction Projects, the applicant may submit a request for a longer POP in the application for FEMA to review and approve. A longer POP for a Localized Flood Risk Reduction Project must be requested, documented, reasonable, and justified. Any subsequent amendments to the federal award will not extend the POP unless explicitly stated.

Mitigation projects must, at a minimum, be in conformance with the latest published editions (meaning either of the two most recently published editions) of relevant consensus-based codes, specifications and standards that incorporate the latest hazard-resistant designs.

If the mitigation project is within a Special Flood Hazard Area, it must meet both of the following conditions:

• The project is in a jurisdiction participating in the National Flood Insurance Program that is not on probation, suspended or withdrawn.
• The property owner obtains and maintains flood insurance for the life of the structure, regardless of transfer of ownership, in an amount at least equal to the project cost or to the maximum limit of coverage made available with respect to the mitigated property, whichever is less.

By accepting an award, all recipients agree to participate in monitoring or an evaluation of the grant—which may include analysis of the impact and providing access to program operating personnel and participants, as specified by the evaluator(s).

Construction activities can begin after approval. Construction activities for which ground disturbance has already been initiated or completed prior to funding award are not eligible for funding. Non-construction activities that have already started may not be considered for funding if not approved as pre-award activities.