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Brownington, Manchester, and Pittsford, VT - Three Flood-related projects
Appeal Brief
Applicant | Vermont Department of Public Safety, Division of Emergency Management and Homeland Security |
Appeal Type | 2nd |
Date Signed | 2016-04-12T00:00:00 |
1st Appeal
- Issue
- FEMA Region 1 denied applications for 14 projects spread across ten communities that had no hazard mitigation plan. The Region provided time for plan submittals by setting a deadline, but some subapplicant communities did not submit a plan. When the State of Vermont appealed, Region 1 denied the appeal.
- The State argued that a local hazard mitigation plan is required by HMGP regulations and guidance to be submitted at time of award, not application submission, and that setting a deadline for submitting planning grant applications is not in the best interest of meaningful and cost effective hazard mitigation.
- Reason for Denial
- Approval of HMGP project applications requires subapplicant communities to have in place a local hazard mitigation plan for eligibility.
- Reference(s)
- 44 CFR 206.440 Appeals; 44 CFR 201 and 206 Local Hazard Mitigation Plan Requirement; HMA Guidance (2011), Part III, D.5.2 Conformance with Hazard Mitigation Plans
2nd Appeal
- Issue
- Region 1 extended the original deadline after denying the first appeal, allowing for more communities to submit plans but not all.
- The State sent a second appeal which included three communities remaining of the original ten.
- FEMA Findings
- Three communities did not submit local hazard mitigation plans by the extended deadline set by the Regional Office.
- The Regional Office appropriately disapproved the communities' projects.
- The original appeal made by Region 1 was upheld.
- Reference(s)
- 44 CFR 206.440 Appeals; 44 CFR 201 and 206 Local Hazard Mitigation Plan Requirement; HMA Guidance (2011), Part III, D.5.2 Conformance with Hazard Mitigation Plans
Appeal Letter
Director
Division of Emergency Management
and Homeland Security
Vermont Department of Public Safety
45 State Drive
Waterbury, Vermont 05671-1300
Sincerely,
Michael M. Grimm
Assistant Administrator for Mitigation
Federal Emergency Management Agency
cc:
Regional Administrator
FEMA Region I
Dean Savramis (via email)
Director
Mitigation Division
FEMA Region I
Appeal Analysis
The State of Vermont submitted applications for projects in three communities that did have approved local hazard mitigation plans at the time of application submittal. FEMA Region I provided two extensions to allow for the submission of local hazard mitigation planning grant applications. The State did not submit the hazard mitigation planning grant applications for the communities that were lacking a local hazard mitigation plan by the extended deadline of September 1, 2015.
Title 44 CFR 201.6(a)(1) states “A local government must have a mitigation plan approved pursuant to this section in order to receive HMGP project grants.” HMA Guidance (2011), Part III, D.5.2. Conformance with Hazard Mitigation Plans “Projects submitted for consideration for HMA funding must be consistent with the goals and objectives identified in the current, FEMA-approved State or Tribal (Standard or Enhanced) Mitigation Plan and local or Tribal mitigation plan for the jurisdiction in which the activity is located.”
FEMA Region 1 has the discretion to set deadlines for the submission of [approvable] mitigation plans and to deny project subapplications if the deadline is not met. This is necessary for the Region determine if a project submitted for HMGP funding meets the minimum eligibility criteria, specifically for conformance with the local hazard mitigation plan requirement. It also enables FEMA to administer HMGP efficiently and in a timely manner. Because three communities did not submit local mitigation plans by the extended September 1, 2015 deadline set by the Region, the Regional Office appropriately disapproved the communities’ projects.