Description

1) Mining Equitable Hazard Mitigation Projects in Ohio’s Socially and Flood Vulnerable Communities
Dan Blanchard, Ohio EMA, dpblanchard@dps.ohio.gov
Co-presenters: None

Abstract: The Biden Administration, under Executive Order 14008, has committed to investing in disadvantaged, marginalized, and underserved communities through the Justice 40 Initiative, which has a goal of directing 40% of Federal investment to disadvantaged populations. Two of FEMA’s Hazard Mitigation Assistance (HMA) programs, Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) and Flood Mitigation Assistance (FMA), were chosen to undertake the Justice 40 Initiative to maximize the benefits that are directed to disadvantaged communities. The Justice 40 Initiative Guidance asks agencies to consider appropriate data, indices, and screening tools to determine whether a specific community is disadvantaged based on a combination of variables. FEMA has selected the CDC’s Social Vulnerability Index as the dataset to determine if a community is disadvantaged and has incorporated the Index into the BRIC and FMA competitive criteria in the 2021 and 2022 program cycles. FEMA’s HMA division has identified barriers that may prevent underserved communities from applying for hazard mitigation grants which include the local cost share requirement and lack of capability when it comes to mitigation planning and project development and management. Understanding that disadvantaged communities may lack the resources to identify and develop HMA projects, Ohio EMA has set out to identify where socially vulnerable populations may be experiencing flood events with the aim to develop HMA projects and sub applications that benefit disadvantaged communities. This presentation will show OEMAs efforts in using State and Federal resources, tools, and knowledge to identify potential HMA flood mitigation projects that benefit socially vulnerable and disadvantaged populations in Ohio, review Ohio’s past mitigation efforts to assess the level of benefits disadvantaged populations have received, and present how the coordination with local communities can proactively develop quality HMA sub applications. This presentation will review the tools and datasets used by the Ohio EMA team to identify locations experiencing social vulnerability and flood risk, which may be a useful model for other states and communities to follow.

2) Planning for Resilience Investments: Prioritizing Areas of DC By Equity and Risk
Andrea Limauro, District of Columbia Department of Energy & Environment, andrea.limauro@dc.gov
Co-presenters: Lily Cheng, lily.cheng@dc.gov; Katherine Duskin, katherine.duskin@arcadis.com; Adam Blumstein, adam.blumstein@arcadis.com

Abstract: In the current landscape of unprecedented amounts of Federal funding for resilience and flood mitigation, it is essential for communities to understand which areas have the greatest need for investment. The District of Columbia has developed a proactive approach to identifying areas that should be prioritized for future mitigation projects. Balancing considerations of flood risk, equity, and potential for cascading impacts, this framework will allow the District to channel planning and implementation funding to areas where it is most needed. The DC Department of Energy and Environment (DOEE) and Office of Planning (OP) developed a Resilience Focus Area (RFA) Strategy as a guide for prioritizing future flood mitigation projects. The District defined RFAs as areas of high flood risk where future planning efforts should be focused to ensure resilience to flooding. Within the RFAs, the District will encourage the implementation of neighborhood scale and site-specific solutions, and will design guidelines and policies for a climate-adaptive city. The RFA strategy aligns with other District policies and plans centered around mitigation and adaption to climate change. DOEE and Arcadis evaluated the characteristics of each RFA based on various metrics, grouped into five major framework categories: Population, Flood Potential & Damages, Equity, Critical & Resilience Assets, and Actionability. A prioritization matrix was developed using various metrics calculated from GIS-based evaluation of available data within these categories. The matrix was used to tabulate scores within the six categories and to rank the RFAs. The goal of this presentation is to discuss the unique approach and methodologies used by the District to rank the RFAs and prioritize future flood mitigation projects. This presentation will summarize how DOEE has engaged various stakeholders throughout the process, discuss data driven strategies for development of the prioritization and scoring, and outline how the final rankings will be used to inform future decision making.

3) The BRIC Wall: Capacity Gaps and FEMA Hazard Mitigation Grants
Anna Weber, Natural Resources Defense Council, aweber@nrdc.org
Co-presenters: None

Abstract: FEMA’s Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) program, now in its third grant cycle, represents an important investment in pre-disaster hazard mitigation. However, while FEMA leadership has touted BRIC as a key part of the agency’s shift to focus on equity—and while the agency has taken positive steps to improve program criteria and requirements—a lack of local capacity means that applying for funds is out of reach for many of the communities that most need assistance. This presentation will describe the results of a new analysis, which investigates the characteristics of counties with successful and unsuccessful BRIC proposals. We find that BRIC subapplications (even ones that aren’t selected) tend to come from areas with more expensive assets at risk, higher-capacity local governments, and fewer socially vulnerable communities compared to the nation as a whole. The presentation will summarize the equity and resilience implications for FEMA grant programs and discuss policy solutions to address the capacity gap.