(a) The purpose of this part is to prescribe actions, procedures, and requirements for administration of the Flood Mitigation Assistance (FMA) grant program made available under the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968, as amended, and the Flood Disaster Protection Act of 1973, as amended, 42 U.S.C. 4001 et seq. The purpose of the FMA program is to assist States, Indian Tribal governments, and communities for planning and carrying out mitigation activities designed to reduce the risk of flood damage to structures insured under the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP).

(b) This part applies to the administration of funds under the FMA program for which the application period opens on or after October 12, 2021.

(a) Except as otherwise provided in this part, the definitions set forth in § 59.1 of this subchapter are applicable to this part.

(b) Applicant means the entity, such as a State or Indian Tribal government, applying to FEMA for a Federal award under the FMA program. Once funds have been awarded, the applicant becomes the recipient and may also be a pass-through entity.

(c) Closeout means the process by which FEMA or the pass-through entity determines that all applicable administrative actions and all required work of the Federal award have been completed and takes actions as described in 2 CFR 200.344, “Closeout.”

(d) Community means:

(1) A political subdivision, including any Indian Tribe, authorized Tribal organization, Alaska Native village or authorized native organization, that has zoning and building code jurisdiction over a particular area having special flood hazards, and is participating in the NFIP; or

(2) A political subdivision of a State or other authority that is designated by political subdivisions, all of which meet the requirements of paragraph (d)(1) of this section, to administer grants for mitigation activities for such political subdivisions.

(e) Federal award means the Federal financial assistance a recipient or subrecipient receives directly from FEMA or indirectly from a pass-through entity. The terms “award” and “grant” may also be used to describe a Federal award under this part.

(f) Indian Tribal government means any Federally recognized governing body of an Indian or Alaska Native Tribe, band, nation, pueblo, village, or community that the Secretary of Interior acknowledges to exist as an Indian Tribe under the Federally Recognized Indian Tribe List Act of 1994, 25 U.S.C. 5131. This does not include Alaska Native corporations, the ownership of which is vested in private individuals.

(g) Pass-through entity means a recipient that provides a subaward to a subrecipient to carry out part of the FMA program.

(h) Recipient means the State or Indian Tribal government that receives a Federal award directly from FEMA. A recipient may also be a pass-through entity. The term recipient does not include subrecipients.

(i) Repetitive loss structure means a structure covered under an NFIP flood insurance policy that:

(1) Has incurred flood-related damage on 2 occasions, in which the cost of repair, on average, equaled or exceeded 25% of the value of the structure at the time of each such flood event; and

(2) At the time of the second incidence of flood related damage, the contract for flood insurance contains increased cost of compliance coverage.

(j) Severe repetitive loss structure means a structure that is covered under an NFIP flood insurance policy and has incurred flood-related damage:

(1) For which 4 or more separate claims payments have been made under flood insurance coverage under subchapter B of this chapter, with the amount of each claim (including building and contents payments) exceeding $5,000, and with the cumulative amount of such claims payments exceeding $20,000; or

(2) For which at least 2 separate flood insurance claims payments (building payments only) have been made, with cumulative amount of such claims exceeding the value of the insured structure.

(k) State means any state of the United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.

(l) Subaward means an award provided by a pass-through entity to a subrecipient, for the subrecipient to carry out part of a Federal award received by the pass-through entity. It does not include payments to a contractor or payments to an individual that is a beneficiary of a Federal program. A subaward may be provided through any form of legal agreement, including an agreement that the pass-through entity considers a contract.

(m) Subapplicant means a State agency, community, or Indian Tribal government submitting a subapplication to the applicant for assistance under the FMA program. Upon grant award, the subapplicant is referred to as the subrecipient.

(n) Subrecipient means the State agency, community, or Indian Tribal government that receives a subaward from a pass-through entity for the subrecipient to carry out an activity under the FMA program.

(o) Administrator means the head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, or his/her designated representative.

(p) Regional Administrator means the head of a Federal Emergency Management Agency regional office, or his/her designated representative.

(a) Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Administer and provide oversight to all FEMA-related hazard mitigation programs and grants, including:

(1) Issue program implementation procedures, as necessary, which will include information on availability of funding;

(2) Award all grants to the recipient after evaluating subaward applications for eligibility and ensuring compliance with applicable Federal laws, giving priority to such properties, or to the subset of such properties, as the Administrator may determine are in the best interest of the NFIF;

(3) Provide technical assistance and training to State, local and Indian Tribal governments regarding the mitigation and grants management process;

(4) Review and approve State, Indian Tribal, and local mitigation plans in accordance with part 201 of this chapter;

(5) Comply with applicable Federal statutory, regulatory, and Executive Order requirements related to environmental and historic preservation compliance, including reviewing and supplementing, if necessary, the environmental analyses conducted by the State and subrecipient in accordance with applicable laws, regulations, and agency policy;

(6) Monitor implementation of awards through quarterly reports; and

(7) Review all closeout documentation for compliance and sending the recipient a request for additional supporting documentation, if needed.

(b) Recipient. The recipient must have working knowledge of NFIP goals, requirements, and processes and ensure that the program is coordinated with other mitigation activities. Recipients will:

(1) Have a FEMA approved Mitigation Plan in accordance with part 201 of this chapter;

(2) Provide technical assistance and training to communities on mitigation planning, mitigation project activities, developing subaward applications, and implementing approved subawards;

(3) Prioritize and recommend subaward applications to be approved by FEMA, based on the applicable mitigation plan(s), other evaluation criteria, and the eligibility criteria described in § 77.6;

(4) Award FEMA-approved subawards;

(5) Monitor and evaluate the progress of the mitigation activity in accordance with the approved original scope of work and budget through quarterly reports;

(6) Closeout the subaward in accordance with 2 CFR 200.344 and 200.345, and applicable FEMA guidance; and

(7) Comply with program requirements under this part, grant management requirements identified under 2 CFR parts 200 and 3002, the grant agreement articles, and other applicable Federal, State, Tribal and local laws and regulations.

(c) Subrecipient. The subrecipient (or subapplicant, as applicable) will:

(1) Complete and submit subaward applications to the recipient for FMA planning and project subawards;

(2) Implement all approved subawards;

(3) Monitor and evaluate the progress of the mitigation activity in accordance with the approved original scope of work and budget through quarterly reports;

(4) Comply with program requirements under this part, grant management requirements identified under 2 CFR parts 200 and 3002, the grant agreement articles, and other applicable Federal, State, Tribal and local laws and regulations; and

(5) Closeout the subaward in accordance with 2 CFR 200.344 and 200.345, and applicable FEMA guidance.

(a) Allocation. (1) For the amount made available for the FMA program, the Administrator will allocate the available funds based upon criteria established for each application period. The criteria may include the number of NFIP policies, severe repetitive loss structures, repetitive loss structures, and any other factors the Administrator determines are in the best interests of the NFIF.

(2) The amount of FMA funds used may not exceed $50,000 for any mitigation plan of a State or $25,000 for any mitigation plan of a community.

(b) Cost share. All mitigation activities approved under the grant will be subject to the following cost share provisions:

(1) For each severe repetitive loss structure, FEMA may contribute either:

(i) Up to 100 percent of all eligible costs if the activities are technically feasible and cost effective; or

(ii) Up to the amount of the expected savings to the NFIP for acquisition or relocation activities;

(2) For repetitive loss structures, FEMA may contribute up to 90 percent of the eligible costs;

(3) For all other mitigation activities, FEMA may contribute up to 75 percent of all eligible costs.

(4) For projects that contain a combination of severe repetitive loss, repetitive loss, and/or other insured structures, the cost share will be calculated as appropriate for each type of structure submitted in the project subapplication.

(c) Failure to make award within 5 years. Any FMA application or subapplication that does not receive a Federal award within 5 years of the application/subapplication submission date is considered to be denied, and any funding amounts allocated for such applications/subapplications will be made available for other FMA awards and subawards.

(a) Applicant. (1) Applicants will be notified of the availability of funding for the FMA program pursuant to 2 CFR 200.203 and 200.204.

(2) The applicant is responsible for soliciting applications from eligible communities, or subapplicants, and for reviewing and prioritizing applications prior to forwarding them to FEMA for review and award.

(b) Subapplicant. Communities or other subapplicants who choose to apply must develop subapplications within the timeframes and requirements established by FEMA and must submit subapplications to the applicant.

(a) NFIP requirements. (1) States, Indian Tribal governments, and communities must be participating in the NFIP and may not be suspended or withdrawn under the program.

(2) For projects that impact individual structures, for example, acquisitions and elevations, an NFIP policy for the structure must be in effect prior to the opening of the application period and be maintained for the life of the structure.

(b) Plan requirement—(1) Applicants. States must have a FEMA-approved mitigation plan meeting the requirements of § 201.4 of this chapter that provides for reduction of flood losses to structures for which NFIP coverage is available. Indian Tribal governments must have a FEMA-approved mitigation plan meeting the requirements of § 201.7 of this chapter that provides for reduction of flood losses to structures for which NFIP coverage is available. The FEMA-approved mitigation plan is required at the time of application and award.

(2) Subapplicants. To be eligible for FMA project grants, subapplicants must have an approved mitigation plan in accordance with part 201 of this chapter that provides for reduction of flood losses to structures for which NFIP coverage is available. The FEMA-approved mitigation plan is required at the time of application and award.

(c) Eligible activities—(1) Planning. FMA planning grants may be used to develop or update State, Indian Tribal and/or local mitigation plans that meet the planning criteria outlined in part 201 of this chapter and provide for reduction of flood losses to structures for which NFIP coverage is available.

(2) Projects. Projects funded under the FMA program are limited to activities that reduce flood damages to properties insured under the NFIP. Applications involving any activities for which implementation has already been initiated or completed are not eligible for funding, and will not be considered. Eligible activities are:

(i) Acquisition of real property from property owners, and demolition or relocation of buildings and/or structures to areas outside of the floodplain to convert the property to open space use in perpetuity, in accordance with part 80 of this subchapter;

(ii) Elevation of existing structures to at least base flood levels or higher, if required by FEMA or if required by any State or local ordinance, and in accordance with criteria established by the Administrator;

(iii) Floodproofing of existing non-residential structures in accordance with the requirements of the NFIP or higher standards if required by FEMA or if required by any State or local ordinance, and in accordance with criteria established by the Administrator;

(iv) Floodproofing of historic structures as defined in § 59.1 of this subchapter;

(v) Demolition and rebuilding of properties to at least base flood levels or higher, if required by FEMA or if required by any State or local ordinance, and in accordance with criteria established by the Administrator;

(vi) Localized flood risk reduction projects that lessen the frequency or severity of flooding and decrease predicted flood damages, and that do not duplicate the flood prevention activities of other Federal agencies. Non-localized flood risk reduction projects such as dikes, levees, floodwalls, seawalls, groins, jetties, dams and large-scale waterway channelization projects are not eligible unless the Administrator specifically determines in approving a mitigation plan that such activities are the most cost-effective mitigation activities for the National Flood Mitigation Fund;

(vii) Elevation, relocation, or floodproofing of utilities; and

(viii) Other mitigation activities not described or identified in (c)(2)(i) through (vii) of this section that are described in the State, Tribal or local mitigation plan.

(3) Technical assistance. If a recipient applied for and was awarded at least $1 million in the prior fiscal year, that recipient may be eligible to receive a technical assistance grant for up to $50,000.

(4) Project scoping. Activities that enable subapplicants to develop complete subapplications for eligible mitigation activities including but not limited to data development.

(d) Minimum project criteria. In addition to being an eligible project type, mitigation grant projects must also:

(1) Be in conformance with State, Tribal and/or local mitigation plans approved under part 201 of this chapter for the jurisdiction where the project is located;

(2) Be in conformance with applicable environmental and historic preservation laws, regulations, and agency policy, including parts 9 and 60 of this chapter, and other applicable Federal, State, Tribal, and local laws and regulations;

(3) Be technically feasible and cost-effective; or, eliminate future payments from the NFIF for severe repetitive loss structures through an acquisition or relocation activity;

(4) Solve a problem independently, or constitute a functional portion of a long-term solution where there is assurance that the project as a whole will be completed. This assurance will include documentation identifying the remaining funds necessary to complete the project, and the timeframe for completing the project;

(5) Consider long-term changes to the areas and entities it protects, and have manageable future maintenance and modification requirements. The subrecipient is responsible for the continued maintenance needed to preserve the hazard mitigation benefits of these measures; and

(6) Not duplicate benefits available from another source for the same purpose or assistance that another Federal agency or program has more primary authority to provide.

(a) General. General policies for allowable costs for implementing awards and subawards are addressed in 2 CFR 200.101, 200.102, 200.400-200.476.

(1) Eligible management costs—(i) Recipient. Recipients are eligible to receive management costs (direct and indirect administrative costs pursuant to 2 CFR part 200 subpart E) consisting of a maximum of 10 percent of the planning and project activities awarded to the recipient, each fiscal year under FMA. These costs must be included in the application to FEMA.

(ii) Subrecipient. Subapplicants may include a maximum of 5 percent of the total funds requested for their subapplication for management costs to support the implementation of their planning or project activity. These costs must be included in the subapplication to the recipient.

(2) Indirect costs. Indirect costs of administering the FMA program are eligible as part of the 10 percent management costs for the recipient or the 5 percent management costs of the subrecipient, but in no case do they make the recipient eligible for additional management costs that exceed the caps identified in paragraph (a)(1) of this section. In addition, all costs must be in accordance with the provisions of 2 CFR parts 200 and 3002.

(b) Pre-award costs. FEMA may fund eligible pre-award costs related to developing the application or subapplication at its discretion and as funds are available. Recipients and subrecipients may be reimbursed for eligible pre-award costs for activities directly related to the development of the project or planning proposal. Costs associated with implementation of the activity but incurred prior to award are not eligible. Therefore, activities where implementation is initiated or completed prior to award are not eligible and will not be reimbursed.

(c) Duplication of benefits. Grant funds may not duplicate benefits received by or available to applicants, subapplicants and project participants from insurance, other assistance programs, legal awards, or any other source to address the same purpose. Such individual or entity must notify the recipient and FEMA of all benefits that it receives or anticipates from other sources for the same purpose. FEMA will reduce the subaward by the amounts available for the same purpose from another source.

(d) Negligence or other tortious conduct. FEMA grant funds are not available where an applicant, subapplicant, other project participant, or third party's negligence or intentional actions contributed to the conditions to be mitigated. If the applicant, subapplicant, or project participant suspects negligence or other tortious conduct by a third party for causing such condition, they are responsible for taking all reasonable steps to recover all costs attributable to the tortious conduct of the third party. FEMA generally considers such amounts to be duplicated benefits available for the same purpose, and will treat them consistent with paragraph (c) of this section.

(e) Legal obligations. FEMA grant funds are not available to satisfy or reimburse for legal obligations, such as those imposed by a legal settlement, court order, or State law.

(a) General. Recipients must comply with the requirements contained in 2 CFR parts 200 and 3002 and FEMA award requirements, including submission of performance and financial status reports. Recipients must also ensure that subrecipients are aware of and comply with 2 CFR parts 200 and 3002.

(b) Cost overruns. (1) During the implementation of an approved grant, the recipient may find that actual costs are exceeding the approved award amount. While there is no guarantee of additional funding, FEMA will only consider requests made by the recipient to pay for such overruns if:

(i) Funds are available to meet the requested increase in funding; and

(ii) The amended grant award meets the eligibility requirements, including cost share requirements, identified in this section.

(2) Recipients may use cost underruns from ongoing subawards to offset overruns incurred by another subaward(s) awarded under the same award. All costs for which funding is requested must have been included in the original subapplication's cost estimate. In cases where an underrun is not available to cover an overrun, the Administrator may, with justification from the recipient and subrecipient, use other available FMA funds to cover the cost overrun.

(3) For all cost overruns that exceed the amount approved under the award, and which require additional Federal funds, the recipient must submit a written request with a recommendation, including a justification for the additional funding to the Regional Administrator for a determination. If approved, the Regional Administrator will increase the award through an amendment to the original award document.

(c) Recapture. At the time of closeout, FEMA will recapture any funds provided to a State or a community under this part if the applicant has not provided the appropriate matching funds, the approved project has not been completed within the timeframes specified in the grant agreement, or the completed project does not meet the criteria specified in this part.

(d) Remedies for noncompliance. FEMA may terminate an award or take other remedies for noncompliance in accordance with 2 CFR 200.339 through 200.343.

(e) Reconsideration. FEMA will reconsider determinations of noncompliance, additional award conditions, or its decision to terminate a Federal award. Requests for reconsideration must be made in writing to FEMA within 60 calendar days after receipt of a notice of the action, and in accordance with submission procedures set out in guidance. FEMA will notify the requester of the disposition of the request for reconsideration. If the decision is to grant the request for reconsideration, FEMA will take appropriate implementing action.