42 USC 5135 - Grants to entities for establishment of hazard mitigation revolving loan funds

View all text of Subchapter II [§ 5131 - § 5136a]

§ 5135. Grants to entities for establishment of hazard mitigation revolving loan funds

(a) General authority

(1) In generalThe Administrator may enter into agreements with eligible entities to make capitalization grants to such entities for the establishment of hazard mitigation revolving loan funds (referred to in this section as “entity loan funds”) for providing funding assistance to local governments to carry out eligible projects under this section to reduce disaster risks for homeowners, businesses, nonprofit organizations, and communities in order to decrease—

(A) the loss of life and property;

(B) the cost of insurance; and

(2) AgreementsAny agreement entered into under this section shall require the participating entity to—

(A) comply with the requirements of this section; and

(B) use accounting, audit, and fiscal procedures conforming to generally accepted accounting standards.

(b) Application

(1) In generalTo be eligible to receive a capitalization grant under this section, an eligible entity shall submit to the Administrator an application that includes the following:

(A) Project proposals comprised of local government hazard mitigation projects, on the condition that the entity provides public notice not less than 6 weeks prior to the submission of an application.

(B) An assessment of recurring major disaster vulnerabilities impacting the entity that demonstrates a risk to life and property.

(C) A description of how the hazard mitigation plan of the entity has or has not taken the vulnerabilities described in subparagraph (B) into account.

(D) A description about how the projects described in subparagraph (A) could conform with the hazard mitigation plan of the entity and of the unit of local government.

(E) A proposal of the systematic and regional approach to achieve resilience in a vulnerable area, including impacts to river basins, river corridors, watersheds, estuaries, bays, coastal regions, micro-basins, micro-watersheds, ecosystems, and areas at risk of earthquakes, tsunamis, droughts, severe storms, and wildfires, including the wildland-urban interface.

(2) Technical assistance

(1) Establishment of fund

(2) Fund managementExcept as provided in paragraph (3), entity loan funds shall—

(A) be administered by the agency responsible for emergency management; and

(B) include only—

(i) funds provided by a capitalization grant under this section;

(ii) repayments of loans under this section to the entity loan fund; and

(iii) interest earned on amounts in the entity loan fund.

(3) AdministrationA participating entity may combine the financial administration of the entity loan fund of such entity with the financial administration of any other revolving fund established by such entity if the Administrator determines that—

(A) the capitalization grant, entity share, repayments of loans, and interest earned on amounts in the entity loan fund are accounted for separately from other amounts in the revolving fund; and

(B) the authority to establish assistance priorities and carry out oversight activities remains in the control of the entity agency responsible for emergency management.

(4) Entity share of funds

(A) In general

(B) Reduced grant

(d) Apportionment

(1) In general

(2) Reservation of fundsThe Administrator shall reserve not more than 2.5 percent of the amount made available to carry out this section for the Federal Emergency Management Agency for—

(A) administrative costs incurred in carrying out this section; and

(B) providing technical assistance to participating entities under subsection (b)(2).

(3) Priority

(A) propose projects increasing resilience and reducing risk of harm to natural and built infrastructure;

(B) involve a partnership between two or more eligible entities to carry out a project or similar projects;

(C) take into account regional impacts of hazards on river basins, river corridors, micro-watersheds, macro-watersheds, estuaries, lakes, bays, and coastal regions and areas at risk of earthquakes, tsunamis, droughts, severe storms, and wildfires, including the wildland-urban interface; or

(D) propose projects for the resilience of major economic sectors or critical national infrastructure, including ports, global commodity supply chain assets (located within an entity or within the jurisdiction of local governments and Tribal governments), power and water production and distribution centers, and bridges and waterways essential to interstate commerce.

(e) Environmental review of revolving loan fund projects

(f) Use of funds

(1) Types of assistanceAmounts deposited in an entity loan fund, including loan repayments and interest earned on such amounts, may be used—

(A) to make loans, on the condition that—

(i) such loans are made at an interest rate of not more than 1 percent;

(ii) annual principal and interest payments will commence not later than 1 year after completion of any project and all loans made under this subparagraph will be fully amortized—(I) not later than 20 years after the date on which the project is completed; or(II) for projects in a low-income geographic area, not later than 30 years after the date on which the project is completed and not longer than the expected design life of the project;

(iii) the loan recipient of a loan under this subparagraph establishes a dedicated source of revenue for repayment of the loan;

(iv) the loan recipient of a loan under this subparagraph has a hazard mitigation plan that has been approved by the Administrator; and

(v) the entity loan fund will be credited with all payments of principal and interest on all loans made under this subparagraph;

(B) for mitigation efforts, in addition to mitigation planning under section 5165 of this title not to exceed 10 percent of the capitalization grants made to the participating entity in a fiscal year;

(C) for the reasonable costs of administering the fund and conducting activities under this section, except that such amounts shall not exceed $100,000 per year, 2 percent of the capitalization grants made to the participating entity in a fiscal year, or 1 percent of the value of the entity loan fund, whichever amount is greatest, plus the amount of any fees collected by the entity for such purpose regardless of the source; and

(D) to earn interest on the entity loan fund.

(2) Prohibition on determination that loan is a duplication

(3) Projects and activities eligible for assistanceExcept as provided in this subsection, a participating entity may use funds in the entity loan fund to provide financial assistance for projects or activities that mitigate the impacts of natural hazards including—

(A) drought and prolonged episodes of intense heat;

(B) severe storms, including hurricanes, tornados, wind storms, cyclones, and severe winter storms;

(D) earthquakes;

(E) flooding, including the construction, repair, or replacement of a non-Federal levee or other flood control structure, provided that the Administrator, in consultation with the Army Corps of Engineers (if appropriate), requires an eligible entity to determine that such levee or structure is designed, constructed, and maintained in accordance with sound engineering practices and standards equivalent to the purpose for which such levee or structure is intended;

(F) shoreline erosion;

(G) high water levels; and

(H) storm surges.

(4) Zoning and land use planning changesA participating entity may use not more than 10 percent of a capitalization grant under this section to enable units of local government to implement zoning and land use planning changes focused on—

(A) the development and improvement of zoning and land use codes that incentivize and encourage low-impact development, resilient wildland-urban interface land management and development, natural infrastructure, green stormwater management, conservation areas adjacent to floodplains, implementation of watershed or greenway master plans, and reconnection of floodplains;

(B) the study and creation of agricultural risk compensation districts where there is a desire to remove or set-back levees protecting highly developed agricultural land to mitigate for flooding, allowing agricultural producers to receive compensation for assuming greater flood risk that would alleviate flood exposure to population centers and areas with critical national infrastructure;

(C) the study and creation of land use incentives that reward developers for greater reliance on low impact development stormwater best management practices, exchange density increases for increased open space and improvement of neighborhood catch basins to mitigate urban flooding, reward developers for including and augmenting natural infrastructure adjacent to and around building projects without reliance on increased sprawl, and reward developers for addressing wildfire ignition; and

(D) the study and creation of an erosion response plan that accommodates river, lake, forest, plains, and ocean shoreline retreating or bluff stabilization due to increased flooding and disaster impacts.

(5) Establishing and carrying out building code enforcement

(6) Administrative and technical costsFor each fiscal year, a participating entity may use the amount described in paragraph (1)(C) to—

(A) pay the reasonable costs of administering the programs under this section, including the cost of establishing an entity loan fund; and

(B) provide technical assistance to recipients of financial assistance from the entity loan fund, on the condition that such technical assistance does not exceed 5 percent of the capitalization grant made to such entity.

(7) Limitation for single projects

(8) Requirements

(g) Intended use plans

(1) In general

(2) Contents of planAn entity intended use plan prepared under paragraph (1) shall include—

(A) the integration of entity planning efforts, including entity hazard mitigation plans and other programs and initiatives relating to mitigation of major disasters carried out by such entity;

(B) an explanation of the mitigation and resiliency benefits the entity intends to achieve by—

(i) reducing future damage and loss associated with hazards;

(ii) reducing the number of severe repetitive loss structures and repetitive loss structures in the entity;

(iii) decreasing the number of insurance claims in the entity from injuries resulting from major disasters or other natural hazards; and

(iv) increasing the rating under the community rating system under section 4022(b) of this title for communities in the entity;

(C) information on the availability of, and application process for, financial assistance from the entity loan fund of such entity;

(D) the criteria and methods established for the distribution of funds;

(E) the amount of financial assistance that the entity anticipates apportioning;

(F) the expected terms of the assistance provided from the entity loan fund; and

(G) a description of the financial status of the entity loan fund, including short-term and long-term goals for the fund.

(h) Audits, reports, publications, and oversight

(1) Biennial entity audit and reportBeginning not later than the last day of the second fiscal year after the receipt of payments under this section, and biennially thereafter, any participating entity shall—

(A) conduct an audit of the entity loan fund established under subsection (c); and

(B) provide to the Administrator a report including—

(i) the result of any such audit; and

(ii) a review of the effectiveness of the entity loan fund of the entity with respect to meeting the goals and intended benefits described in the intended use plan submitted by the entity under subsection (g).

(2) PublicationA participating entity shall publish and periodically update information about all projects receiving funding from the entity loan fund of such entity, including—

(A) the location of the project;

(B) the type and amount of assistance provided from the entity loan fund;

(D) the anticipated date of completion of the project.

(3) Oversight

(A) In general

(B) GAO requirements

(i) Regulations or guidanceThe Administrator shall issue such regulations or guidance as are necessary to—

(1) ensure that each participating entity uses funds as efficiently as possible;

(2) reduce waste, fraud, and abuse to the maximum extent possible; and

(3) require any party that receives funds directly or indirectly under this section, including a participating entity and a recipient of amounts from an entity loan fund, to use procedures with respect to the management of the funds that conform to generally accepted accounting standards.

(j) Waiver authorityUntil such time as the Administrator issues final regulations to implement this section, the Administrator may—

(1) waive notice and comment rulemaking, if the Administrator determines the waiver is necessary to expeditiously implement this section; and

(2) provide capitalization grants under this section as a pilot program.

(k) Liability protections

(l) GAO reportNot later than 1 year after the date on which the first entity loan fund is established under subsection (c), the Comptroller General of the United States shall submit to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives a report that examines—

(1) the appropriateness of regulations and guidance issued by the Administrator for the program, including any oversight of the program;

(2) a description of the number of the entity loan funds established, the projects funded from such entity loan funds, and the extent to which projects funded by the loan funds adhere to any applicable hazard mitigation plans;

(3) the effectiveness of the entity loan funds to lower disaster related costs; and

(4) recommendations for improving the administration of entity loan funds.

(m) DefinitionsIn this section, the following definitions apply:

(1) Administrator

(2) Agency

(3) Eligible entity

(4) Hazard mitigation plan

(5) Low-income geographic area

(6) Participating entity

(7) Repetitive loss structure

(8) Severe repetitive loss structure

(9) Wildland-urban interface

(n) Authorization of appropriations

(Pub. L. 93–288, title II, § 205, as added Pub. L. 116–284, § 2, Jan. 1, 2021, 134 Stat. 4869; amended Pub. L. 117–328, div. F, title V, § 540, Dec. 29, 2022, 136 Stat. 4756.)