Frankfort, Ky. – FEMA has approved two projects totaling $1,675,804 in federal funding to Floyd County for the acquisition of properties affected by the July 2022 floods in Eastern Kentucky.
Thirteen flood prone properties that were directly affected by the July 2022 flooding event will be acquired by the Floyd County Fiscal Court, demolished and turned to green space. Funds will be used to acquire these properties at fair market value pre-event, demolish the homes and remove all debris. Once demolished properties will be deed-restricted and any future open space proposals will be subject to pre-approval by FEMA.
The first project, for the acquisition of thirteen properties, totals $2,094,754. The federal share of 75% ($1,571,062) will be contributed by FEMA and the remaining non-federal share of 25% will be contributed by a combination of the Commonwealth of Kentucky, local governments and homeowners.
The second project provides funds totaling $104,738 for Floyd County to manage the acquisitions program. This award is pursuant to Section 1215 of the Disaster Recovery Reform Act of 2018, which amended Section 324 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Assistance Act, allowing Subrecipient Management Costs (SRMC) up to 5% of the total project cost, available to the subrecipient at a federal cost share of 100%.
As a condition of these grants, the relevant, commonwealth, tribal, territorial or local government must maintain the property as open space in perpetuity.
These projects will protect the community from the direct impact of severe storm events and provide a long-term solution to existing and future hazardous conditions. These acquisition and demolition projects will protect against future flooding events. Activities will be completed in strict compliance with federal, commonwealth and local rules and regulations.
The Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP) is managed by the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the projects are administered by the local community. FEMA does not acquire properties directly from the property owners. Communities may offer homeowners who agree to participate in the property acquisition process the pre-flood fair market value of the property. A licensed appraiser determines the fair market value. This program is voluntary, and homeowners can withdraw from the program if they are no longer interested.
HMGP provides funding to state, local, tribal and territorial governments so they can develop hazard mitigation plans and rebuild in a way that reduces, or mitigates, future disaster losses in their communities. When requested by an authorized representative, this grant funding is available after a presidentially declared disaster.
For more information on Kentucky flood recovery, visit fema.gov/disaster/4663. Follow FEMA on Twitter at FEMA Region 4 (@femaregion4)/Twitter and at facebook.com/fema.