BOSTON, MA-The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has awarded nearly $17 million in federal grants to communities throughout the Commonwealth of Massachusetts for damages from two severe winter storms and flooding events that occurred in March of 2018.
As a result of these storms, President Trump granted two major disaster declarations for the Commonwealth, triggering the release of federal funds under FEMA’s Public Assistance and Hazard Mitigation grant programs.
The March 2-3 storm designated eligibility for the counties of Barnstable, Bristol, Essex, Nantucket, Norfolk and Plymouth and the second storm on March 13-14 designated the counties of Essex, Middlesex, Norfolk, Suffolk, and Worcester.
FEMA’s Public Assistance program provides grants to state and local governments, tribal governments, and to certain types of private nonprofit organizations to reimburse for the cost of life-saving emergency protective measures, debris removal and permanent repair work to damaged public buildings and infrastructure. FEMA’s Public Assistance and Hazard Mitigation grant programs are an essential source of funding for communities recovering from a federally declared disaster or emergency.
The Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) works with FEMA during all phases of the programs and conducts final reviews of FEMA-approved projects. Once a project is obligated by FEMA, MEMA works with the applicant to finalize the grant and begin making payments. MEMA ensures grant funding is provided to local communities as quickly as possible.
There are additional projects that have been identified under the Public Assistance program relating to these federal disaster declarations and FEMA and MEMA will continue to work extensively with all applicants. The timeline for projects being funded may depend on the complexity of the project, collection of supporting documentation by the applicants, environmental laws, regulations and other concerns.
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FEMA’s mission: Helping people before, during, and after disasters.