Vt. offers grant funds
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Staff Report - Published: January 6, 2009
WATERBURY — Two different grants are now available for communities throughout the state from Vermont Emergency Management.
The first is a mitigation grant program intended to fund projects that would avoid future damage such as enlarging culverts and home buy-outs in hazardous areas; the second would support local community shelters by purchasing generators to be used for evacuations and extensive utility outages.
For the mitigation grants, all cities and towns are eligible for nearly $1 million in federal funds; they need not have been affected by past disasters to apply.
To qualify, a municipality must have a Federal Emergency Management Agency approved and adopted local mitigation plan and must be participating in the National Flood Insurance Program if a special flood hazard area has been identified in the community.
Deadline for applications is March 31 and a letter of intent must be submitted to the state by Feb. 16.
Vermont municipalities are also eligible for $200,000 in federal grant funds to help purchase generators for emergency shelters or homeless shelters and to help pay wiring costs for generator installation.
Vermont Emergency Management is requesting proposals from municipalities that need generators for a local shelter.
Awards will be determined by the number of applications, total project costs, geographic diversity and ability to supply 50 percent nonfederal matching funds. Communities with an updated and adopted rapid response or emergency operations plan and those compliant with the National Incident Management System will be ranked higher in the review process.
The application deadline is noon Feb. 6.
Details, applications and supporting material for both grants can be obtained by visiting Vermont Emergency Management's Web site at www.dps.state.vt.us/vem/grants.htm or by calling 347-0488.
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