CT residents may get grants to protect homes from floods
WESTPORT — Rain events and the risk of flooding have become more frequent in Connecticut, meaning the risk of flood damage to certain homes has also risen.
Grants are available through the Federal Emergency Management Agency but officials worry those programs aren’t well known and the application process can be complex, meaning residents are missing out on the federal dollars to make their homes more resilient and protect against future floods.
Western Connecticut Council of Governments is trying to increase awareness though and make the process easier so that more people can submit and have their applications approved.
“We’re seeing an increase in rain events and flooding in the state of Connecticut,” Scott Choquette, associate vice president with Dewberry, a consultant contracted with WestCOG, said after a meeting in Westport on the topic.
Choquette said WestCOG recognizes that and the damage it’s causing, so it decided to go after grant funding for its member municipalities.
WestCOG is made up of 18 municipalities spanning from Greenwich, out to Westport and up to New Milford.
He said they hosted Wednesday’s meeting to get outreach to the surrounding communities about the available funding.
There are three FEMA grant programs available, though the meeting focused on the Flood Mitigation Assistance Program and the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program, which are for individual residential properties. The FEMA funds are only available to those who want to prevent future flooding in their houses, not repair damages that have already occurred.
Both are reimbursement-based programs where the federal government generally covers 75 percent of the mitigation project and the property owner is responsible for the remaining 25 percent. Properties that have had a lot of repeated loss due to flooding may be eligible for a higher reimbursement percentage.
The hazard mitigation program is only available after presidentially declared disasters, though. Examples of this include the remnants of Hurricane Ida and the COVID-19 pandemic, Choquette said.
The flood mitigation option is an annual grant program designed for properties within a flood zone that are insured, which is directly related to the Flood Insurance Program Choquette said.
Choquette told the audience it can cost more to raise a house in Fairfield County than in other areas, as the houses are typically larger with more complicated layouts, and property values are higher.
He said this process can take about three years from when the applications start to the final awards after construction.
Choquette said it has been a while since the area around Westport has faced a disaster, and typically, these programs get more attention when disasters occur. So, he said it is hard to determine if there will be fewer applications this year.
The process can also be complicated for those who do apply.
Westport Building Assistant Michele Onofrio said that after Hurricane Sandy, there were 25 applications for these grants in Westport, which eventually decreased to 15. Only nine applications actually went through to completion.
In the meeting, Fire Chief Michael Kronick said applying for the FEMA grant is not an easy process.
Typically, the flood mitigation program starts each year around September and closes by November or December, Choquette said.
Generally, the federal government will cover 75 percent of the cost of the proposed mitigation project if the property is in a flood zone. Choquette said it is rare for towns to be able to assist in the remaining 25 percent that the homeowner must cover.
Properties that had two previous flood losses valued at at least $1,000 paid within a 10-year window are considered “repetitive loss” and the owner only has to pay 10 percent of the project. If the property has had four paid flood claims of at least $5,000 or at least two claims equaling or exceeding the cost of the building in the past 10 years, then the property is considered “severe repetitive loss” and eligible for the full cost of the project to be covered by the grant, according to the presentation.
If an application is accepted by FEMA and the state, the municipality becomes the sub-grantee, where the municipality eventually enters a contractual agreement with the property owner, and administers the grant to ensure the construction is in compliance with the program, Choquette said.
Choquette said the reimbursement program is typically administered on a quarterly basis, though some funds may have to come out of pocket, depending on timing
To be eligible for the mitigation program, applicants and subapplicants must have a FEMA-approved hazard mitigation plan by the application deadline and while funding is dispersed, he said. Subapplicants also must participate in the National Flood Insurance Program and the structures must be insured under it, he added.