Announcements regarding hearings, grants, and public comment notices of importance to California's rural counties.
U.S. Treasury Announces ARPA Reporting Deadline Extensions for Counties Impacted by Wildfire or Technical Difficulties
The U.S. Treasury Department has announced some important ARPA reporting deadline extensions for counties impacted by wildfire and technical glitches on the Treasury reporting website. You can find details and important links below:
COUNTIES EXPERIENCING TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES WITH ARP REPORTING: The U.S. Treasury understands that some recipients have had technical problems that have made it difficult for them to submit their reports on time. Treasury continues to assist individual recipients and hopes to resolve remaining technical issues as soon as possible. Those recipients who made a reasonable effort to file before the deadline will not be counted as late if they experienced technical issues in the reporting system that prevented them from filing on time.
IMPORTANT NOTE FROM THE U.S. TREASURY FOR COUNTIES IMPACTED BY WILDFIRES: The U.S. Treasury recognizes that some local jurisdictions and tribal governments may be unable to timely submit reports due to health and public safety concerns in their area. Any jurisdiction that is covered by a Governor or Tribal declared state of emergency and remains unable to submit the report due to emergency conditions should notify Treasury, providing a clear explanation of why the report has not been submitted, and proposing a specific date by which the report will be ready for submission. Treasury will document this information in its reporting system so that such jurisdictions would not be included in any public reporting by Treasury about jurisdictions that failed to submit reports in a timely manner. This request and related explanation should be sent to SLFRP@treasury.gov. The Interim Report and the Recovery Plan Performance Report (Recovery Plan), if applicable, should be submitted through Treasury’s State, Local, and Tribal Support portal via the following link: https://portal.treasury.gov/cares/s/slt.
FEMA Announces Application Period for 2021 Hazard Mitigation Assistance Grants
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) will begin accepting applications on September 30, 2021 for $1.16 billion in FY 2021 Hazard Mitigation Assistance (HMA) grants, providing localities the opportunity to receive Flood Mitigation Assistance (FMA) and Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) pre-disaster mitigation grants. These grants recognize the growing hazards of extreme weather events and the need for risk mitigation activities to promote climate adaptation and resilience. The financial assistance through the BRIC program may fund state and local government pre-disaster capability and capacity building activities, mitigation projects, and cover management costs.
FEMA informational webinars can be accessed here, and more information can be viewed here or at www.grants.gov. Additionally, the National Association of Counties (NACo) is offering an educational webinar on FEMA’s BRIC program on September 9, 2021, please see here. The FEMA application period closes on January 28, 2022.
California Redistricting Commission Seeks Input at Communities of Interest Meetings
The California Citizens Redistricting Commission will be holding Communities of Interest (COI) meetings, welcoming input. You may register to secure a speaking time slot. You may also call in the same day from anywhere in California to provide input without registering. For a complete list of upcoming COI meetings, and details about how to participate, please click here.
Grant Opportunities Available for Innovative Resiliency Projects
The “California Resilience Challenge” provides grants up to $200,000 to help protect under-resourced communities against climate-related threats such as wildfire, drought, flood and extreme heat events. See prior project winners here. Eligible entities that many apply include local and regional jurisdictions such as counties, cities, special districts, tribes and community-based organizations. For more information, see here. Applications are due September 13, 2021.
Access the State Grants Portal for a Multitude of Funding Opportunities
Billions of dollars are up for grabs to public agencies and other entities, including tribes and businesses. Grant seekers can access a centralized portal of grant and loan opportunities here, or sign up to receive new grant opportunities delivered straight to your inbox.