EPA and FEMA Offer Assistance to California Communities on Disaster Resilience
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and FEMA Region IX are seeking proposals from regional partners in California that are interested in receiving technical assistance to build resilience to natural disasters.
The technical assistance will include:
A facilitated process based on ready-to-use tools on how to:
Engage project partners
Assess vulnerability and develop mitigation strategies
Take action and implement projects
Measure progress
Networking with state, federal, and peer experts on disaster resilience.
Your region may need help getting started with early steps like engaging a broad coalition of partners, or you may be ready to focus on taking action in the form of built projects and policy changes. EPA and FEMA are interested in working with regional partners at any stage in the process.
This is not a grant. This is technical assistance provided through an EPA contract used to hire consultants who are experts in community engagement, meeting facilitation, disaster resilience, and smart growth.
This process is different from related resilience efforts because it is focused on a larger geography across multiple jurisdictions and is designed to address a range of natural disasters. This assistance will be a short-term engagement with one on-site workshop. The EPA-hired consultant will provide a clear next steps memo about the process and how your region can implement disaster resilience actions. The EPA-FEMA team will also help your region consolidate and comply with federal and state planning requirements, potentially provide funding support, and help establish lasting partnerships with state and federal agencies to support your regional action plan.
In addition, this process will help EPA and FEMA refine our materials, which will be used in other parts of California and in other states across the country.
EPA and FEMA are requesting letters of interest be submitted by June 30. Eligible entities include multiple jurisdictions that are working together, as well regional organizations that operate at a multi-state, multi-county, or multi-city/town scale. Please see the attached Request for Letters of Interest for more details about the project and how to prepare a letter of interest.
If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to Abby Hall at EPA: hall.abby@epa.gov, (415) 972-3384.